This may sound ignorant, but why do we have separate insurance for our mouths and eyes? Aren’t they apart of the body? Why is it not just general medical insurance?

"People are unaware how to access the access." This is why young people hate this entire system. Why is it this hard? Why do taxes have to be so hard? Why is this entire system a giant clusterfuck that we have to go completely out of our way to receive even basic human care. I take care of myself but it is not easy with all these procedural oddities.

I love how everyone at work tells me how good our dental is and I still have to pay $5-$600 per visit after the insurance ‘pays’. And then the insurance can change their mind and not pay anything. American healthcare is completely broken, and if you say it’s not it means you haven’t been bankrupted yet

I gave up on dental/eye insurance plans a long time ago. They are only worth it if your employer pays most of the premiums and they offer you a really good plan otherwise it's worthless. I'm self employed now and when I tried to get my own dental plan it was crazy how it cost $60 a month for something that only covered maximum $1000-$2000 a year and then it won't cover anything until the next year. And it had waiting periods for some things and then deductibles for every procedure. I cancelled my plan and started putting $120 into a stock fund every month and when I needed a dental checkup or procedure I pulled from it. The fund has been going on for 8 years now and it has $12,000 in it. In 10-15 more years the dividends will be paying for my dental checkups and it will become part of my retirement plan. These companies are screwing most of you.

I have my teeth cleaned every three months. But for the most part it seems that in the United States the medical system is about disease management and profits rather than keeping their patients healthy and to minimize diseases.

So in the UK, dentists have price lists available. In Holland, they do it too (and have government pricing caps). Why don't American dentists just publish their pricing?!

Because its the US. where heath care companies treat you as customers, not patients

Many of the skyscrapers in big US cities are built by insurance companies with your premiums that were never returned.

One sentence basically summarized why not only dental insurance but the entire medical system is so messed up: insurance company can still be profitable.

As a truck driver, I have seen a LOT of bad teeth. Important fact: lack of good oral health causes major illness; heart disease, for one. You don't need to believe me - look it up.

I need dental care more than I need basic healthcare. Every dental insurance plan I've ever had has been a waste because it still doesn't make even basic dental care affordable. Call me a sucker for continuing to buy dental insurance. Wishful thinking, I guess. 🙄🤦‍♂️

Summary: insurance system in US is very greedy, all for profit, old, slow, and needs an overhaul. - personally coming out of dental school with 400k debt I’d be extremely tempted to charge as much as i can. *Cost of dental school rose by ave 200k since 1996

Well anything health-related really is expensive in the US. Ambulances, prescription glasses, insurance, surgery, childbirth (like omg I heard you guys even pay to hold your baby!)

The idea that any form of healthcare, treatment, etc isn't required is pretty messed up. Health insurance companies are spreading dehumanizing rhetoric.

We opted to give up dental insurance so our boss could buy a yacht. 😒

"That treatment room cost $100k to setup" I didn't ask for and don't need a tv over my head with Disney+ subscription while getting my teeth cleanse

No- the problem is having the money for the preventative care to begin with when people are struggling with paying rent or putting food on the table, paying to heat the home in the winter or putting gas in the car so they can go to work. Paying high prescriptions or fixing the car engine so they can go to work. The money is not available for preventative care.

Free dental and universal healthcare needed

I’ve started taking better care of my teeth this past year. Make sure you floss, brush your teeth & use mouth wash.

You *shouldn't* need dental insurance. It *should* be covered under Medicare for All. But "should be" and "actually is" are two different things. The insurance lobby and pharmaceutical companies have an iron grip on our government and they aren't going to let go unless we sever their hands. The good news is that more and more people have begun sharpening their shears...

I couldn’t afford dental work for over a decade. I am now in the middle of the process in completing my root canal and I am so glad I have dental insurance now. While it’s still hundreds of dollars, it will help even someone like me even though I am still considered low income.

Is sad to be living in a country like ours and working full time yet have difficulty paying for dental care. Our system of care should be ashamed of itself.

I have supposedly great dental insurance and I was quoted about $4600 to save a tooth. Just 1 tooth. Think about that, it is absolutely RIDICULOUS.

