I have a tooth that has been bad for years. It's been abscessed 3 times now (I have one right now) and I was told I would need a root canal. I found a dentist that works on a sliding scale fee, so I can finally afford to get it fixed. I went yesterday to have them look at it and they gave me two options.
Option 1: They can pull the tooth and put in a partial. It costs $220.
Option 2: They can do the root canal and put a crown on it. It costs $571.
The dentist wants me to choose the root canal because the tooth is in the front. My problem is, I budgeted $500 to fix the tooth. The root canal is little more, but I can pay the extra $71, but then I wouldn't be able to get any other tooth fixed. Right now I'm worried about the two teeth next to the bad one. I won't know if they have a cavity until I go back for x-rays. If they do have cavities, I would like to get them fixed too. I would hate for one of them to do this to me because right now I'm in a lot of pain. Just wondering what you guys would do?
I asked them about paying in installments yesterday and they didn't seem to like that option. They feel that since I'm already getting the treatments at a discounted price (I only pay 15% of the bills) that I should be able to pay all of it. I can ask them again about it and see, but I'm not sure they will allow it.
I should also add that I went there about 4 years ago ( I had insurance then and didn't know about the sliding scale) and they gave me an estimate to fix all the cavities in my mouth. That would cost $240 on the sliding scale fee. So if I go for the partial, I could possibly fix every cavity I have and still be under my budget.
Option 1: They can pull the tooth and put in a partial. It costs $220.
Option 2: They can do the root canal and put a crown on it. It costs $571.
The dentist wants me to choose the root canal because the tooth is in the front. My problem is, I budgeted $500 to fix the tooth. The root canal is little more, but I can pay the extra $71, but then I wouldn't be able to get any other tooth fixed. Right now I'm worried about the two teeth next to the bad one. I won't know if they have a cavity until I go back for x-rays. If they do have cavities, I would like to get them fixed too. I would hate for one of them to do this to me because right now I'm in a lot of pain. Just wondering what you guys would do?
I asked them about paying in installments yesterday and they didn't seem to like that option. They feel that since I'm already getting the treatments at a discounted price (I only pay 15% of the bills) that I should be able to pay all of it. I can ask them again about it and see, but I'm not sure they will allow it.
I should also add that I went there about 4 years ago ( I had insurance then and didn't know about the sliding scale) and they gave me an estimate to fix all the cavities in my mouth. That would cost $240 on the sliding scale fee. So if I go for the partial, I could possibly fix every cavity I have and still be under my budget.