good dental insurance

[Senator]

Having treatment recommendations influenced by what the insurance company will or will not cover, or what they will cover more generously, is not, IMO, the ideal way to treat or be treated.

Many of these offices will systematically steer a patient away from what is a "covered" procedure, to what is not, and then can charge what they want, trying to get away from the payment constraints of the contract.
So, be careful.

Do you think a Dentist would ever do a procedure in order to get additional revenue, even if it was not needed?

Insurance makes sure that the procedure is necessary, and not a procedure that the dentist wants to do before Christmas to get new shoes for his kids. Or maybe they are charging 20%+ more for a service than what is 'usual and customary'.

I would rather have insurance limiting cost, than a Dentist/Doctor. Until these professionals advertise their rates upfront, and compare to others so you can see, insurance is the way to go.

You can save money without insurance by limiting the services you take/purchase, but I do not think you save money by not having insurance and getting the same dental services that you would with insurance.

 

[travelover]

Do you think a Dentist would ever do a procedure in order to get additional revenue, even if it was not needed?
.......

I suspect that HadEnuff is in a position to know.

 

[FIREd]

In other words if you know you'll need substantial work done, insurance might benefit you. If all you need are cleanings and the occasional filling then no, it won't. And that's most folks which is why insurance is usually not worth it.

The OP seemed to expect "procedures" in his future, so he may not be like most folks.

 

[HadEnuff]

I know more than one ethical dentist who found himself/herself working in a big "corporate" office, you know, the big ones that advertise on TV and are in multiple cities around the country, who found that after they did their exams and treatment plans, the treatment plans would be changed by a front desk clerical person with no more than a high school education, to put the treatment plan more in line with corporate guidelines and "production goals"....yeah...you figure that out.

I saw with my own eyes, more than once, extensive periodontal treatment plans that went beyond what the insurance covered, (so the office could charge whatever they wanted), when in my opinion the treatment was way more than needed. Wayyyyy more. And the patient was lured into the office with the advertising the his/her fillings would be all covered by insurance, BUT, they would not do those procedures unless the WHOLE treatment plan was done.

Nice.
And if you think the insurance company cares more about your outcomes than its bottom line, you are mistaken. They will always disclaim that the treatment choices are the responsibility of the dentist, they are just deciding what they will cover.

 

[athena53]

And the patient was lured into the office with the advertising the his/her fillings would be all covered by insurance, BUT, they would not do those procedures unless the WHOLE treatment plan was done.

Yeah, that would be a red flag. Pretty clear that the fillings are a "loss leader" and they make it up by doing more profitable procedures.

I LOVE my dentist and the oral surgeon who has done my implants and I hope they never retire or join some giant corporate chain. I do e-Rewards surveys, not just for the Hilton points, but because I find it interesting to see what marketers want to know. A few of them have definitely been interested in my choice of dentist and how much I know/trust the major franchises.

 

[Gevans17]

Does anyone know of a good dental insurance plan that actually covers some procedures? most plans I see are cheap, but they have a very small cap as far as how much they pay out. let me know what you folks do for dental and what companies are best. Now I have no dental and everything is out of pocket. thanks

Dental insurance is basically a waste of money. The yearly cap on payments is too low and has stayed relatively constant for many years, while premiums have kept climbing.

 

[Henry Lili]

Look into discount plans. Not insurance but providers agree to charges in advance. Carrington care via standard life has been good for me for four years. Not sure if they still accept new clients. I think the site I found them on was ... just Google dental discount plans and see what you find.

 

[ziggy29]

For the most part, unless dental insurance is employer-subsidized, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It would be better to put the premium money into a tax-free flexible spending account to cover your dental exams, cleanings and X-rays. Now if you have specific dental issues that require more treatment it might be a good deal, since there is generally no "dental underwriting". But if it's usually nothing more than preventative visits every six months, it's cheaper to do without.

 

[Scuba]

I did massive research on this... and did not like any of the plans offered. Many had windows of limited coverage (no fillings till 12 months coverage... no crowns till 24 months coverage, etc.) And the annual caps...

We pay out of pocket. Our dentist doesn't give us discounts - even for paying cash... and bills us more than the EOB said he was billing my old employee insurance. I've talked with him about it - and talked with his office manager... they seem unwilling to negotiate and just keep recommending I get a PPO plan... which doesn't pencil out. But he's a great dentist and so... we pay as we go.

+1
My dentist won't give cash discounts either. But it's not that big of a cost and we like him so we stick with him.