All of us are accustomed to doing it. We browse online, we compare side-by-side in a store, or we make a few phone calls. Many of us won’t spend any money before doing at least a little comparison shopping. And yet, in an arena where many of our dollars are spent, price shopping is so challenging that many feel they can’t do it.
I decided to take up the challenge. All I did was call dentists in every state and ask how much a new patient cleaning, exam and x-rays would cost without insurance. Here’s what I learned:
1) Prices Do Vary Considerably: You may get lucky and find a great dentist at a fair price. You also may get unlucky and unwittingly overpay. This game of roulette is happening not just in the same city, but on the same street. A mile away in New York City, one dentist charges $675 for a new patient cleaning, exam and x-rays, and another charges $99.
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2) An Inordinate Number of Receptionists are Unprepared to Discuss Price: Keep in mind that I was asking about the de facto new patient procedure, and yet I was frequently put on hold for minutes. This drove me crazy.
3) Be Wary of Incomplete Quotes:
“Yes sir that will be $109.”
“But do I need an exam?”
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“Oh yes, that will be $64.”
If I hadn’t spent so many hours learning the rhythm of these calls, I would never have thought to ask. I would have gone to that dentist expecting to spend $109 only to learn, after the work concluded of course, that my bill was $173. I would complain that I had been quoted $109. The receptionist would politely correct me that $109 is only for the cleaning. I would be irked, but realizing I had no other option, I would part with the additional $64 I had never planned to spend. I’ve learned to always ask if there are any ancillary charges required to complete a specific service.
4) “What type of x-rays do you need?”: This is the type of question that must turn patients off. I mean, what patient knows the difference between bitewings, panoramic and full-mouth x-rays? My response would often be, “Well, what does your office typically do for a new patient?” Offices sometimes try and only quote bitewings even though the office usually performs the more expensive full set of x-rays.
5) Some Dentists Have Figured Out the Game: Most dentists need new patients each month, and a great way to attract them is with low prices. These forward-thinking offices instantly quote the complete, competitive price. There isn’t any posturing about the “difficulty” of knowing what a cleaning costs or delay in “adding” everything together. These dentists also seem acutely aware of what nearby dentists are charging.
6) People Are Nice: It’s easy to grow jaded, or at least tired, when making so many phone calls, but the affable personalities I almost always encountered kept any negative emotions in check.
