Why do different dental offices charge different prices?
A lot of different offices have very different prices for even the same services. We do get calls from people price shopping, which is normal. It's our nature. It's very understandable. You just have to realize that the price for the services each office determines is based on a lot of factors.
First, it's our time. It's our skills. It's our investment. It's a business. A dental office, even though we try to take care of you, also has to make some profit. We have to make sure we can pay our staff. Every time we look at a procedure, we try to understand how much time it's going to take for us to complete it and get the best results. We don't want to rush anything. We don't want to redo the same thing in a year or two. I also have to respect the people who work in my office. If you come in here for a cleaning, I have to make sure that the hygienist who spends time with you actually has that time to spend with you, and she has that hour to shine and show you her skills. All my staff is very, very knowledgeable and trained, so they are paid very well, and they have to be appreciated and respected by me and by our patients as well. Another thing is my time as a doctor. I want to make sure that I provide the best care. If I rush and do something very fast, I'm probably going to have to repeat it, and I'm probably going to have to charge you again.
How do technology, materials, and education affect dental prices?
I also heavily invest in new technology. My handpieces are all electric and brand new, so when they cut your tooth, they cut it very smoothly, which you don't even know, but it does make a big difference. It actually traumatizes your tooth a little bit less, so you have a higher success rate and less sensitivity afterward.
My materials are very top-notch. I actually go through my materials every year and see if I can improve. Being a holistic dentist, it's very important for me that I keep up with the best studies and make sure that I use the best materials, and as we all know, you always get what you pay for. I buy the highest quality materials and the ones that I can stand by.
I also invest a lot of time and money into my education. I didn't just graduate from medical school and never go back to school. I constantly go to continuing education classes, which are also expensive, so I want to make sure that if you want to get the best results from a dental procedure, you want to make sure that your dentist uses the highest quality materials, the best technology, and the best lab.
Why does the lab and source of dental crowns and materials matter?
A lot of the dental crowns that we send out go to my local lab. They actually use biocompatible materials. It's all made right here in Michigan, in the United States. You don't even know it, but a lot of dentists send out their crowns to a different country, so they're made somewhere else, and there is no quality control over those materials. They all might look the same to you, but they're actually very different, and they're different in quality and composition. You definitely want to know what's going to stay in your mouth for many years, hopefully for the rest of your life, so you want to invest in very high-quality materials, high-quality filling materials.
We all know plastic is bad for us, but no one ever thinks that a lot of those filling materials are full of plastic, so you go to a dentist, they might do a great job, you might save a few dollars, but then it's the plastic going in your mouth while you try to stay healthy, so it just works against you. What I use in my office is something that I use on my family. If I feel confident that it's safe and healthy enough for my kids, that's what I'm going to use for you as well.
Why do skill and experience matter even for simple procedures like fillings?
I believe that dentists who invest in their knowledge and in their skills deserve to be paid more. We can do the same procedure with very different attitudes and a very different outcome.
It might seem that fillings are all so simple. Many people go to dental schools in different countries to receive treatment. You don't know the experience of those people. You don't know the knowledge they have. They might just do mechanical work. They drill the tooth, they fill it, and then they let you go, but there's actually a lot of science that goes into it. You have to make sure you drill a tooth a specific way. You've got to make sure you prepare and condition the tooth a specific way, and you use the material a certain way.
There are so many little nuances that a lot of people don't understand, but dentists who invest in themselves and invest in their education will be able to explain the difference, and they will definitely charge you more because it's actually going to take them more time to do it.
Why can dental implants vary so much in price?
Personally, I do not place dental implants, but I do have a lot of patients that I refer to some of the specialists I work with. A common question people ask is how come it's so expensive, and how come certain dentists place them cheaper. It honestly, again, comes down to quality. A lot of dental implants are actually an alloy of a lot of different materials, different metals, and they don't tell you that. They just say titanium, but actually, not a lot of them are pure titanium.
