Paying For Dental Care When On Medicare

[audreyh1]

The initial waiting periods make sense otherwise folks might buy insurance because they need immediate coverage. Like when buying flood insurance.

The yearly caps - not much protection against potentially serious dental bills.

Consider you also have to find a dentist that accepts the insurance. I hear that a lot - oh, that dentist doesn’t take my insurance - from retirees who have dental insurance benefits from their employer.

 

[Midpack]

I called Boomer Benefits about Medicare and they suggested two dental/vision plans. One for $30/month that pays a maximum of $1000/year and one for $45/month that pays $1500/year. That seems representative of the private insurance I've seen so far. Not a whole lot of benefit for just checkups, nor if you have to do anything really expensive.

Those are the Manhattan Life policies they recommend. You can see them here https://www.manhattanlife.com/Insurance/Dental-Vision-Hearing

 

[folivier]

I've posted this before but we have had crowns, root canals, and an implant done in Los Algodones, MX. The cost is 10-20% of what our local dentists charge. Not for everyone but for us it works out great.

 

[Potstickers]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the dental plans I've researched have a maximum amount they pay each year - which throws our numbers way off. The local dentist told my DW she needed four crowns and I needed two, as well as fillings for "ditching" along the gum line. We went to Costa Rica and the dentist there did two crowns for her and none for me.

I hesitate to do this, since I don't wish to overstep, but here's a link to the dental saga in Costa Rica. There are four posts and this links to the first.

https://www.travelinggrouch.com/2019/01/dental-tourism-part-1_16.html

When I click on the link, I get: This blog is open to invited readers only

 

[dtbach]

The plans I am familiar w/ typically have a 1-2K cap (for them) so am wondering how you consider yours a known amount (out of pocket?)

Here is the benefit max for my insurance. So much higher than apparently the insurance you have.


Annual Maximum Benefit Per Person $30,000 per person

 

[kaneohe]

Here is the benefit max for my insurance. So much higher than apparently the insurance you have.


Annual Maximum Benefit Per Person $30,000 per person

for dental alone? pretty incredible , if true. What company /plan?

 

[Teacher Terry]

Steve, that’s a great deal you got. Did you have a oral surgeon do them?

 

[steelyman]

May 1 is “benefit choice period” for us, so up-to-date info is available.

Regarding dental insurance (Delta Dental through employer): premium is $11/mo. Deductible is $175/yr. Maximum benefit is $2500/yr.

 

[Just_Steve]

Steve, that’s a great deal you got. Did you have a oral surgeon do them?

Yes 4 implants on bottom and 4 on top done by oral surgeon.
This is the system used. They also use these to replaced failed implants.
They are snap in but not removable by the patient.

 

[Just_Steve]

for dental alone? pretty incredible , if true. What company /plan?

+1 inquiring minds want to know.

 

[wmc1000]

We have BCBS dental insurance @ $33 a month each. Price of our dental services is going out of sight. Our dentist has had to invest big $ to stay current technologically.

A root canal and crown alone is $1700 approx.--and they're much more in some cities. Insurance pays 1/2 of that.

Just had a crown with pins done. Standard fee was $1171

Our dental discount plan gave us an "adjustment" of $335 so I paid $836.

So I guess our $129 annual dental discount "plan" saved me 206 on this crown work.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Yes the dentist removes the bottom denture once a year to clean under it.

 

[Katsmeow]

We have a $44 a month dental plan as retiree coverage from DH's former employer. I think the max is about $1700 per year per person. There is a $150 family deductible. Limit per person is $2000 annually. They pay 100% of preventative and diagnostic (with no deductible). Crowns/bridges/implants, ortho are paid 50% with perio and endodontics at 80%.

I am considering dropping this for next year. The 100% for preventative is good and if both of us end up going consistently then we probably come out positive on this. But, DH has really good teeth and doesn't go that often and rarely needs work.

So, we usually end up on the positive end of this compared to premiums maybe 1 year out of 3. We probably do end up net positive but not by much. I may drop this for next year.

 

[Dreamer]

These are my provisional fixed full upper and fixed full lower, been on a soft food diet since mid January permanent fixed upper and lower should be in my mouth in about 2 weeks. Then it will be steaks and pork chops until I'm sick lol.
All in $40k insurance paid a whopping $2500 my yearly cap.

Looks great!

