Clark's Big Book of Bargains by Clark Howard Read Free Book Online Page A

art involved. There’s a range of opinions as to what the right treatment is for a particular patient. If a dentist recommends a root canal and people trust the dentist or orthodontist they go to, they say okay. But that’s not what you should do. If a dentist recommends a serious treatment for you, it is so important for you to get a second, even a third opinion. I don’t care if the dentist is a family friend or the dentist your family has been going to for three generations. Go get a second opinion before major work is done.
    We’ve had calls from people who have root canals done who were told later that they weren’t necessary. One fellow I spoke with went to a dentist to have a gap in his teeth closed, and wound up having more than $10,000 in unnecessary dental work done. The dentist convinced him that it would be better to wear a bridge than to wear braces to correct the problem. The doctor pulled several teeth that he had not told his patient were going to be pulled, and the bridge ended up being a poor fit—it was very uncomfortable and loose. So the dentist then removed that bridge and replaced it with another one, which didn’t work either. Finally, the fellow had to go to another dentist to have the bridge removed and have another one put in. The second dentist told him that braces would have been fine for him, and that he should not have gone through this as a twenty-one-year-old.
    I had a caller once who was one of the most thorough consumers I’ve ever spoken with. She took her child to five different orthodontists, and their unanimous opinion was that the child needed braces. The range of prices she was quoted was huge, and she couldn’t figure out which orthodontist was the right one to use. She was worried that the lowest-priced orthodontist was going to cut corners and do inferior work, so she was thinking of choosing the mid-priced orthodontist. I told her to get a written description from each orthodontist of what they were going to do, and if the descriptions seemed equivalent, choose the lowest-priced provider. I never heard back from her, but it surprised me that such a thorough consumer would be willing to pay more without a good reason.
    If you live in a large city, you should expect to pay $5,000 to $7,000 for your child’s braces, less in a smaller city. The more complicated the treatment, the more expensive it’s likely to be. Braces for an adult could cost more or less. If an adult just wants to uncrowd some lower teeth, it could run $1,000 or less for a simple retainer. But if the work is extensive, an adult could pay 50 percent more than a child. Since an adult’s jaw is no longer growing, moving teeth takes more time and adds cost. An adult might need to wear braces for three years for the same treatment that could be done on a child in two. Adults also tend to prefer invisible orthodontia, which is more exotic and more expensive—perhaps 50 percent more than the regular kind.
    It’s a good idea to see what, if anything, your insurance may cover. Some policies may pay no more than $1,500 for braces. Others may not pay for braces for anyone over age twenty-one.
    Cosmetic dentistry is big business today as well, particularly teeth whitening. But you don’t need expensive dental treatments to whiten your teeth. We tried an over-the-counter product, Crest Whitestrips, and they worked great. They cost about $34 for a series of treatments. You place this clear film over your teeth and it does a good job of whitening as long as you stick with it. Only one of our staffers, a heavy smoker, got no results. The Whitestrips couldn’t overcome the yellowing effect of heavy smoking. But for most people, the only reason they’d need to go to the dentist for teeth whitening is if they don’t have the discipline to follow the at-home regimen.
    If you’re using the Crest Whitestrips, it’s good to have your teeth cleaned first by a dentist, so you don’t end up bleaching the plaque on your