Yes!

Try to find out the price in different nearby places and negotiate.

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...

Yuck I left a practice after being aggressively solicited for add on work by the hygienist.

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.

Some will discount if you pay OOP. I don't have dental insurance and my previous dentist gave a 20% OOP discount.

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

Cash discount?

Eek

Everything is negotiable. Just ask.

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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