Carecredit And Dental Work, Anyone?

Just got back from the dentist. I knew they would tell me I need a root canal and a crown, but I wasn't prepared for the cost- oof. Has anyone used CareCredit before? We don't have dental insurance, so it's entirely out of pocket .

Another thing- the quote they gave me included IV sedation at my request. I think would be the best option for me because I have bad anxiety. If I didn't do the sedation, the bill would be almost $1k less. Has anyone ever had root canals without sedation, just the local anesthetic? It's a molar, so it's a deep, multiple canal tooth. I suppose I am just freaking myself out, but one of my biggest fears is pain from a dental procedure.

I've used CareCredit numerous times. It's fantastic. Gives you the option of paying over time without incurring interest. Frequently you can get extended terms up to a year. There's no drawback to this. Just make sure you pay on time each month!

My feeling is you do NOT need sedation for a root canal. I've had way too many. Regular anesthetic is fine. There's no need to go to sleep for it, seriously! Yea, it's no fun to have a needle put in at first but honestly, once that first one goes in it numbs SO fast that the rest is easy peasy. And I HATE needles with a passion. I'd never pay an extra $1K to be knocked out.

Just make sure they give you enough. There is nothing wrong with asking for more if you feel anything along the way. Any good dentist will be happy to oblige. I tend to be difficult to numb in general, and need more than the average person even though I'm a small person - my dentists know this already and are always prepared for that. My feeling is part of a good dentists job is to make you feel less anxious as the procedure goes on, same with the hygienists.

I have used CareCredit for cat vet bills. The single biggest thing to remember about CareCredit is you *have* to pay it off within the payment period. Otherwise you get hit with all the interest that wasn’t charged during the time period. What I usually do is ask for the longest payment period the vet will accept. Then set up auto payments with my bank to pay it off at least a month before the payment period ends. That way if something goes sideways I don’t accidentally go past it.

As for dental work, I’ve had well over a dozen root canals. All were just under local. The only thing I haven’t done under local was wisdom tooth removal but my dentist insisted because it was all four and badly impacted. I also had a surgery where they cut open my gum line to clean around the roots on some teeth under local. Part of it is because my family’s dental genes suck and part was an accident when I was a kid that accounts for six of those root canals (three teeth but they’ve had to be redone) and the gum surgery.

Just be honest with your dentist when they are doing the initial shots and if you start to feel anything (because I also metabolize the local quickly so mine usually wears off). But there isn’t any pain once they numb you up. Pressure from them pushing the tool is minor, a few tugs at times, and the smell isn’t the most pleasant but that’s not worse then a cavity. I wouldn’t pay to just skip out on those because they aren’t a big thing. As a kid, I picked up a habit of counting the holes in the ceiling tiles to distract myself during dental procedures or you could ask if you could listen to a book on tape or something.

If there is any pain, it would be after everything is done and that is the same with either route you go.

You can ask your doctor for some Xanax to take the edge off.

EmersonandEvie said:

Just got back from the dentist. I knew they would tell me I need a root canal and a crown, but I wasn't prepared for the cost- oof. Has anyone used CareCredit before? We don't have dental insurance, so it's entirely out of pocket .

Another thing- the quote they gave me included IV sedation at my request. I think would be the best option for me because I have bad anxiety. If I didn't do the sedation, the bill would be almost $1k less. Has anyone ever had root canals without sedation, just the local anesthetic? It's a molar, so it's a deep, multiple canal tooth. I suppose I am just freaking myself out, but one of my biggest fears is pain from a dental procedure.

Click to expand...

I have had four or five root canals and never had sedation. Once you have novacaine it isn’t too much different from regular dental work except it takes longer and it smells like bleach. The smell of bleach is something I just hate so that makes it an ordeal for me to sit through.

Willowy said:

You can ask your doctor for some Xanax to take the edge off.

Click to expand...