Trust with dentists can be hard to come by. The last time I went to one I took xrays and got a cleaning and the dentist came up with a $9k laundry list of fixes that I needed when I only wanted a filling replaced. I consulted with a friend in Brazil whos sister is a dentist. Prior to the pandemic Brazil had the #3 dental standard in the world after the USA and china. After forwarding xtrays and images of my mouth to the Brazilian dentist she said I had been severely overprescribed and I maybe needed 1/3 of the work I was told. The cost of flying to Brazil to do the dental work out of pocket would be less than the cost of getting it done in the USA with many insurance plans.

another episode of "be thankful for not living in the united states"

There's a reason why health / medical tourism is a thing.

40 bucks for a deep cleaning in Thailand. No insurance and top of the line equipment

It seems to me the only difference between cheap dental insurance and expensive dental insurance is the quality of the dentists you can go to.

My main problem with dentists is finding one who doesn’t find cavities where no cavities exist.

Dental schools offer services at greatly reduced prices and the work is done by dental students who are graduating that year and are supervised by dentists. It can literally save you thousands of dollars.

Wow, it’s so nice that we have the freedom to pay more for basic healthcare needs.

America: Where “freedom” is more important than basic health care needs.

I had two fillings done yesterday and I paid $293 out of pocket. I have dental insurance.

My biggest annoyance with dentists is that when I call and tell them which insurance I have they always tell me they either dont accept my insurance at all or can get me in in a few months. If I offer to pay cash I'm always told they can can get me in in the next 48 hours.

Anyone remember the Simpsons episode with... "DENTAL PLAN!" "Lisa needs braces."?

That's why a lot of Americans come to my country to get their teeth cleaned and fixed.

They never approached or even asked the question of "Why is dentistry overhead so high?" Am I supposed to just take a Dentist at their word? I need a breakdown and justification for why there is a $135 dollar difference for a 1 surface filling vs 3 surface? or why a ceramic crown costs $1,634?

I feel like the dentist is more transparent than the medical system. For example when i go get a filling, i am given a price before the work is completed. You can easily call around dentists and their billing staff know the costs up front whereas a medical billing staff usually cant give you a clear answer.

My elderly Mom had stopped going to dentist due to cost. I finally convinced her to go in. The dentist found a tumor on the back of her tongue she didn't notice. It was cancer. She had a portion of tongue removed and cancer had spread to neck lymph nodes. Not just teeth-overall oral health!! I believe dental insurance for seniors is critical! However reimbursement must be adequate for dentists to take the insurance

Genetics play a factor as well, my family has problems with teeth in general 🙄 from cavities, root canals, and implants. I’ve tried to be on the preventive side, it’s just that we have weak teeth

Whether or not it's worth it, dental "insurance" is NOT insurance (as the first gentleman said), and it usually doesn't really cover emergency care, only routine, mostly preventative, care. It's more of a subscription where you pay for care in advance, hopefully for a modest discount. And hopefully you actually end up getting the care you already paid for.

When you get dental insurance through your company, you’ll notice that the employer contributions are pathetic. Then you notice that you’re paycheck is getting reduced to pay for a product that doesn’t really benefit you at all when you actually need to go to the dentist. Then you go to the dentist and the dentist is trying to upsell you. Everyone is a parasite trying to get their cut.

Going to the dentist is expensive but buying the newest iphone, google phone, Smart TV, fast cars and designer clothing is not. That's the American mentality.

Thank goodness I have dental insurance. Cracked a tooth and needed an implant. Saved me a boatload of money. I Delta Dental which I think is middle of the road. They covered 80%.

Dental is part of your body and healthcare. Why do we allow it to be carved out as if it were optional?

FYI that hundreds of thousands cut, as much as 600 thousands cut mentioned is actually the discount they had to give due to insurance negotiations, not a straight net loss. They are saying "I could have made 3 million, but I only made 2.4 million due to the insurance negotiated price. Now I'm going to file a loss of 0.6 million on my balance sheet and pay less tax". These practices still take half to a million a year. I have good insurance and I like going to a good dentist, but I always feel ripped off at the end. What a necessary evil

Anything you subsidize & don’t have price transparency for results in ballooned prices.

