Affordable Dentists

Find a dental school close by. The peridontal treatment will be a fraction of the cost and it should be excellent. It just takes longer, but you will get quality care. Good luck. That is no fun!

The dental school at the University of Illinois Chicago offers a reduced fee clinic.

You don't say where you are so I don't know if this will be close. When I didn't have insurance, Dr. Looby was really great about trying to find ways to give me the attention I needed without having to go into debt. I needed a crown, but he said he'd try to fill it first as a temporary measure (no guarentees about how long it would last) to give me time to raise the money. It held up long enough for me to be able to properly fix it. Not to say that's normal, but he tries to work within your budget. Here's his info:

Dr. Terrence P. Looby, DDS
7310 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL 60634-3531
###-###-####

Open Mon 10am-6pm; Tue,Thu 11am-6pm; Wed 1pm-6pm; Fri 8am-3:30pm

Does he have regular health insurance? If so, it's worth a phone call to see what they might cover. Many dental issues will effect a person's overall health and really are covered.

Look into the county health department that he lives in. Will County will take care of your teeth if there is a problem. It's a reduced cost...probably a sliding scale based upon income. No insurance is needed.

Here's some info from DuPage County: http://www.dupagehealth.org/dental/programs

If you live near a dental college their rates are lower. And you can join a dental plan, that's not an insurance, and their rates are lower. Perhaps you can arrange for a loan so that you can pay the bill with payments.

Look into obtaining dental insurance that would still pay for a pre-existing condition. I know that with health insurance that you can be covered for pre-existing conditions after a waiting period.

I'd also inquire with your state human resources office (welfare) and see if they have a dental plan that you can join. Oregon has a health plan that one can join if they're not eligible for regular insurance coverage or if your income is sufficiently low.

Unless this is a dentist that you know and trust, I would get a second opinion. Dentistry is one of the worst industries for crooks trying to get you for every dime they can. That being said, I am in a similar predicament. I have not yet seen a dentist, but it's been awhile and my tooth is so painful I cannot bite down. I found a dental discount plan through Careington online, and it looks like they are able to offer the deepest discounts when compared to other similar plans. It's not expensive to join either, and you can pay monthly vs. for an entire year. It is not dental insurance, but you have to use a dentist that participates, which is where I'm struggling because there are so many to choose from and I want to pick a good one. Good luck to your son!

Get a second opinion. We took my son to a "fancy" dentist. He said he had 8 cavities which he would fill without numbing or drilling to the tune of over $900. Since we did not have the money we put it off for a few months. We found a new dentist and he said there were no cavities!

I would try alternative medicine first!!! I am finding that dentists vary in their diagnoses and recommendations. My suggestion is to find an herbal tooth soap or toothpaste remedy off the internet and just try it. Or go to an herbal health food type of store and ask them for some suggestions. My friend, who is a nurse, stopped her child's cavity from growing and healed her child's cavity by giving him a bunch of supplements that were recommended to her by a homeopathic/health food store type of place. I know the main ingredient was Norwegian cod liver oil. It took about 6 months of taking the supplements and the teeth became stronger and the cavity repaired itself. It is worth looking into.

I went through that a couple of years ago and did lose a couple of teeth. I did not have insurance either. I had something called Ameriplan at one point. I suggest to contact those types of groups, or if you belong to Sam's club, etc. there are other programs that are not insurance but are discounts. I would also suggest that he start on his own to begin taking care of his teeth. Learning how to floss has been the best, lots of vitamin C, and check if you can make payments as you go along. I did that. However, make sure that it is in writing. There are lots of dentists who also want to pull out teeth and some did and I later found out that need not be. Do not let that happen until you do your homework. My experience is that most people even with insurance cannot pay a lot of these dental bills immediately and they are forced to pay a lot out of pocket. I paid a lot, too, and if you can see if the Dental schools will do anything to help. Otherwise, save, save and space those visits out as comfortably as you can. It is truly awful that we are charged so much for any healthcare, but there are some solutions and I do not want to set up one of those political forums where people are fighting about it. It is just sad. He is young. I am afraid that might happen with my younger son, also. And as for me, I am still walking around with a space in the front of my mouth (not too bad, lucky for me). Oops, time to go brush. And I want to let you know this, you do not have to stay with any one dentist. There are some that try to make you think this. Shop around elsewhere. There are some nice people out there.

try loyola hospital Maywood Il dental clinic for uninsured good luck. C. c