Keeping your teeth clean and healthy is one of the best ways to avoid having to pay a lot of money in the dentist’s chair. And, as you know, I believe it is very important for you to keep your teeth and gums as healthy as possible because that means you will have less need for expensive dental procedures later on in life. However, just because something is important doesn’t mean it is easy! Believe it or not, many people struggle with this particular aspect of good health almost as much as they do with their weight problem. But don’t despair. I’m going to give you some really easy-to-follow tips that are sure to make a big difference when you need dental cleaning services without insurance.
Dental insurance
One thing to remember is, the type of insurance you have has a lot to do with what procedures your insurance will cover. For example, if you have “PPO” insurance (which stands for “Preferred Provider Organization”) you probably will not be able to go to a dentist who does not participate in your insurance plan. On the other hand, if you have “HMO” insurance (which stands for “Health Maintenance Organization”) you may very well be limited to using only those doctors or dentists who are “in-network” with your HMO. Here’s something else to remember: Many people believe they have insurance whenever they have a medical insurance card or a policy number. This is not true.
How to get cheap dental cleaning without insurance?
In the end, it all comes down to knowing how to find a good honest dentist who is not going to charge you an arm and a leg and who is willing to work within the parameters. There are several ways to do this and I am going to give you some really easy-to-follow tips that are sure to make a big difference when you need dental cleaning services without insurance.
Tip 1: look for a dentist offering one time discount
This tip is almost as important as finding a dentist who will give you a great deal on the service itself. You see, most dentists are more than happy to take your money but they won’t really care about your oral health. No. What they care about is making as much money on the sale of their services as they can and, how they make that money is by getting you to come back again and again. But, if they realize you are a person who is concerned with your financial situation and how you can cut costs they will be more than happy to give you an honest discount. Believe it or not, this is true even with “conventional” dentists. Many of them will offer a discount just for being a patient of theirs for a long period of time or maybe they will give a substantial discount to any patient who comes in for one time only for a cleaning or other procedure.
Tip 2: visit a dental school
This is probably the easiest way you can go about finding a good, honest dentist. Simply go online and do a search for “dental school near me.” You’ll get hundreds, if not thousands, of listings from dental schools all over the U.S. That’s because many dental schools have a partnership with a local dentist whereby the dentist agrees to allow the dental school to place some of their students into the practice for a period of one to two years. The advantage to you as a patient is you will be able to go to this dentist for a period of time before you decide whether or not you like him or her. And the advantage to the dental school is they will be able to observe the patient for a period of time before they decide whether or not they want to place a student into that practice. Either way, it works out for everyone and it gives you the opportunity to “try before you buy.”
Tip 3: join a professional dental network
This is another way you can try before you buy. A dental network is simply a listing of dentists who agree to refer their patients to each other. In other words, if your dentist is a member of a dental network then, he will automatically send his patients to any dentist on the list who has a practice near him. And, if you are a patient of one of these dentists then, you have an automatic right to be referred to any dentist in the network. It’s sort of like going to a car dealer and having him tell you about all the great deals he has on cars.
You know that by going to different dealers you might be able to get a better deal than the one you would have gotten from the dealer you started with but, you also know that by going around to various dealers you will probably get a better deal than you would have otherwise. Same thing with dental networks. By joining one you can often times find yourself dealing with dentists who will give you a deal even a “non-network” dentist wouldn’t think of offering?
Tip 4: compare pricing and negotiate with the dentist
This is perhaps the most important tip of all. Price is one of the biggest factors in whether or not a person decides to purchase something. In fact, people are more likely to purchase something if they find the price is lower than they had anticipated. But, they are less likely to purchase if the price is higher than they had anticipated. What this means is, if you are able to get a dentist to agree to a fair and honest price then, you may end up saving thousands of dollars by taking advantage of this negotiation. All you have to do is simply ask. Don’t be shy; it’s perfectly OK to ask if the fee quoted to you is a “ballpark” figure or if there is some other way he can lower the price for you. And, if he says there is, tell him you want to discuss it. If he has a problem with that, find another dentist.
In conclusion, getting a good dentist without dental insurance is a simple thing if you will only take the time to learn how to do it. Use the tips above and you should have no trouble whatsoever finding a good dentist even if you don’t have dental insurance. Dentists hate being pestered but, they love making money even less. Just be firm but polite and make your request in a non-pushy way. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how willing dentists are to work with patients like you. And you’ll be able to go to a great dentist at a fair and honest price.
Lastly, a dental cleaning without insurance can cost as low as $200 to $400 per cleaning PLUS any necessary repairs! So, do you really want to spend $900 or more per year on something you don’t need? If not, use the tips in this article and you’ll be able to get a cleaning for a fraction of the cost. Also, you won’t have to worry about whether or not you can afford the cleaning because it will be financially irresponsible for your dentist not to give it to you.