$1500 u still pay thousands out of pocket because part of that $1500 only cover certain things. I still had $600 left but wasn't put in because it didn't cover what I had done. So it's a rip off

Many people travel to Costa Rica to visit high quality dentist services because it’s way cheaper.

Dentist that cares here. I'd like to shed some light on some of these comments that seem ill-informed and are quite concerning. Yes dentistry can become expensive but brushing and flossing is very cheap. When you neglect to do those things (properly) you end up with major issues and suddenly the dentist is to blame (I understand there are some cases that are beyond brushing and flossing and may be more genetic but I would argue that it is a very small minority. Studies show that less than 10% of people floss which would solve the majority of your problems because more than 60% of cavities are found in areas that can only be cleansed with floss). The overhead for a dental office is extremely high because most of the material costs are very high and staffing a business is extremely expensive. You may not see the value in spending a few hundred dollars on a filling or root canal or crown but what you dont realize is that it took almost ten years of schooling to be able to do that procedure efficiently, ethically, and minimize the risk of causing an infection and either damaging your tooth or killing you (yes its very possible if your dentist does not know what they are doing). Are there cheaper alternatives in other countries? Absolutely but I can't even begin to tell you how many botched cases I have seen that look great on the surface but are ticking time bombs when viewed on an X-ray due to a dentist in another country not using proper materials, isolation, or only doing half the work they were supposed to. Is every foreign dentist like this? absolutely not but many of the esthetic cases are done fast and with cheap materials to give you that cheap price but in the long term you may lose your teeth. Dentist in other countries do not have liability like US dentists do and can use products that are not highly tested and meet the same standards as the products used in the US (not all foreigns dentist are bad in fact many of them can have even higher than US standards so I dont want to make it seem like you should never trust a foreign dentist.) As far as dentists making lots of money, its true that dentists make a comfortable living but after you go through school for your entire young adult life and you watch your peers buying houses and cars and getting married and having kids and going on vacations while you are studying for years for many nights and weekends and racking up hundreds of thousands in debt, you can see why we are not going to do things at a cost to just break even. If I wanted to make money and keep to myself I would have become an engineer but I chose dentistry because I wanted to help people first and foremost but it becomes harder when people complain that we are too expensive and can sometimes make disrespectful comments about how we are just in it to scam everyone. A little known fact is that the average overhead of a dental office is over 50% due to staffing, laboratory fees, materials costs (we're not exactly using putty from Home Depot to fill your tooth haha), and other every day costs so that "expensive" crown or root canal we did for you..we'll never even see half of that money and what we do get to take home, we get taxed to death because of our tax bracket and what we have left after that often times has to go to students loans that are accruing massive amounts of interest every year because of how high student loan interest is and how it is structured. The first ten years or so we are paying back tons in students loans. We give up years of our life to be able to give you proper, ethical, and beautiful care. Does it take me thirty minutes to do a filling? Yes but it took me years of learning proper technique and practicing to be able to get to that point without damaging your tooth in the long term. Does it take me 20-30 minutes to extract your tooth but cost a few hundred dollars? Yes but the instruments I use to do it properly cost more than you might think (and have to be replaced every so often) and if you want to try and pull it yourself without knowledge of how infections can spread and how to properly take teeth out, you could cause yourself major infection orally and systemically and even die due to fascial infections because of how close your brain and spine are to your teeth. I find it interesting how easy it is to spend hundreds or thousands on a new cell phone that will last you two years but many people find it hard to pay less than that on a crown that will use every day and last you many decades. Its easy to not see the value in your teeth until you lose many of them and can no longer function well. I see patients often that are on the brink of tears because they can barely function with dentures after losing all their teeth most often (but not always) due to neglect because they didn't realize the value of having all their teeth until it was too late. Your dentist isn't just a glorified tooth technician, he or she is a doctor that spent many years understanding technique, physiology, pharmacology, and emergency care in the event that you have a reaction in the chair due to procedure complication or anesthetic complications. As a dentist I just want to do the best I can to treat you well and keep you informed but when you treat us like scam artists it can be a bit saddening. Lastly, I wish dental insurance covered more but often times they are not working with a dentist but against a dentist (charging you more and giving us less and less each year) and just because they are not covering everything that you want them to cover does not mean that we can just lower all our prices because it seems too high. The sad thing many times is that medical insurances will cover your $100,000 procedure in the hospital no problem but dental insurance companies will easily deny a $750 crown that the patient obviously needs. Few ever question the 100k procedure and say its too expensive because its usually covered to an extremely high degree with good insurance but many will complain about paying $100 for dental X-rays that could save you thousands with early diagnosis. This is the state of dental insurance often times and what we have to work with. Like mentioned prior, we have a business to run with not as high of a margin as most people think. I don’t want to start any arguments, just thought it might be insightful for people to hear the other side of the story. I care and want you to have the best dental care possible but if I wanted to help people at the expense of over working myself with a reduced income I would work in fast food and donate my time on the weekends to a charity. It would be much less stressful than running a business where many of your customers hate you when you are trying to help them.

