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Comment by kwhitefoot | Hacker News Reader

> each one represents about $1800 in billing revenue.

Do you mean that it costs a patient USD1800 to get a crown?

I have two crowns both made and installed at the same dental practice in Drammen, Norway, using, I think, the CEREC system. At one time he had a screen mounted above the couch so that you could see it being shaped while you waited.

Including the initial consultation, the crown itself, and the fitting I paid about NOK5000 each. That's about USD580 at today's exchange rate, about USD750 at the rate that was in force when I had them done.

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> Do you mean that it costs a patient USD1800 to get a crown?

That's what he charges and gets paid. Of that, the insurance company will pay around half, with the patient paying the rest.

Compared to medical billing in the US, it's a miracle of clarity. I suspect because people are more willing to change dentists, and even with a sore tooth, they're willing to pick someone who is better/cheaper. So there's some price pressure by the customer.

It's important to note that in the US (not sure about Norway), the revenue from a procedure, and the out of pocket cost that a person pays is not the same due to insurance. A procedure could cost a very small amount out of pocket, but still provide significant revenue to a doctor if is insurance is paying for a large portion of the procedure.

i guess the 1800 per crown also include the root canal treatment

i think it is usually around 600-800 USD for the root canal treatment and around 1000 for the crown

Ah, perhaps we are talking about different things here. My crowns are just that, quite a lot of the original tooth is still there.

But it still seems to me that you are being seriously ripped off in the US.

What's a crown worth though?

Dentists have been successful in limiting the number of dentists, so decent ones can charge good money.

The terrifying thing is that they tend to do a lot more out of pocket business than doctors/hospitals and so the prices for dental care are generally lower than the prices for similar healthcare (they often do first appointment x-rays for free, or for cheap; hospitals will charge $200+ just for something that needs 2 or 3 x-rays).

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