By: Dr David Stall

Dr David Stall — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:56:24 +0000

I must take issue with your 5 tips to save on dental costs. Let’s take them one at a time. #1- dental insurance is not at all like medical insurance, but is really only a supplement to help pay a small portion of the costs of dental care. Most plans allow no more than $1000/year per person. This allowance has not changed in over 40 years! Most employers are heavily cutting back on these plans and the coverage is terrible. #2- Dental Tourism is a nightmare and for you to recommend it to anyone is beyond belief. Many people who have gone overseas or to Mexico for treatment have certainly saved money up front only to find the work was worse than substandard and had to be redone at a high cost and with many complications. This has been documented many times. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR is very true. #3- Free dental care-only thing you said I can come close to agreeing with. Few and far between and hard to find. #4- Sleep dentistry is a godsend for phobics and people who cannot take the time for multiple visits. BUT you cannot state that there is no pain. If something would hurt without sedation, it will hurt with sedation after the procedure. During sedation, pain is eliminated as it would be without sedation by using local anesthetics. Saving money with sedation is usually not true because the person being sedated has waited so long to seek dental care that the procedures required are more complex and time consuming thus increasing costs. #5- Discount dental plans are again a GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR type of situation. Most if not all of the best dentists avoid these plans because they do not cover the actual operating costs to provide the treatment. What kind of care do you really expect to get at cut rate prices?

Comments on: 5 Tips to save on Dental Costs

By: Dr David Stall