I'm having a TEMPER TANTRUM. $3000 for a dental implant.

Holy CRAP! What in HELL do they think this thing is made of?????

I have to FINALLY get two molars replaced. They're baby teeth, I've had that for 40 some odd years and they have finally gone beyond repair.

So my (he must be republican?) dentist charges $3000 PER TOOTH for an implant, and a mere $1500 per tooth for a bridge.

Of course my insurance, Concordia, doesn't cover anything on either those. But hey, they'll pay for a DENTURE like my grandma used to wear!!!!!!

Anyone know a better, cheaper dentist in/near los angeles? Hell, I'll take anywhere in california or mexico...

http://tinyurl.com/3f6f6

on a slight tangent.

...and have to get the same thing done: Extraction, then replacement (implant or bridge).

At the moment, I've been going through the UCLA Dental School -- prices are a little bit lower, but not a helluva lot (you can call and ask). Also, you don't exactly get appointments right away.

USC Dental school might be another good bet.

But I'd be just as interested in any tips you get...

When my dad was in the service, (and poor) my mom had an upper plate made there, and it has lasted for thirty years.

$18,000 worth. After 6 months, things starting going bad...bridges falling out etc. She's suing them. She's now gone to a *regular* dentist who is charging her $47,000 to undo the damage and to re-do the whole thing.

Caveat emptor.

good things, I'm afraid.

for something that will benefit you for many, many years if not for the rest of your life.

The problem is the health insurance, not the dental profession IMHO.

I might be able to help you. E-mail me directly.

OurJinx@aol.com

You might check Loma Linda Dental School too.

I live near Loma Linda, and considered the school for my own dental work. Then I decided I did not want a student learning to be a dentist in my mouth. I do use a graduate of that school as my dentist, tho.

They kept having her come in for "deep cleaning" and scaling.. well..a year into the "treatmanet" plan and the gum around her lower middle teeth (the ones right in front)...is GONE.. It's damaged beyond repair, and she will lose those teeth.. She has no insurance, and now is facing two lost teeth..where it shows..

They kept telling her that without the cleaning and scaling, they would not do the other work she needed..:(

In general it has been done as well or better than much of the work that I have had done by outside dentists. (A lot in both cases.) In fact, listening to the students talking with staff I have learned just how many shortcuts or missteps had been taken by outside "professionals" on my teeth. (One fool missed a section when doing a root canal, and I almost lost the tooth as a result.) While going to LL can be time consuming, never have I had work "shortcut" to make a dollar.

All work is approved and checked (in small steps) by experienced dentists (many staff volunteers who work in SoCal.) If a procedure is real tricky, you are referred to grad students (who typically have worked as dentists before grad school) --- this costs a little more. It is also not unusual for another student (grad) or staff member to step in and help out if the student gets bogged done or the work gets tough (like most of my dental work at this point).

I have had a tricky root canal take like 3 hours by a grad student (who had other grad students kibitzing and staff looking in to check). It is unlikely that this kind of care would have been taken on the outside, and certainly not for the price I paid.

And yes, the quality of the students varies. I have had some who were very good and some less so. However only one repair has ever failed and that was my fault for not wearing a mouth guard. (There is also one grad student who I would never let touch my teeth again, as he is a sadistic bastard. But I have has similar experiences elsewhere too.)

The procedure for non-emergency care is cumbersome and time consuming and the you have to be prepared to say "no", particularly to some of the teeth cleaning procedures.

As for damage done by "gum treatment", I have heard similar stories about outside care many times. When someone starts talking about scaling or crap like that, it is time to put your foot down and say "No, no, never, nah". When they wanted to do something like that (in a small way) to me, I made a fuss, more staff were consulted and an alternative was found.

Yea, maybe sometimes the students like to use you for a procedure that they need to do, but "no" has always worked for me. You can also ask for and get different opinions from staff.

But given the choice between going into a "dental mill" where time is money and letting students play around a little, I choose the latter, even at the risk of the occasional sermon.

Loma Linda is not a perfect solution, but at least they generally try to do the right thing, and that has not been my uniform experience elsewhere. (I had an outside dentist, after giving me a huge filling, tell me that it should have been a crown, but that she made more money on a filling, because of my then dental plan. The filling cracked the same day and it took several days of agony before she found time to replace it.)

Going to an unknown dentist is a crapshoot, and knowing or learning your alternatives is a good idea. I would not rule out LL as one of those alternatives ... if you have the time to spend. Their prices have been going up and while you should be able to save some money there, how much it would be, I do not know.

Certainly I can recommend LL for emergency care, although you may sit for some time, they (at least) used to do extractions or pulpectomies very inexpensively.

that Concordia is the WORST of the worst.

I wanted to have all my teeth implanted(I hear alot of movie stars have done this)I figured,hey this way I won't have to worry about tooth aches,or any other exspenses other than basic routine cleaning.SOunds great,huh? Well, the cheapest I could find was $70,000.My heart goes out to you!

...you could fly to Brazil, treat your teeth here, stay at a fairly good (althouhg not luxurious) hotel, get back and SPEND LESS!

Not only that, but you get to buy nice clothes reeel cheeep too.

I've heard great things about dental work from thailand!

lol

The chance to meet the one & only JCCyC IN PERSON! :hi:

Besides, you save on the hotel. Mi casa es su casa.

away what with the multiple visits, but whereabouts are you? And I WILL add you to my pending itinerary list!!!!!

So I can't tell how much time you'd need to stay.

I'll PM you the e-mail of a friend of mine whose father is a dentist and treated a wisdom teeth of mine that grew hideously wrong, and did a superb job. He may be able to inform you better about this.

just go to Brasil and hang out with JCCyC :)

I've had teeth done with gold fillings in canada for less than
the standard treatment cost in USA... geez, where would medical
treatment be without being able to cross the border to civilized
countries.

/scared!

like I said, these are baby molars that are now 40+ years old... and every dentist I've ever been says that I could brush 10 times a day and I'd still get cavities. I floss every day, and my teeth LOOK great, but the molars just plain SUCK.

**sniff**

Same deal here. Just had one of those old silver filled to the max molars crowned yesterday because it split in half and wowwwwww ... they charged me $65.00 for the nitrous and damn them if they did not have it turned up ALL THE WAY!!!!

If I need to have another one "fixed" I think I'll opt to have the sucker pulled instead (a whole lot cheaper) being I find I don't even chew on these old molars anymore being they are so fragile.

check your inbox

At least I *think* that was the name. The dentist I had was Dr. Newmark. Excellent guy and I think they do payment plans.

several dentists in the office to choose from and they have nitrous.

And no, I don't work for them.

309