Dentists

One of the most difficult things I have had trouble with finding discounts or savings on is dentists. How do you know if you need the treatment? How do you know the average price of services? If you know the answers to these questions you are doing better than I am. I recently spent 1,500.00 on Eli at the dentist. The only pediatric dentist on the list for my insurance was in Hanford, and after the exam,
x-ray, and cleaning it paid very little. Did he need all of it? I don't know. Was it priced reasonably? I don't know. They did let me pay it in 3 payments after we freaked out on the cost. I really didn't feel like I had a lot of choices due to the fact Eli didn't want to cooperate either so he really needed a pediatric dentist willing to sedate him.
I have been trying to figure out what to do about Ken and I. One of the suggestions I have read about online is using a dental school. Ok, I'm game. I found the nearest dental school at UCSF. They say it is about 40% off of what a regular dentist charges. Sounds good to me. I made Ken an appointment for next week. He can be the guinea pig since he is complaining the most about being seen. We will see how it turns out.