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Every day, at least a few times each day, we have patients call us up and ask this very question. Frankly, we are not too crazy about this particular question because we cannot really answer that question in an accurate fashion. So, when we are asked this question, it usually ends up as if we are trying to hide the cost from the caller but this is far from the truth. Lets see why it is so hard to answer this question. Lets say you broke a tooth and you think that the tooth can be fixed, first thing you need to know is that the cost varies depending on if the tooth is a front tooth or a back tooth, depending on if the restoration is going to be a filling or something more involved like a crown. Is the nerve inside the tooth healthy, does it need a root canal? In this instance there is a wide range all the way from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars and we feel that its not very useful for the caller when we give them this wide a range.
But what if you decide to get the tooth extracted, then is the cost more easy to discuss over the phone? Well, not really. Is this particular tooth a wisdom tooth? Is it impacted? How impacted? If its not a wisdom tooth, will it be a simple extraction or something more involved? Probably more important than all that we have talked about so far is the fact that the tooth is connected to a person. Now, does this person's health allow them to get this procedure done safely?
Sometimes our patients might be on particular blood thinners or other medicines that make their bone denser and these patients might do better getting the tooth restored if possible as opposed to extracting it. Other times, teeth that the caller would like to fix teeth might that should be extracted due to some other reasons. Hopefully, now you see why it is really hard to be accurate over the phone without taking a real hard look at the caller's problem. Now we all like clear answers to our questions and we are used to price shopping for a product online. So when we shop around for a particular fridge, we might look at Home Depot or Lowe's and choose the store we are going to buy depending on the price. This works well in this instance but when it comes to health care it is not that simple because there is a lot of nuance. Ultimately we believe that the caller wants to get better but be wise about how to choose which dental office to select. The best way to do this in our opinion is to come in for a consult. And luckily at this office, it is FREE! So call us at 540 370 8504 or visit us at pearlfamilydental.com and set up an appointment. When you come in for a consult, we will conduct a thorough medical review, look at the problem clinically and with radiographs (X-Rays) and give you an accurate assessment on what your options and what the costs are for each of those options. But if you still want to know the cost of your dental treatment our answer usually is, "well, it depends........."
Happy New Year !!!