Can’t Afford the Dentist? Your Real Options in Frisco, TX

Costs & Insurance

8 min read  •  By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS  •  Updated August 2026

Cost is the most common reason people skip the dentist. Not fear of the drill, not the time off work. Money. And it is the one thing nobody wants to say at the front desk.

Here is what makes it worse. Almost every dental problem is cheaper today than it will be next year. A small cavity is a filling. That same cavity left alone long enough becomes a root canal and a crown, which runs close to ten times the cost. Nothing in a mouth gets better on its own.

So the goal is not to find free dentistry. It is to get looked at, find out what is actually going on, and then handle it in an order you can afford.

Say the number out loud when you call

Call the office and tell them. I have a budget, I have not been in a while, what does an exam and x-rays cost. A decent office will give you a straight number on the phone and will not make it weird.

An exam with images is the cheapest useful thing in dentistry. It is the difference between guessing and knowing. Once somebody has actually looked, you can ask the only question that matters when money is tight: what has to be handled now, and what can wait six months.

Any office that will not answer that question, or that hands you one big treatment plan and wants a decision today, is not the office to be broke at.

If you have no insurance, look at a savings plan first

A lot of people assume the answer is buying a dental insurance policy. Sometimes it is. Often it is not, especially if you are buying it yourself rather than getting it through work.

Individual policies usually come with waiting periods, an annual maximum somewhere around fifteen hundred dollars, and a monthly premium that adds up whether you go or not. If your teeth are in reasonable shape, you can spend a year paying premiums for two cleanings you could have paid cash for.

The alternative most independent practices offer is an in house savings plan. Flat annual fee, your cleanings and exams are included, and everything else is discounted. No waiting period, no claim forms, no annual maximum. For a family paying cash it usually wins on the math. Ask both ways and compare the actual numbers for your situation.

Splitting the cost over months

If you need real work done, most offices will break it into payments rather than lose the patient. Ours will. Ask directly whether they do in house payment arrangements before you assume the answer is no.

There is also third party medical credit, CareCredit being the one most offices accept, which functions like a card for health expenses with promotional interest free windows. Read the terms. Those windows are genuinely useful if you pay it off inside the promotional period, and genuinely expensive if you do not.

And ask about sequencing. You do not have to do everything in one month. A good office will stage treatment so the urgent work happens now and the rest is spread across the year.

Kids are covered more often than parents think

This is the one I wish more families knew. In Texas, dental coverage for children is far better than dental coverage for adults.

Medicaid and CHIP cover dental care for anyone under 21, through managed care plans like DentaQuest, MCNA Dental, and UnitedHealthcare Dental. Texas Health Steps will help you find a participating dentist at 1-877-847-8377. Pregnant women on Medicaid can also have dental benefits during pregnancy and for a short window after.

If that is your situation, we see those patients. Here is how Medicaid works for kids and teens at our office. The Texas Department of State Health Services also keeps a current list of programs, and dialing 2-1-1 will connect you to services by zip code.

Where to go if you have nothing right now

Three real options in this part of Texas.

Federally qualified health centers are community clinics that charge on a sliding scale based on income, and many of them have dental. You can search for the nearest one through the federal health center finder.

Dental schools run supervised student clinics at a fraction of private fee. The closest to Frisco is Texas A&M College of Dentistry in Dallas, about a forty minute drive. Appointments take longer because a faculty dentist checks the work at each step, which is also why the quality holds up.

And the Texas Mission of Mercy runs free volunteer clinics around the state doing extractions, fillings, and cleanings, first come first served. If you are in pain and have no money at all, that is the one to watch for.

What to fix first when you cannot fix everything

If somebody hands you a list and you can only afford part of it, this is roughly how I would rank it.

Tap and drag the table sideways to see every column.

What to expect if you have not been in for years

You are not going to be lectured. Anybody who has practiced for a while has seen every version of this, and the ones who make patients feel bad about it tend not to see those patients again, which helps nobody.

Expect a longer first visit, a full set of images, and a plan that gets sequenced rather than dumped on you at once. If the office is doing its job, you leave knowing three things: what is going on, what it costs, and what happens if you wait.

Common questions

Can I go in just for an exam and x-rays without committing to treatment?

Yes, and you should. An exam with images is the cheapest useful appointment in dentistry. You are buying information. What you do with it afterward, and when, is your decision.

Does Texas Medicaid cover dental for adults?

Barely. Adult Medicaid dental benefits in Texas are limited to certain emergency situations. For anyone under 21 it is a different story, and Medicaid and CHIP cover comprehensive dental care.

Is dental insurance worth buying if I am paying for it myself?

Sometimes, but run the numbers first. Individual policies usually carry waiting periods, an annual maximum around fifteen hundred dollars, and premiums you pay whether you go or not. If you mainly need cleanings and exams, a practice savings plan often costs less over a year.

Do dentists offer payment plans without a credit check?

Many offices, ours included, will arrange in house payments directly with you, which does not involve a credit application. Third party options like CareCredit do run credit. Ask which kind the office is offering before you fill anything out.

What is the cheapest way to stop tooth pain tonight?

Over the counter anti inflammatory medication and a call first thing in the morning. An emergency room will manage the pain and the infection but will not treat the tooth, so it is an expensive stop that leaves the actual problem in place.

Will a dentist judge me for how long it has been?

No, and if one does, find another dentist. The only useful reaction to a long gap is figuring out what to do next.

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