So you got a mailer coupon with the offer of $49.95 for a
regular cleaning & $19.95 for an exam & x-ray. Is it a cheap gimmick? A lot of the time it is, it just depends on
the practice. If it’s a mature practice you might want to
question why they are giving away services.
Is it a loss leader used to get you in and pressure you into other
dental procedures?
On the other hand, if
it’s a new practice, then providing discounted services is one of the few
methods a new practice has to introduce itself to the surrounding community, no
different than a new restaurant trying to showcase its menu. The genuine intent is to build a relationship
by showcasing the practice.
Dental costs will vary widely, depending on
where you go and the quality of the practice you see. With respect to
continuing care (on your next 6 month visit), a teeth cleaning charge is going
to range somewhere around $65 to $89.[1]
Often dental insurance will cover some or all of this cost for a
specific number of cleanings per year. The
doctor’s exam is $45 to $55 and the 4 basic bite wing x-rays are around $59 to
$72. Depending on your insurance this
might be covered anywhere from 60 to 100% after a small deductible is met. Periodic X-rays ($32 -$135) are needed to
see if any problems are developing inside the teeth or around the jaw bone, and
are generally required before cleaning the teeth of a new patient (which is why
some practices offer coupons to defray the initial cost of a first visit).
These are also often covered by dental insurance.
The main goal of professional teeth cleaning is to prevent
gum disease, which is the primary cause of tooth loss. Dental
hygiene is imperative, and cleaning your teeth is
the first step toward their long term preservation. In a standard cleaning, a dental
hygienist (working under a dentist's supervision) removes soft plaque and hard
tartar (mineralized plaque that builds up on the teeth and can only be removed
with professional instruments) from above and below the gum line on all the
teeth. The process requires one office visit and usually takes about 30 to 60
minutes.
The more extensive deep cleaning process called scaling and
root planing is done by quadrants (upper right, upper left, lower right, lower
left) at a cost of about $100 -$400 per quadrant depending on the
severity of the problem or $400 -$1,600 for the entire mouth. This
is where you run into problems with couponing dentists. But more often than not, if the mouth is in
such poor health the dentist will refer the patient to a periodontist. Most dental insurance includes these
procedures.
Again, your goal is a healthy mouth which an integral part
of your overall health. Oh, and by the
way, just because you had your teeth cleaned professionally, the jobs not
done. You have to do your part by brushing
and flossing daily if you want to keep them. If you have additional questions, feel free to email or call our office. Our goal here is to create an informed healthy
patient.
Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328
404-256-3620
www.rightsmilecenter.com
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[1]
However, depending on how long it’s been since you have been to the dentist and
what extent your oral healthcare has been neglected, it can be more if there’s
a need to do a full mouth root scaling.
