Halp!!1 I'm going for root canal this coming week!!1 Really, HELP!!1

[UTUSN]

What should I do, how much does it cost (no insurance) ----------- WHAT!!!1

[mwooldri]

1. If you have no insurance, dentist-shopping may be the way to go

I have dental insurance that pays 80% of a root canal and I still ended up $450 out of pocket. And I haven't got the money together to pay for the crown which the dentist reckons my cost is another $500-600. So without insurance the root canal I guess would run at about $2k and restoration costing another $1k.

One thought and I know it applied to me when I went to university but it was the UK and not US: the university I went to had a school of dentistry and if you needed dental treatment you could just show up and you'd be treated on by the students but the dental treatment itself was free. Maybe there's a nearby university with a school of dentistry that might offer lower cost dental treatment?

Just a thought.

Mark.

[nadine_mn]

2. oh shit...listen up

Where is the tooth? If its a back tooth and you need a root canal and you don't have insurance - go to an ER and have it pulled.

I have soft teeth and every frickin tooth has been worked on at least 3 times - I have had half a dozen root canals and I am going for the next one this week. Here is the thing they don't tell you - because they remove the root of the tooth, your tooth dies and becomes very brittle. You need to get a crown - and those are super expensive ($500-$700). When I was in law school I was uninsured, I asked if I needed a crown, they said no - well in about a year the tooth broke and fell out of my mouth. Like a bad dream

The ER will pull your tooth. Root canals are pretty simple and painless and not too pricey, its the crowns that kill ya