(no subject)

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

Hello Davis Square!

I have a kind of dental emergency (boo) and would really like to see a dentist, however I do not have any sort of dental coverage. Is there any particular dentist in the area that is better to go to for the uninsured?

Or just any dentist suggestions in general?

I understand this may come as a great cost to me, and I accept that. I am just looking to see what my options may be.

Comments

[ron_newman]

We have had many posts in the past on the topic of dentists. Please click on the "dentist" tag and look through them. -- Your friendly moderator

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

That deal specifically with the uninsured? Why is no one allowed to pose a question anymore, for the sake of convienence?

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I had an insurance-free "dental emergency" in college and went to the Gentle Dental in Waltham. I have heard some horror stories about the group, but they took care of what I needed and filled my broken molar on short notice, for what seemed a standard price. The filling lasted me about five years, at which point I had dental insurance and got someone else to crown the tooth.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I should mention that there is also one in Porter Sq., which would be more accessible to you.

[ludimagist.livejournal.com]

Tufts Dental School has been pretty good to me.

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

i agree with this. this isnt a REPOSITORY. its a site for INTERACTION.

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

There is a very nice dentist on Mass Ave, sort of family run, who lets my boyfriend pay in installments for his horrible, horrible dental work because he is uninsured.

The guy is Eric Klein.
http://www.erikkleindds.com/

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

this website says they are in georgia?

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

This sentence is a little ambiguous - I assume you mean that your boyfriend needs horrible amounts of dental work done, not that this dentist does a horrible job on dental work.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Yeah--I have had awful experiences with Gentle Dental, ut so long as you're just getting a cavity filled or something simple it should be ok. No root canals!

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I think the point is more that there is information available already, not that you can't ask a question. If you haven't looked how do you know there wasn't a question on uninsured dentistry. Ron's just trying to help. As am I--responded below re GD.

[cutieperson]

dental plans are surprisingly inexpensive and you might be able to get one that would make your overall costs significantly cheaper. here is a site that lists many local plan options.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yes, Tufts Dental School (http://dental.tufts.edu/1186056456149/TUSDM-Page-dental2w_1186234234594.html) is the way to go. However you need to get there at the crack of dawn (7am? Maybe?) to get on the waiting list, and then expect to spend most of the morning there waiting and then being seen. But it's cheap! $50 for the visit, and then additional costs depending on what you need, all of which are at about 1/2 of the for-profit rate that you'd get at a regular dentist/oral surgeon. And, you have the bonus of having at least two sets of eyes looking at you to make sure things are going well.

Note, you can only get seen on an emergency basis if you are in pain. And you can't call to get an emergency appointment. Just show up bright and early in the morning (before 7:30, is best if I remember correctly) and wait. They have a second session in the afternoon, but the waiting list for that usually fills up by 10 am I think, by the people who didn't show up at 7am.

It's in Boston, near South Station and the Theater District, by the way.

[turil.livejournal.com]

No one said that people aren't allowed to pose a question, just that it's a general request to check memories for questions that are likely to be common.

[ron_newman]

I didn't say you can't ask a question, just that you may find some of your questions answered in previous posts. I tagged your post as "dentist" so that future people will find it, along with the earlier ones.

[rawrin.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this Eric (not Erik) Klein was meant:

http://www.cambridgesmiles.com/

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

The dentist does a great job, yeah. Boyfriend has horrible, horrible teeth, possibly from opening beer bottles with them in his early 20s. Mmm.

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

oops >_>

Yeah, don't go to Georgia.. The person below has it right. Good luck with your teeth!

[ron_newman]

It hurts my teeth just to read that sentence.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. Definitely. OW.

[ron_newman]

Gentle Dental gets some very mixed reviews in the previous posts. (One reason I recommend reading them.)

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that providing a link to tagged past posts is likely to be helpful; but I also don't object to seeing repeated questions, because information changes over time. Restaurants come and go; chefs change; businesses disappear or open; vets and doctor's offices lose some practitioners and bring on new ones. I like being able to compare people's recent answers with people's past answers. If somebody's getting recommended over and over posts past and present, I feel even better about it than if the person is just recommended several times in one post.

[ron_newman]

I agree; my apologies to all if I didn't phrase my initial comment well.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Dr. Paul K. Shick at 56 College Avenue has been good to me. His receptionist/person who handles finances (it's one person) is kind, friendly, open, helpful, clear and reassuring. She referred me to several low-cost dental assistance plans, Vital Savings by Aetna and Careington (though that may not be what you need right now).

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I have found that the Davis Square Harvard Vanguard Dental practice has always been willing to answer any questions I might have about costs, but I don't know how their prices compare with other places as I do have dental insurance.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

Since nobody's mentioned it:

It would be very rare for a dentist not to see you because you don't have insurance. You might have to provide a credit card to show your ability to pay, though.

I'd have to multiple the concerns about Gentle Dental in Porter Square. I had more problems after I went than I did before.

[doogly.livejournal.com]

I've gone there too, for non emergency needs, and have enjoyed their services. And yes, quite cheap!

Harvard Vanguard

[sundaisy-summer.livejournal.com]

I started going to Harvard Vanguard about a year ago and have been very satisfied with the staff there. They are all extremely friendly and do a really nice job of explaining why they do this or that when working on my teeth. I have insurance, but have had to pay for some stuff not covered and they seem pretty good about and willing to work out payment plans if needed. Their prices seem reasonable, but not sure how they compare with other places.

Good luck!

[aki.livejournal.com]

I go to Deprimio on Charles St. in Cambridge. They were sympathetic when I wasn't insured and it didn't seem that expensive. I know that's not exactly Davis, but I've been happy there.

Actually, you should probably check in on me again in a couple weeks after they remove my wisdom teeth. ^_^*

avoid gentle dental

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

I went to the gentle dental in porter for a 2nd opinion, while in pain, and they offered to "pull the tooth and be done with the problem." I walked out. When I went back to my regular dentist, who's been around a long time, he said they are the worst in the area.

For inexpensive quality work although it takes a lot of time, I'd second the dental schools. Tufts and BU.

Re: avoid gentle dental

[foxalbers.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm a regular patient of the BU Dental School.

I'm not super fond of getting work done by the "students," so I opt to get treated by the faculty. It's only slightly more expensive ($75 filling vs. $95 filling, about) and the faculty is able to treat more than one tooth at a time, if need arises for that. If it's something more complex, like a root canal, it's still half the price of a "regular" dentist.

I also had a terrible needle phobia, and they were awesome at working me through that.