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Decatur, AL, 35601

Drake & Wallace Dentistry

Affordable Dentures

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I’m caring for a relative who had an accident which left them with severe cognitive issues. I’m noticing their teeth are in horrible shape and they likely need dentures. He doesn’t have any type of dental insurance so we have to do this out of pocket. Are there any ways to get more affordable dentures?

Les W.

Dear Les,

An image of dentures, both top and bottom

When it comes to replacing teeth, dentures are about as inexpensive as it gets. There aren’t really any secrets to making them more affordable. However, that doesn’t mean you are totally without any “tricks”.

First things first, though, whichever dentist you choose will need to have experience treating patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Your relative isn’t the typical patient and it will make their appointment easier to deal with if the dentist has worked with these type of patients before.

Helping Pay for Dentures

Once you’ve found some experienced dentists, here are some things you can look into.

The first thing I’d do is price shop. There may be a dentist or two who has slightly lower fees. There won’t be a tremendous difference in price, but every penny helps. One caveat. If you do run into a dentist who is significantly lower than everyone else, beware. That is usually a bad sign and they are likely trying to draw in new patients all the time with their prices because they can’t retain patients.

Another thing you can do is see about a dental insurance plan. These can significantly cut the cost of treatment. Be careful to check for two types of exclusions, though.

1. Some plans have a waiting period before the discounts take into effect for anything except checkups.
2. Some have an exclusion for teeth missing before the policy, so they wouldn’t cover his dentures if he’s already missing some teeth.

Thirdly, you can ask the dentist if they take payments. Some dentists who advertise as affordable dentists have in-house payment plans. Others will work with a program called Care Credit.

Because of your relative’s unique situation, you may want to look into a dentist who also uses dental sedation. This will be another way of helping ease the appointment for them, especially if there are a lot of extractions which are necessary.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Need a Good & Affordable Dentist

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I signed up for dental insurance. Then, I realized they were going to tell me which dentists I was allowed to go to. That didn’t include the good dentist in my area. I was disappointed. I’m considering getting rid of the insurance, but don’t know how to afford good dental care. Is there something obvious I’m missing?

Laney

Dear Laney,

A woman giving a thumbs up in a dental chair

You don’t have to sacrifice quality for affordable dental care.

These days there are plenty of ways to get affordable dental care without selling yourself to the cheapest bidder. Insurance is helpful, but those who will only allow you to use preferred providers will dictate prices to dentists. Some agree to their pricing and others don’t. That’s why you will often find only a handful of dentists listed for PPOs, etc. That doesn’t work for you because your want a specific dentist they won’t cover. That’s okay. It’s better to choose a good provider and find a way to make that work. Let me give you some alternatives.

Affordable Dental Care with In-House Plans

More and more dentists are countering the dental insurance market in a way which allows them to provide quality care at a discount to patients by starting their own in-house dental plan. Drs. Drake and Wallace are among them. For a yearly fee, you can get some free services and some highly discounted services. I’d start with asking your preferred dentist whether they have anything like that. It may be just the solution you need.

Affordable Dental Care with Treatment Options

Ethically, dentists are supposed to give you all your options for treatment. However, some of them tend to do it in a way which makes it sound like there’s only one real answer if you care about your teeth. That’s just not true. When you have a family to care for, there are other considerations besides the “top-of-the-line”. Sure, we’d all love to drive a luxury car, but not at the cost of bankrupting our families. Sometimes, a well-kept mini-van makes more sense.

The same is true for dental care. Let’s say you need to replace a tooth. Your dentist is pushing you toward a dental implant. But, the tooth next to it is in need of a root canal and dental crown. In that case, it would be more sense financially to get a dental bridge which could knock out both problems in one fell swoop. Yes, dental implants are better than bridges. But, a dental bridge will serve you very well.

Affordable Dental Care with Payment Plans

Let’s face it, some procedures are just plain expensive. Seriously expensive. When you need that care given to your teeth right away it isn’t fair to demand the entire payment up front. It puts patients at risk of their situation getting worse while they save up.

Instead, for the procedures that are more of a financial burden for families, Drs. Drake and Wallace allow their patients to pay out the procedure over time. This ensures they’ll get the care they need right away.

This blog is brought to you by Drs. Drake & Wallace.