Or you ask about laughing gas. No it doesn’t make you laugh but it does make you sort of not care what is going on. I have had it a couple of times for having teeth pulled and my tooth implant. The other thing about gas is that it wears off quickly so you are able to drive yourself home.

susanm9006 said:

Or you ask about laughing gas. No it doesn’t make you laugh but it does make you sort of not care what is going on. I have had it a couple of times for having teeth pulled and my tooth implant. The other thing about gas is that it wears off quickly so you are able to drive yourself home.

Click to expand...

I asked about laughing gas and was told I couldn't have it. It's because the tooth that needs the root canal is the upper left molar, and the way the mask sits on my face would make it hard for the dentist to do what he needs to do. I may ask about the Xanax!

The other thing is that the root is dead with a capital D...he did some sort of cold response test on the tooth and I could feel absolutely nothing. So...he would just be scraping all of that out, and it's dead anyway, so it shouldn't be painful (in theory)?

Yes, the tooth could still be painful because the roots are still there and parts could be alive, so you still need Novocain.

susanm9006 said:

Yes, the tooth could still be painful because the roots are still there and parts could be alive, so you still need Novocain.

Click to expand...

Oh no! I didn't mean not needing the Novocain lol I meant not needing sedation

With Novocain there isn’t any pain. If you feel anything, which is extremely unlikely they just give you more.

Is this a regular dentist or a endodontist? I recommend using a endodontist as they are specialized in doing root canals and other advanced procedures. I used a regular dentist for a root canal years ago and it turned out he botched the whole thing. I had to have the tooth retreated last year by an endodontist. The endodontist said the wrong posts were used and the dentist didn't fully remove all the bad stuff in my tooth because my root canals were the uncommon C-shape instead of oval shaped. Make sure to have x rays done before the procedure. My endodontist had a fancy x ray machine that took a 360 degree view of my teeth.

Wonderful advice from LTS3 . I had a similar experience with a regular dentist. An endodontist can be more expensive but the savings is in not having to have the procedure done twice.

He is a regular dentist. I know that they will outsource patients to endodontists if they feel that they cannot properly do a tooth, but he seemed confident that this was run-of-the-mill (ie, no strange canals). He took four x-rays of the upper and lower jaw on that side and saw nothing that would suggest deep infection or abscesses.
The only endodontist in the area a.) is much more expensive and b.) only accepts CareCredit if it's paid within 6 months. That is not feasible for us since everything is out of pocket.

I've had numerous root canals under local only.

EmersonandEvie said:

Just got back from the dentist. I knew they would tell me I need a root canal and a crown, but I wasn't prepared for the cost- oof. Has anyone used CareCredit before? We don't have dental insurance, so it's entirely out of pocket .

Another thing- the quote they gave me included IV sedation at my request. I think would be the best option for me because I have bad anxiety. If I didn't do the sedation, the bill would be almost $1k less. Has anyone ever had root canals without sedation, just the local anesthetic? It's a molar, so it's a deep, multiple canal tooth. I suppose I am just freaking myself out, but one of my biggest fears is pain from a dental procedure.

Click to expand...

I got it just this year because of needing a root canal. I recommend it - if you pay it off in 6 months there's no interest charge.
All of my root canals (2-3) have just been under local, but I have no dental anxiety. Ask if they have gas - that could help & it's not as expensive.

My appointment is booked for next month. When should I apply for the CareCredit? Also, does anyone know how much you need to put on the card to get 6 months no interest, 12 months no interest, etc.?

EmersonandEvie said:

My appointment is booked for next month. When should I apply for the CareCredit? Also, does anyone know how much you need to put on the card to get 6 months no interest, 12 months no interest, etc.?

Click to expand...

I'd apply now. Ask for at least 20% more then you actually need just in case something comes up. The specific terms are decided by the dentist office, so you'd have to call the dentist to find out what terms they offer. I usually get offered the 6 months no interest but my most recent vet expense offered the 12 months (different office).

I had all my teeth pulled without a general. I had bad anxiety about the dentist which is why I ended up where I did. I was given a prescription for a hefty dose of valium to be taken an hour before. I was very chill when it came time for the appointment.