I live in Arizona, and I started driving to Mexico for dental care. It's much more affordable, and I feel like they are more honest with what I actually need.

Dental bill: $2,500 Corona vaccine: Free

Our dental system is so terrible I got a $50k surgery (covered by medical insurance) to prevent GERD after having to crown more than half my teeth due to acid erosion. It seemed like the financially wise thing to do as I'm only 26, and having to recrown them is nearly inevitable. Hopefully, the surgery will make the crowns last a long time.

Next episode - is *optical care* worth it?

I avoided the dentist because of the cost. Even with insurance I was always on the hook with big bills. Cleanings caused me a lot of pain and traumatized me from future cleanings. Now, because of this i do not keep up on preventive visits. I have receeding gums and a bunch of issues at 41. If dental was affordable I would have kept on it instead of avoiding it and having my teeth slowly fall apart. Im insured with aetna and my last visit i got xrays and exam and they wanted to do scaling and cleaning then and there but they couldnt reach aetna to se if it was covered and sent me home

I had a rear back tooth extracted yesterday in Washington, D.C. because the tooth was split in the middle causing me pain when I chew or eat something. I went to see a Periodontics & Implantology to get the tooth extracted and it cost $1,677 dollars. This dentist doesn't accept insurance. You have to pay up front then they will submit your claim to your insurance provider. When I turned 65 in 2021, I lost my dental coverage through my employer and I purchased a dental plan for seniors through Physicians Mutual. I found out yesterday, of the $1, 677 dollars I paid at the dentist yesterday, Physicians Mutual will only reimbursement $211. My regular dentist I've been seeing for almost 30 years doesn't extract teeth. He will refer you to dental specialist. I had one tooth implant and it cost close to $5,000. The dentist that extracted my tooth yesterday at a Periodontics & Implantology told me, the cost of a tooth implant would be $2,700 at her office. Then I would have to go back to my regular dentist for a fitting for a crown which would come to $2,700. We'll talking about a total of $5,400 for a damn tooth implant.😪😡

And yet there are still people who defend the way our system works as "free market" and "freedom to choose", even when they're paying hand over fist for basic things. You gotta hand it to the politicians and lobbyists who manage to delude the people into keeping the system in place.

To keep costs down, get plenty of exercise and avoid sweetners and carbohydrates as diabetes can really drive up costs. My dentist only talks about brushing and flossing even though a dry mouth from diet issues can be more signficant. I limit my checkups to once a year, saves half over what the dentist recommends.

LOL these dentists: "but my overhead!! how will i earn a living?!". most solo practice owners make 400k and work 4 days a week. a recent report showed 3/5 dentists can't even agree on a treatment plan for the same patient. dental is 80% salesmanship and 20% science.

I went to the dentist last week, had not gone in 2 years, it cost $300 for cleaning and exams, my self pay insurance pays 100% for that, but it doesn't pay for root canals, crowns, etc. preventive care is the key

No one's talking about how the black lady is super cute and her dress is a pressure cooker of T&A?

