Sticker Shock

[aelfie]

I just got back from taking Ike to the dentist.

He needs $5400.00 worth of work done (this includes: 11 cavities, a crown on a molar and 3-3.5 hours of sedation)

WTF?!?!?!?!

OY!

I'm just...wha?

Comments

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

Holy CRAP!

I had new gums put in a few years ago¹, and I think it was less than that.

¹In case you're wondering whether this is a fun procedure, the answer is: Not so much.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Yea, that was kinda my response. What's killing us is the sedation. Because of some problems (read: kids dying in the denist chair) Ike's dentist brings in an anesthesiologist from Children's Hospital in Oakland. The insurance doesn't cover it. And that's about a third of the price tag. One third is the crown, the other third is everything else.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

On baby teeth? Ye gods!

The more I see of my friends raising kids, the more I start to realize why my parents just Didn't Do Doctors. :-/

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Yea, on baby teeth. They have to last him another 10 years or so, especially that molar that needs a crown. We've just gotten lucky that Ike has his Grandfathers' (both sides!) rotten teeth!

See response to Ross for breakdown of costs.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow. Poor Ike, and poor Ike's grandfathers too I bet. What a joy, a crown while still a toddler. Too bad there's no way to make the process easier on him, huh?

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Other than the 3 hours of sedation...nope!

Do forgive me, but...

[airporter.livejournal.com]

Given what little I know of your energetic young man and his sweets limitations, how the heck did he get eleven cavities?

And as a second question, have you sought a second doctor's opinion? I've known of a couple of dentists who padded their bills significantly when they found their patients had full coverage dental.

$5400 is, after all, a good used car.

Re: Do forgive me, but...

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Well, what I told the dentist is "I had twins 18 months ago. A year ago, I got slammed with Post Partum depression. I didn't have the energy to fight with him over brushing his teeth. Something had to give, unfortunately, it was his teeth."

The costs actually make sense (see above cost breakdown answer to Ross) and are reasonable for this area of the world. (How's that for scary?)

We don't have full coverage (well, we do, but to quote Allan, dental insurance sucks!) The insurance should cover $2000 (and yes, we are getting a pre-determination), our FSA will cough up another $1500-1600, we will have to come up with another $1500-1600 out of pocket. And that's only because we have Kaiser Health insurance and they won't cover the anestheiologist. If we had a different Health Insurance, we wouldn't have to worry. I'm making an appt for Ike's Dr to see if she can't help get some leverage in getting Kaiser to cover it.

Whee!

Re: Do forgive me, but...

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know about a good used car, but definitley a used car....=)


Besides, he's too young for a car!