Any suggestions for knowing what is a (cash) reasonable fee for things like crowns and root canals?
Call 3 or 4 local dentists and get estimates. Then ask around in your social sphere for recommendations. A lot of people know dentists and/or have family ties to one or two dentists.
I just got a crown replaced last week for $1,750 or so. Our dentist is also a friend and I’m pretty sure I got what was, or close to his best price. I’ve been lucky enough to have dentists as pretty close friends for most of my adult life.
Dental costs are probably slightly less where I live in ID when compared to Atlanta, GA., maybe by 5% to 10% or so.
TYPICAL ATLANTA FEES:
Molar root canal- $950-1200 by a general dentist. Specialists considerably more, like $1500 in Atlanta. It pays to go to a well-rounded GP.
Crowns, gold (the BEST restoration for back teeth)- $1300-1600.
Crowns, milled zirconia- $900-1400.
Crowns, Pressed lithium disilicate- $1000-1400.
Crown for implant- $1200-1400. These require a lot of precision and special parts.
By the way, good ex-military dentists can save teeth from crowns by large cusp-replacement amalgams for $350-400 or so. I have photos of these 25 years. in the mouth. They are very resistant to decay.
To get accurate quotes you MUST be able to quote the right ADA code to any dentist, not just ask, “How much does a crown cost?”
Just posted this article to put the previous posts in perspective. Reference the latest article “Two patients lose money trying to save money.”
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I’m the guy who paid $6500 for an implant.
I just paid $1300 for a crown which apparently isn’t out of line.
Kaneohe Hawaii on the Island of Oahu.
Sorry, Dave Ramsey is not a source of any sort of credibility with his paid endorsements. But at least we agree that dental insurance is a value-subtracting proposition.