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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / September 2005Mini Implant Denture Quest Update
So, had another consult. Want, need extractions ( all remaining ), dentures, mini implant retained. Expense an issue. This time, tried "in network " oral surgeon . MetLife insurance. Nearby: Yorktown Heights, Ny. Had tried to ascertain that the dentist was familiar with and capable of dealing with mini implants. At consult got: " I won't put'em in ; you'd be throwing your money away. " Also, the costs seemed way out of whack with what I've found to be average so far. Says the $2000.00 max that insurance will pay will only cover the extractions - about 14 teeth. Sends assistant across hall to ask what dentist ( prostodontist ? ) would charge for immediate dentures . Can't remember exactly but something like $1,850.00 each . I've gotten the impression that $3oo.00 will get low end " choppers ", $600.00 begins to get you reasonable dentures. All this ,remember, is " in network " insurance type prices. I ask, "... and these are just the 'immediate ' dentures; they'll have to be replaced ? " " Uhhh... well, he might be able to modify the ' immediates ' to be permanant . " Can't remember exact price of implants ( 3i, not mini ) I think : $1,650.00 each , minimum 2 on bottom, recommend 4, none on top . What am I missing here ? Voicelit ( marty ) Hey Marty! You need an honest, dependable, somewhat skilled general dentist who has the time and would appreciate your business! You are barking up the wrong tree so far. STEP ONE: You have insurance. What is their maximum payment for a single denture? A single extraction? Where are you coming up with these free-ended estimates? They have AGREED to the fee shcedule. Joel > So, had another consult. Want, need extractions ( all remaining ), >dentures, mini implant retained. Expense an issue. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >Voicelit ( marty ) Joel, Actually can't remember the insurance company's explanation for not just giving me a fee schedule. Lot of hemming and hawing and " well, that depends... " . But they did say that the "in network " dentists agree to some fee . I think during the initial phone call to MetLife, I decided to let the specifics of the fees slide till after a first foray or two. Maybe, things would work out. So far they haven't. This was my first visit to a dentist in their network. He just laughed off the insurance issue; said it might cover the extractions. The patient / consumer in these situations is really just a joke to everyone else involved: the dentists, surgeon, insurance company. At this low economic end , so far, the doctors come across as car salesmen, carny barkers, diet guru types. I asked this guy what he thought my initial problems with dentures would be: " None. Not the way I do it ". That's just an insulting , silly statement.. Am I right that a " decent " set of dentures can cost about five to six hundred dollars? Just the dentures themselves. Are the stupid looking at that price? And what is the price structure / deal / thing with " immediate " then the " real " dentures ? So, in fact, an upper denture costs something times two, as does the lower . Marty ( voicelit ) >Joel, > > Actually can't remember the insurance company's explanation for not >just giving me a fee schedule. Lot of hemming and hawing and " well, >that depends... " . There ya go ..... If I am paying for something, I get kind of fierce about finding out what it is I am paying for. If others want the information, I will publish it. As example, three different entities tried to sell us a duplication of telephone services based upon nonsense. 1. Bell Atlantic Central Office services ....... Custo-Pak Mini Centrix features ...... per month charges that I already have using ATT&T intelligent phones. 2. An independent telephone company's attempt and pitch for circuitry hooking up all of our phones....... outright purchase. 3. Features on our AT&T phone system (purchase, no monthly charges). Basically, companies, large and small rely on the ignorance of the consumer. Once you try to nail them down, you notice the information gets increasingly vague! Joel > But they did say that the "in network " dentists >agree to some fee . I think during the initial phone call to MetLife, I recommend for people on a budget to nail down the costs FIRST. If you e-mail me or tell me the phone number I will surely check it out for you. By the way that is very outrageous! >I >decided to let the specifics of the fees slide till after a first foray >or two. Maybe, things would work out. So far they haven't. This was my >first visit to a dentist in their network. He just laughed off the >insurance issue; said it might cover