Do dentists negotiate price? Do their staff get commissions on cosmetic work?
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Anonymous
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Just had an odd experience where I went to discuss replacement of several cosmetic veneers I had done years ago. The assistant gave me the price and I balked. It was a lot. When I paused, she was like ‘well, how much were you thinking?’
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Anonymous
| Everything is negotiable. Just ask. |
Anonymous
| Eek |
Anonymous
| Cash discount? |
Anonymous
| If you're paying out of pocket or by cash, yes I wouldn't be surprised if they worked with you on prices. Commissions? Not the norm but I'm sure there are some shady places. |
Anonymous
Yes, if you aren’t covered by any insurance plan, many dentists may try to work with you, including setting up a payment plan, or doing a long range plan for the work — so that you’re not paying for everything all at once. I have had dentists discuss relative prices for different interventions: different kinds of fillings, or a filling vs a crown — but the focus was on advantages and disadvantages of different options at different prices, not negotiating a price for the work. I did once have a dentist give me a student discount though. |
Anonymous
| Some will discount if you pay OOP. I don't have dental insurance and my previous dentist gave a 20% OOP discount. |
Anonymous
| I have a colleague whose daughter just finished dental school. She told me that since many practices have been bought up by PE, students are literally taught to be salespeople for various procedures. |
Anonymous
| Yuck I left a practice after being aggressively solicited for add on work by the hygienist. |
Anonymous
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Desperation hits. Apparently fees have stayed constant for so long that to turn a profit doing dentistry is getting harder and harder as a business. Delta for example has paid the same for 2 decades for cleanings, they are pegging pts and doctors against each other while we pay their ceos millions. Just saying...
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Anonymous
| Try to find out the price in different nearby places and negotiate. |
Anonymous
| Yes! |