Now, I see more and more failures in implants, which is why, when I send someone for an implant, there are specific people I send them to because I know they use quality materials. I know the brands they use are respected and not going away. They're not some of those brands that pop up and then fail within a few months, and you never hear of them again. In the future, if you have any issues with your implants, you want to make sure that it's a common brand and that we can find tools to help you.
I do have some patients who place their implants in a different country, and if they have issues here, we can't even help them. We don't have the tools. We don't have the ability to even work on them, so please invest in high-quality implants. They're expensive already, so if you save just a little bit of money here, it actually might end up costing you more in the end.
Do you offer an affordable option for patients without dental insurance?
Our prices might be a little bit higher for different types of cleanings in our office, but let me assure you, my hygienists are amazing. They are so experienced. They invest in themselves. They're the best. If you do not have dental insurance, GloWell Dental actually has an in-house payment plan, which is extremely cheap, and it is the way it is on purpose. It is actually just $250 a year to cover your two basic cleanings, two exams, and then you're going to get 20% off any services we do, and I keep it very low because I want to make sure that people don't get scared by prices and don't put off their dental care.
I was there once myself. Dental prices are sometimes overwhelming, and we don't have a lot of money saved up just for that, so it always comes as a surprise. I just want to be here for people who want to get healthy but are not sure where to start. You can just come in. We'll do your exam. We'll do your cleaning. We'll do your dental X-rays, and we'll work with you on different payment plans, but at least you'll know where you are, and it's very important. I strongly believe that if you at least come in here and you at least know what's happening in your mouth, you're already going to feel empowered. You're going to have that knowledge because right now, you might be just curious. You might be wondering, am I healthy, and you don't know, and I'll know, and I'll tell you, which is why I keep it very low. My in-house membership plan is very, very cheap, and it's on purpose.
What should you look for when comparing dental prices between offices?
When you compare dental prices between different offices, just do a little bit more research. Go on the website. Go see who the doctor is. Is there the same doctor every day or even every week? A lot of places have a revolving door of doctors. I'm not going to lie. I worked at places like that, and I'm not saying those doctors are bad. There is just no accountability. You might come in. We do a procedure. We're all humans. We all make mistakes, and then if you want to follow up, there might not even be a person who's going to feel accountable for the mistake and take care of you. That's number one. You've got to make sure you know who will be treating you.
Just look at the office. Look at what they offer. Is it everything you want? Do you want everything under one roof, or would you feel more comfortable going to a different specialist? Look at the location. If you have to come see your dentist very often, you want to make sure it's convenient, and look at the technology. Look at what we can offer or what they can offer. If the office doesn't have this modern technology, there's a lot of information that's missing. When we treatment plan something for you, we want to make sure we know our end goal, and a lot of this new technology actually helps us diagnose you better and design the best outcome for you.
Why are second opinions important when considering dental costs?
Second opinions are important, especially if you're looking for the best price because you want to know what you're actually paying for. Let's say you see one dentist, and they tell you what you need, and they give you the price. You think it might be just price shopping, but you're actually shopping for opinion and expertise. There is a joke that if you ask 10 different dentists the same question, you're going to get 10 different answers. Someone's answer might just align better with you.
I love second opinions. I'm not offended if my patients go and seek a second opinion, but you just want to make sure you trust that one dentist that you find. You don't want to shop around for every procedure. Find someone that you connect with, someone that understands your goals, and someone that aligns with your beliefs.
What goes into the cost of a dental procedure?
Understanding dental costs might be very difficult for a patient. It's very hard to justify some of our prices, so I want to give you a little bit of a deeper look into our prices. When we charge you for a procedure, we charge you for A, the technology we use, B, the materials we use, C, our time. There might be a D, which is lab work, right? We also charge you for our experience. You might come in, and it only takes me 20-25 minutes to do something, and that doesn't show you the value of that procedure, because what you don't see is the years behind that experience. It takes us years. It takes us a lot of education to get somewhere where we're comfortable treating you.
Understanding your dental care options is an important part of protecting your oral health. Contact us at (586) 203-3057 or email [email protected] with any questions.