Cause finding a good dentist that’s not ripping you off is difficult

$1,500 coverage 30 years ago was adequate today it’s shockingly inadequate

Found your post interesting to watch. I can't wait to see your new videos soon. Good Luck with the upcoming update. This KZfaq channel is really very informative and effective.

My dental, vision and health insurance is through Anthem. The dental insurance is horrible though because they don't want to cover anything

People just don't make dental health a main priority when it should be. I have patients who say they can't afford dentistry when their whole body is covered by things like tattoos or piercings. I let them know the price you paid for that piercing, gold or tattoo you could have had that tooth filled or treatment done.They laugh when I say that because they know its true. Many patients just don't see dentistry as a priority until that front tooth goes bad. Also supplies are very expensive . A small bottle of bond or adhesive can be $100 or more.So yes dentistry is not going to be the same price as buying a Whopper or Big Mac. I've even worked in community health clinics where the fee was $5 and patients would say they do not have the money, even though they are carrying a nice bag and a brand new phone. I can go on and on. People can afford what they want. They will go out of the way to get what they want but neglect what they need. People can afford what they want but not what they need. Also don't wait until you have pain to go to a dentist . That is when its usually to late and a more expensive procedure may need to be done. Go get periodic exams and cleanings . Early detection is the key in all health care :) Note: Its weird when you see a patients with all their teeth bombed out but they have a brand new shiny tongue ring.

They crazy thing about assessing cost between dentist is that each one will want to do their own evaluation, which makes sense. But by the time you’ve gone to 3 dentist to compare prices, you’ve spent a good portion of your insurance before whatever procedure is needed.

Don't make it sound like an USA issue. Issues are pretty much same in many countries over the world. Try to do a major dental work in Hong Kong. Money you can buy a Tesla. The real issue is insurance companies only raise premiums but don't raise coverage amounts.

My wife and I go to Turkey 🇹🇷 (from USA) every few years for dental care. It’s very cheap there and the service is phenomenal!

I live in Australia go the dentist every 6 months. For a standard checkup and clean I think it costs ~$120, but my private health cover pays the lot.

Dental insurance is a form of health insurance designed to pay a portion of the costs associated with dental care. There are several different types of individual, family, or group dental insurance plans grouped into three primary categories: Indemnity, Preferred Provider Network (PPO), and Dental Health Managed Organizations (DHMO). Generally, dental offices have a fee schedule, or a list of prices for the dental services or procedures they offer. Dental insurance companies have similar fee schedules, which are generally based on Usual and Customary dental services, an average of fees in an area. The fee schedule is commonly used as the transactional instrument between the insurance company, dental office and/or dentist, and the consumer.

Yet how many people floss or do proper preventative care?

I just went in for a cleaning yesterday. Second dentist visited. It’s all a scam. They never say the same thing. It’s always a different issue to every dentist.

My neighbor is always fighting with his roommate, they're both in their 80s and the conflicts are about how one of them is using the others dentures, but what really bothers the other is that he's being laughed at with his own dentures 😳

*Bad dental health in the US of A causes many,* •depression• •cardiovascular disease• •obesity• •malnutrition• •suicide• •stroke• •heart failure• •high blood pressure• •diabetes• •loneliness• •cancer• •elimination of self confidence•

I got dental insurance because I needed my teeth cleaned. So I set up a appointment. I go in they check my teeth and do a X-ray. At the end they said they'll give me the price for everything I need done. They said everything was Gon cost $3000. I said" WHAT!!. Then I had to pay $125 for the X-ray and then looking at my teeth. I was hot. Because when the insurance people called me they said everything would be covered and I would just have to pay the copay. No way I could pay that. I use to go get my teeth cleaned regular years back. The most I paid was $10 for copay and never paid anything when I got my teeth cleaned. Now I didn't know exactly how it worked but I wasn't coming out my pockets back then like they want you to do now. I just feel like I was lied to. I guess I just need to know exactly how insurance work period because thats financial stress when a person gotta cover that much money. I'm starting to see things for what they are. All they really do care about is Money. A person shouldn't have to pay that much for getting his teeth cleaned. Sure you should pay something but thousands and thousands of dollars. Come on. Gotta do bettet

As an foreign subscireber of channel, it is sometimes hard to grasp the whole idea out of video. I think it would be great idea to give an overview about the reason at the end of the video(like they do in BBC).

