Is this dentist's estimate high or low?!
Question:
Is this dentist's estimate high or low?
My younger brother is 19, and doesn't have insurance. I want to help him pay for some fillings, but I don't know if the prices are high or not.
They want to charge 215.00 for a white filling (resin, three surfaces, anterior), and 180.00 for a silver filling (Amalgam).
Are those expensive?
Do the # of surfaces have anything to do with it?
Answers:
A tooth has 5 surfaces:
1. Biting face/edge ("Occlusal" or "Incisal")
2. cheek side ("buccal")
3. tongue side ("lingual")
4. side next to the tooth in front of it ("mesial")
5. side next to the tooth in back of it ("distal").
How much a filling costs depends on how many of these surfaces the filling will extend to.
So yes, $215 is pretty normal for a 3-surface tooth-colored composite resin filling. And silver amalgams (used on back teeth where they are not easy to see) would be cheaper per surface.
Hope this helps.