How much do you pay for a professional teeth cleaning?

[Tybee]

I think about 375? But am not sure.

[rosarugosa]

I have dental coverage through BC/BS. It is $39.23 per month, fully paid by me and not a group plan. My dentist charges $170 for a cleaning and exam, and my plan covers 3 cleanings and exams per year, so it pays for itself just with that. It also covers other preventative services at 100% (x-rays). It pays 50% on restorative services like fillings, extractions, perio maintenance, root canals and crowns with a $100 deductible. There's an annual limit of $1250.

I would not necessarily think that paying $480 year for $1250 worth of coverage is a good deal, but if I know I'm going to use at least $510 worth of services without fail every year, then to me it's a no-brainer to carry the coverage. I'll add that I have gotten my teeth cleaned 4 times per year for my entire adult life, even when I was a young adult (before dental coverage was a thing) paying fully out of pocket. This was largely because I was a smoker, but I've continued the practice as a non-smoker for almost 13 years, so I guess I like to have squeaky clean teeth! I think I'll find it acceptable to go with a cleaning every 4 months instead of every 3 months, though. I also faithfully brush, floss, water floss, and use an electric toothbrush.

[catherine]

I have dental coverage through BC/BS. It is $39.23 per month, fully paid by me and not a group plan. My dentist charges $170 for a cleaning and exam, and my plan covers 3 cleanings and exams per year, so it pays for itself just with that. It also covers other preventative services at 100% (x-rays). It pays 50% on restorative services like fillings, extractions, perio maintenance, root canals and crowns with a $100 deductible. There's an annual limit of $1250.

I would not necessarily think that paying $480 year for $1250 worth of coverage is a good deal, but if I know I'm going to use at least $510 worth of services without fail every year, then to me it's a no-brainer to carry the coverage. I'll add that I have gotten my teeth cleaned 4 times per year for my entire adult life, even when I was a young adult (before dental coverage was a thing) paying fully out of pocket. This was largely because I was a smoker, but I've continued the practice as a non-smoker for almost 13 years, so I guess I like to have squeaky clean teeth! I think I'll find it acceptable to go with a cleaning every 4 months instead of every 3 months, though. I also faithfully brush, floss, water floss, and use an electric toothbrush.

Wow, rosa, you're a dentist's dream patient!! Curious to know, have you ever had cavities, root canals, extractions? Nasty stuff like that? Or have your A+ hygiene habits made a huge difference?

[rosarugosa]

Catherine: If only that were the case! I've had 2 root canals and I have about 5 crowns. No extractions since wisdom teeth though, and I have a full set of teeth with no bridges or implants. I had an old-school dentist as a kid, so I had a lot of big silver fillings, and those were the teeth that eventually needed crowns. Once the fillings needed to be replaced, if they were too large, there wasn't always enough structural integrity to the tooth to permit another filling.