People keep complaining how expensive dental care is, the same people who are willing to line up every year for a new iPhone that costs an arm and a leg. 😂

If you want to buy a new pair of shoes, you go online or to a store and pay the price that is listed. If you want to buy a combo meal at a fast food place, you pay the listed price and get your food. Yet in this country you pay a monthly premium for healthcare, only to not know if a clinic/hospital visit will be covered because the software your health insurer uses comes up with random numbers when a claim comes in. Like many have commented, people would rather travel to Mexico, Brazil, Thailand etc because there you just pay whatever flat rate they list instead of having to deal with whatever bs an insurance company would put you through.

In Zen Family Dental, we offer membership plans that makes dentistry affordable and also cuts out the middle man.

You need an employeer to have dental insurance and only the top 5% of jobs have decent dental that covers preexisting conditions like missing teeth.

Lmk if Dr. Marie Jackson is on tinder

Happy Happy maybe this week. Peaceful greetings to all the viewers here. Thank you very much for uploading, Content creator. Here to support, comment, and like.

Most dental insurance is just a dental discount program. Most people are better off just to pay themselves the premiums and have a dental savings account. Remember to vote in November for candidates that support adding dental, vision and hearing to original Medicare.

Here's a crazy thought: no medical establishments should be for profit entities. These whole detailed itemized billing lists are so gross.

Needed a wisdom tooth cut out. With insurance the price was almost $500 cash was $300.

So...it's that way for insurance companies to make a lot of money and nothing ever changes to make it easier on the dentist office. For the dentist office...the business. What about making it easier for THE PATIENT?

Not only is the price the problem, but it is the archaic methods used for treatments. It's the pain, the anxiety that comes along with it all. The dental landscape needs to change especially with the methods, surely dentistry should use better technology and pain management for patients.

So what exactly is the answer to your title question? Why is dental care so expensive? You explore many things in interview form, but never succinctly answer the question. I come away from this video feeling poorly served.

Dentists in USA are one of the wealthiest doctors in the world. Cost of operation is a big lie

The only dentists in my company's insurance plan were not in my local area. I never ever went to an "in network dentist" as I wouldn't drive almost an hour to get to one of them. So therefore, I got almost no benefit from my dental premium.

Whatever candidate is getting dental for seniors gets my vote

Why does EVERYTHING cost so much here 😕

expensive and often painful. hurts the pocket and the mouth. medical and dental care should be subsidized by government instead of on war.

Just an fyi.. Check your max payout from your insurance plan. I'm on a solid Delta Dental PPO/California and it's $1500 max per year. Hopefully you'll never need any significant work done.. One root canal with CTI scan in Southern California is close to $1500. I sadly also am in the middle of getting an implant and the all in cost is going to be $5700. Guess how much Delta Dental PPO is covering? $0. The only procedure they cover in the implant process is the tooth extraction ($300,) however, I've already maxed out my yearly coverage ($1500) so I'm on the hook for all $5700. I recently searched around for non-employer PPO Dental Plans and wouldn't you know it.. None of the four I found (for California) offered more than $1500 a year in coverage!

I'm canceling my insurance. Such a waste of money. I got a breakdown of costs for 2 crowns, the insurance company will pay for the drilling, but $0 for the post and crown! Wtf! That's like going to surgery and being left open. It's cheaper to pay out of pocket for the cleanings because anything other than the basic coverage you pay for out of pocket anyway.

Shaming patients for not appreciating how much the equipment is will not help people to afford it.

Take dentistry as a career and put up a clinic and you'll know why dental treatment costs that much. It is cheaper in Asia no doubt but most dentists are still in debt even at halfway through their careers. Saturation of dental clinics and competition made dentist lower their fees to sustain everyday costs.

Yes it is important to keep it separate (dental + Medical), but both sides need access to patient data in order to provide good service to the patient.

There's no mystery here. Clearly, the problem is the quality of dental insurance. My company's insurance plan covers 100 percent of medical procedures and virtually no dental surgery.