You probably had encountered when you get your cleaning, different dentists charge different fees, or even the same dentist charges different fees. You may even have experiences that you regularly go to your dentist and even become more diligent in maintaining your teeth only to find out upon going back to your regular six-month cleaning, the price is still the same or higher.
Generally, there are a lot of factors why it's different. The reason why we need to see it in person and consider everything about you before we can set a price or price range. Yes, that is why we ask a lot of questions. It's not just to know you better, but to also treat you better. Here are some examples of the same procedure but different cases with different prices.
Oral Prophylaxis or Dental Cleaning
Let's start with the basic and the most common procedure. It took me an entire 4-years in my formal Dental School to study basic information about cleaning and understand all the factors contributing to this, and probably the same amount of time for me to teach you the same knowledge.
But to make it simple to understand and to name a few common examples, it sometimes has to do with your diet, there are certain food or even eating habits that increase the production of the build-up. Genetics, health conditions that may or may not involve your hormones or cardiovascular (heart and blood) overall condition, heck even stress may play a big role. It may also be caused by the alignment of your teeth or your bite. You may also expect that teeth with braces or other appliances make it more difficult for us to clean and at the same time accumulates more build-up than teeth with no braces. You may even need cleaning more than the usual six-month interval or maybe not.
Dental Filling
The bigger the cavity or decay is, the more expensive it is. Not only does the amount of filling used is different, but additional non-reusable instruments are also needed as mould if it involves the side surfaces of the tooth. A deeper cavity may need additional medicine to assist the tooth in healing and most likely an anaesthetic solution to numb your tooth during drilling. Check my blog regarding dental fillings for more information regarding deep decay.
Root Canal Treatment
A root canal treatment is a dental procedure of choice when an individual wants to save or retain the tooth because an infection has reached the core of the tooth where there are nerves and blood vessels that supply nourishment to the tooth. This usually happens when your decay has spread deep within and caused irreversible damage to the structures or causes the active spread of infection. Prices of doing a root canal treatment vary because root canal systems vary in their shape, size, direction or complexity. The more complex a root canal system is, not only do we need more non-reusable instruments, but it also requires more time and effort.
Dental Crowns
The pricing of Dental Crowns will usually depend on what material will be used. And there are so many materials available for use. We funnel these down until we get a smaller number of options that a patient will choose from, because we wouldn't want to confuse you with all the available materials, only to find out after deciding that the particular crown of your choice isn't possible for your case. Materials used will depend on what tooth needs a crown, how your bite is, your allergies, depending on your needs or requirements, budget, etc.
Braces
Have you ever seen teeth perfectly identical to yours? No, right? Did you know that forensics use dental records to identify bite marks or even dead decaying or burnt bodies because of how unique each bite is? This just means that if teeth are different, the price of braces for each person is different. Setting a price will be based on the estimate of how long your treatment will be, your age, the additional appliance or materials that will be needed all throughout the duration of the treatment, techniques in aligning teeth and bite, etc.
Dental Implants
Dental implant prices will usually depend on the type of implant that will be used, the condition of your bone where the implant will be placed, the kind of bite you have, how many missing teeth are involved, etc. These are also the reasons why we usually give a price after a series of diagnostic tests like x-ray or CT scans, blood tests, etc.
In general, It would be unfair for the other person to be charged the same amount if they have been diligently cleaning their teeth and going to their dentist regularly to avoid excessive build-up as compared to people who don't. And we will know because we see.
We do not discriminate against people that have other health conditions that bring the severity of their case. But we have to charge differently and probably higher because there may be a need for a different approach. One simple example would be the anaesthetic solution or the medicine we use to numb a certain area. Most patients with no allergies or limiting health conditions can use a regular solution, while patients with cardiovascular problems need a more specialized solution that costs more. It will be life-threatening if we are not careful about these.
At the end of the day, you will still be informed during the consultation of how much your case is and it is up to your judgement if you will push through with the treatment or not.
It is against our ethics to sacrifice the quality of our work because not only will downgrading not benefit you, but it might also cost you more in the future. We are talking about health and life here. The simple plaque you thought was a little problem may actually increase your risk of heart disease because blood flows through your gums and teeth. And infected gums or teeth plus blood flowing and spreading throughout your body isn't a good combination. Although the body is equipped to fight off infections, there are times that your body may not withstand it depending on different factors, and we don't want that kind of risk.
And like what we always say, regularly going to your dentist will make everything cheaper. If your case is dealt with early on, there is little chance that you will pay for bigger procedures and costs.
Well, that's about some of the examples of dentistry pricing. I try to make explanations as simple as I can. If there is still information that is unclear, feel free to email me at dr.rafaelle@gmail.com or you can set an appointment with us if you have specific questions regarding your personal case. We are located in the heart of Poblacion, Makati.
Photo credits:
Evidence-Based Endodontics
Surry Hills Dental Care
Bakersfield Endodontics
Dentistry Today
MDPI: Restoring Large Defect of Posterior Tooth by Indirect Composite Technique: A Case Report
Hudson Highland Dentistry: Cosmetic Dentistry
Quora
Wretha's Adventures Living Off The Grid: Periogen Review
Aged Care Dentistry
WBCCSTAR
Implant Tribune
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