the extractions. There ya go. Here is how we do it. We log on and enter a name and a social security number, hit a couple of buttons and then log out. In a ferw minutes, out comes a fax with the information! In my case, an electronic fax. > The patient / consumer in these situations is really just a joke to >everyone else involved: the dentists, surgeon, insurance company. At >this low economic end , so far, the doctors come across as car >salesmen, carny barkers, diet guru types. Yup. > I asked this guy what he >thought my initial problems with dentures would be: " None. Not the way >I do it ". That's just an insulting , silly statement.. Absolutely! Its an insult to thousands of people who cannot wear dentures! > Am I right that a " decent " set of dentures can cost about five to >six hundred dollars? Yes, although today there is plenty of upselling to the crowd. >Just the dentures themselves. Are the stupid >looking at that price? And what is the price structure / deal / thing >with " immediate " then the " real " dentures ? So, in fact, an upper >denture costs something times two, as does the lower . Many insurance companies lock in dentists at less than the optimal fee. This is done for a reason. The dentist CHOOSES to particapate or CHOOSES not to participate. That is it. The rest is capitalistic free-market manipulation. Joel >Marty ( voicelit ) > Am I right that a " decent " set of dentures can cost about five to > six hundred dollars? Just the dentures themselves. A good dental lab will charge almost that much to do just the lab work on a full set of upper and lower dentures. How much effort do you think any dentist will put into making you a set of dentures when they stand to earn about $15/hour? At that price, you will get cheap teeth, cheap acrylic, made in some distant lab (often outside the country), and the dental office is going to take very fast impressions and fittings, then charge you for every adjustment down the line until you get tired of paying and give up. On the other hand Joel seems to like to quote fees from 1967, so he may try to convince you that $600 is too much to pay.  Signature/ Amatus / > Joel, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Marty ( voicelit ) Clarifying about terminoloy. I like to say the fee for your upper denture is X and the fee for your lower denture is X. Combined its 2X. Dentures is used interchangeably by many people as singular or plural. It kind or replaces "teeth." DEF. Denture. A dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth Denture is singular! Synonym is "plate." Joel SignatureJoel344 Marty here ( voicelit )... So, upper denture costs X, lower denture costs X, total cost : 2 X . But , then, isn't the cost really ; 2 X plus 2 X ? The first SET being the " immediate " dentures , the 2nd set : the " actual " ? Thanks, Amatus , there is the ring of horrific truth to what you are saying. It's seeming that a Dental School is my only hope here to avoid a set of humiliating " choppers ". Or a study. Will have to start a post as to how one tracks down the clinical trials, studies , etc going on. Marty Half the time I will simply reline, rebuild, or rebase the denture while the patient stays home for a couple of days. This way there is no transition from the temporary denture ("I loved the temporary, Doc") to the permanent ("Why didn't you make them like the other ones?") I used to perform that for around $70 per denture, a few years ago. I figured the patient already paid me enough for the original work. Joel > Marty here ( voicelit )... So, upper denture costs X, lower denture >costs X, total cost : 2 X . But , then, isn't the cost really ; 2 X [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Marty > It's seeming that a Dental School is my only hope here to >avoid a set of humiliating " choppers ". Or a study. Will have to start >a post as to how one tracks down the clinical trials, studies , etc >going on. Penn Dental charges almost as much (for students' work) as many dentists charge! >> It's seeming that a Dental School is my only hope here to >>avoid a set of humiliating " choppers ". Or a study. Will have to start [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Penn Dental charges almost as much (for students' work) as many >dentists charge! We always knew that Pennsylvania was backward. -- W_B Take out the G'RBAGE wubbabubbazG@RBAGEyahoo.com >>> It's seeming that a Dental School is my only hope here to >>>avoid a set of humiliating " choppers ". Or a study. Will have to start [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> >We always knew that Pennsylvania was backward. Actually, charging outrageous fees is quite advanced. Charging too little is old-fashioned! |
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