 

[dtbach]

+1 inquiring minds want to know.

Benefeds (replaced Tricare Dental)


Delta Dental, PPO High
Self and Family
$161.87 Monthly
Effective: 01/01/2019

 

[Stonewalker]

When I click on the link, I get: This blog is open to invited readers only

Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed the problem.

 

[Just_Steve]

Benefeds (replaced Tricare Dental)


Delta Dental, PPO High
Self and Family
$161.87 Monthly
Effective: 01/01/2019

I was just browsing your plan, outstanding.

 

[kaneohe]

Here is the benefit max for my insurance. So much higher than apparently the insurance you have.


Annual Maximum Benefit Per Person $30,000 per person

I saw it w/ my own 2 eyes. Still looks like any extra 0 in there............
the premiums are double the std plan, but the max is 20X?

 

[rk911]

medicare does not cover dental. we cash flow
dental work by setting aside $X per month into a sinking fund for dental expenses.

 

[nels52]

dental through Medicare advantage

I have a Medicare Advantage plan through Aetna that provides up to $1000 / year reimbursement of dental expenses. The plan cost is only $47 / month so I come out ahead. It also has some allowance for vision and hearing aids. Have you checked what advantage plans are available in your area?

 

[May Ham]

Check Delta

You may want to check out DeltaCare USA available through Costco.com
Premium was $158.99 for two of us for the year! This was way less than adding on dental to our Medicare Advantage account. Also it is available for any age. You can look online for what they pay for dental procedures (crowns, fillings, etc.) but you do get 2 free cleanings per year so that alone made it worth it. So far I am very happy with them. The one (maybe bad thing) is that you have to go to one of the network dentists but there are lots to choose from and Yelp is helpful if you don't have a personal referral. We like our dentist!

 

[DeborahB]

I have BCBS dental - I think it’s $33/mo. and that’s less than the routine cleanings, xrays and exams. So I save. Before I retired I had pretax medical money at work. My teeth are pretty good but I had old silver fillings everywhere that were going to go. I had them all replaced with tooth-colored amalgam fillings which probably saved work down the road. For me the dental insurance is cheap and worth it. I’ve been on Medicare 6 years.
EDIT: routine cleanings, exams, xrays, twice yearly cleanings are covered 100% with no copay.

 

[Elizrogers]

I currently have no dental insurance. I have been looking at options, however, in the last year the only thing I would have used it for would have been cleaning or routine x-rays, nothing really necessary. I'm fortunate to have good dental health at the moment. The only "real" work I've needed in the past 2-3 years was crowns. I had to get 2 a couple years ago, though I only needed one, because it was my front tooth and I wanted the two front to match. The one had chipped off a corner and though the second had a surface crack in about the same place as the one had chipped off, insurance would not pay unless it actually broke off too. So, I had to pay myself.

It's definitely a gamble. It seems to be a decision of what do you think you will need and when. The cheapest dental insurance I've found was $35/month. Crowns in my area run $800-$1000. Most insurance will only pay 50% on a crown. That means you will pay at least $400 on one. Further, most insurance won't pay for a crown in the first 12 months of coverage. So, even if you get a crown in month 13 (as soon as allowed) you will have paid $420 in premiums and you'll pay $400 of the cost of the crown. That's the full cost of the crown. If you don't need it that soon, then you may have paid enough premiums for 2 crowns before you need them. So, maybe you should just put that $35/mo into savings for when you do need dental work. And some dentists give a discount for cash, as well as for seniors.

On the other hand, if you think you're going to need a lot of work or don't want to take the chance of an emergency, then insurance can give you real peace of mind and be beneficial. It's a more difficult decision for people trying to live primarily on social security than those who have been able to save enough to live well in retirement and see SS as pocket change.

 

[Jacquiel]

I am actually looking into this myself now and have found that many dentists offer a "wellness" package that you can purchase each year at a discounted rate that will cover 2 cleanings, x-rays, and substantial discounts on any restorative care you may need. I would suggest talking to your dentist to see what they will offer you.

 

[john4512]

Dental help

Some of the Medicare Advantage plans have some dental coverage, but usually just preventive stuff. Our dentist offers a 5 percent discount on any work paid for by cash or check at the time you set up an appointment. He also offers an annual "insurance" plan that runs about $100 a year per person to anyone without insurance. It provides a cut rate on all services and can be combined with the cash discount.