By Mike Austreng
Sometimes it pays to shop around.
Let me explain.
About two and a half years ago when we first arrived in Florida we had a lot of things to switch. We had to find a doctor. We had to find a dentist. We lucked out with our doctor, she was just starting at a practice less than two miles from our home – a five or six-minute golf cart ride. And both my wife and I love our new doctor.
The dentist was another story. The first one we both went to see was recommended by someone who went there. There was nothing wrong with the practice except they didn’t accept any insurance plans. Whatever work you needed done was paid out of pocket, so we looked for another that accepted insurance.
The one we found we set up an appointment with. A cleaning and exam. My first hint that this one might not work out was when I arrived for my appointment I was told the hygienist didn’t show up that day, but they would do x-rays and set up another appointment for the cleaning. After waiting and waiting I was called back for the x-rays the person doing them told me we had to do it the old-fashioned way because their scanning machine was out of order. The x-rays were taken and I waited and waited and waited for the doctor to come in. He told me I had one small filling to take care of and we set an appointment. When I showed up for my cleaning I was handed a dental care plan. The total for what was proposed was north of $8,000. After talking to the doctor I was told I needed six crowns. All I could say is I would get another opinion.
I found another new dentist through a neighbor’s recommendation. This one told me I had a cavity to fill, but she wouldn’t fill it because the tooth was loose. She recommended pulling my two front teeth and putting implants in. The cost, about $10,000.
I didn’t tell that dentist I was getting a second, second opinion, but I did. The next dentist went through the exam and told me the best options were either the implants or a bridge. This dentist was in network so the rates were dramatically reduced. I chose the bridge. The two front teeth were pulled and the couple next to what now is an open spot were ground down for the base to the bridge. Cost, $2060. The dentist’s office will fight with the insurance company to get them to pay the costs they are denying, but I’m told the cost should be covered by the insurance company. All I cared about was how much came out of my pocket and when you compare spending $2000 for what was proposed to be $10,000 you can walk away with a smile – which I did – even though it felt weird with all the numbing that had to be done I was smiling on the inside, if not on the outside.
