Thoughts on private dental insurance

[Patri]

I have had crowns and root canals in the past when I had insurance. Now I do not, but need a crown. The broken tooth was built up yesterday, and I have an appointment to go back in Sept. for the procedure. The dentist happened to mention this temp could last for years. Some people never do a crown. I plan to get a crown no matter what, but this made me wonder if any of the private dental plans are worth it. An insurance broker gave me info on one plan with a 12-month waiting period on crowns. It also included vision, with no waiting period for the discount.
Has anyone used similar plans and how did they work? The other option is just pay out of pocket. My dentist does not give any discounts.
Thanks.

 

[vacationhopeful]

When the ACA first came out, I signed up for a dental plan. Paid for 6+ months .. with the ACA 1-800 agent SWEARING my dental office was part of that plan. (could have been De..a dental). After my time in the dentist chair and when I went to pay .. the bookkeeping girl after a GOOD wait, told me they WERE not part of De... Dental plan ... WRITE A CHECK.

I ranted and raved at the ACA people, cancelled THAT part of the policy AND decided it was NOT WORTH the cost to me ANYMORE. I got NO REFUND. I have at least 3 crowns now ... all paid for with my dollars.

Check for WHAT the waiting period is for ANY pre-existing dental issues. Get it in writing YEARLY (it will change) and HOPE they don't pull a fast one on you. aka Will replace or repair a bridge but not enlarge the area due to further tooth loss or bone loss or AGE of your equipment. Everything costs money ... X-rays, molds, extractions ... and the assocated 'specialists', technicians for adjustments and repairs.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Generally, we have found private dental insurance costs more than any benefit you get. There may be one out there, but we never found it. Instead, we use a discount plan, Careington 500 which has worked well for us.

 

[Talent312]

We used to have a group dental plan thru my employer.
When I retired, we signed up for a private plan from UHC.
It costs about the same and offers similar benefits.

It may cost more than we use, but that's the deal with insurance.
You hope that you don't need it, not that you do.
.

 

[Patri]

Generally, we have found private dental insurance costs more than any benefit you get. There may be one out there, but we never found it. Instead, we use a discount plan, Careington 500 which has worked well for us.

I did stumble across this one as I researched. I want to call them. It is less expensive than the company the agent recommended. But my dentist is not on the list. He is better than the ones that are.

 

[bogey21]

Careington 500 has worked well for us.

I looked this one up and it looks like a better deal than the Humana plan I currently have at a cost of $55.88 per month. After I get a chance to check out the nearby dentists on their list I may switch...

George

 

[Luanne]

When my older dd was no longer eligible to be covered under my dental plan through work, we dropped her. I had talked to my dentist's office and they said for what she needed (couple of cleanings per year) the insurance wasn't worth it. When I retired I still got dental, until I reached Medicare age. Then my company didn't cover the dental for dh or I any longer. We opted not to get private dental insurance, again the cost didn't seem worth it. While it would cover a portion of the cleanings, x-rays, and any other services we needed, there was still the monthly premium. When we have years that all we have are cleanings, and the occasional x-ray, we make out fine.

I think I looked into Careington 500, or something like it, for our dd. Whatever it was, it was going to cost only $5/month, or less. But then we found out none of the dentists we use are covered.

 

[b2bailey]

My thoughts on this -- dental costs for seniors is currently a very hot topic for me. If you consider from insurance company point of view, very difficult to make a profit when us oldsters are facing failing crowns and worse. With dentists charging thousandd for these procedures.

 

[easyrider]

My wifes first cousin lives in Bucerias. He recommended his dentist so my wife and I went to his office. My wife had a filling replaced and a root canal with crown. I had a tooth drilled out and bleached with teeth whitening. The cost was about $800 usd for both of us.

Recently, my wife needed a root canal and crown and had the procedure in our town. It cost about $1200.

Always paid cash for dental work including all of my kids braces.

Bill

 

[wackymother]

My daughter needs her wisdom teeth out, and the oral surgeon recommended a discount dental plan, because he takes many of them. We got a Cigna plan that costs about $125 for a year and will take off about $1500 from the costs of the surgery. It's not insurance, and it's not worth it if you just need two cleanings a year, but it's helping this year. Be sure your dentist or oral surgeon takes the specific dental plan you choose, and be sure there is no waiting period for the services you need.

 

[cgeidl]

A couple years ago we went to Costa Rica on a dentation(DENTAL VACATION). The cost of implants was about 1/3rd of the US price and a limo picked us up at the airport,the office owned a hotel in the same building n
and they served a great breakfast People came from many European countries and the US. When we got back a couple months later we got an apology letter. It stated they forgot to give us the insurance policy. If we ever have problems on the teeth they fixed they will pay our airfare back and fix the problem free.The dental savings paid for our 10 day vacation.
I golfed with a man who made the crowns for dentists. The price he got was about 1/5th of the dentists charge.

 

[Brett]

A couple years ago we went to Costa Rica on a dentation(DENTAL VACATION). The cost of implants was about 1/3rd of the US price and a limo picked us up at the airport,the office owned a hotel in the same building n
and they served a great breakfast People came from many European countries and the US. When we got back a couple months later we got an apology letter. It stated they forgot to give us the insurance policy. If we ever have problems on the teeth they fixed they will pay our airfare back and fix the problem free.The dental savings paid for our 10 day vacation.
I golfed with a man who made the crowns for dentists. The price he got was about 1/5th of the dentists charge.

I recently got an implant and crown ... $3K maybe should've gone to Costa Rica

 

[Luanne]

A couple years ago we went to Costa Rica on a dentation(DENTAL VACATION). The cost of implants was about 1/3rd of the US price and a limo picked us up at the airport,the office owned a hotel in the same building n
and they served a great breakfast People came from many European countries and the US. When we got back a couple months later we got an apology letter. It stated they forgot to give us the insurance policy. If we ever have problems on the teeth they fixed they will pay our airfare back and fix the problem free.The dental savings paid for our 10 day vacation.
I golfed with a man who made the crowns for dentists. The price he got was about 1/5th of the dentists charge.

We have several neighbors who have gone to Mexico (don't remember where) to have dental work done. They have been quite pleased with the results.......and the cost.

 

[isisdave]

There are a lot of places in Mexico that cater to this business. Algodones, right across from Yuma, is popular, but there are many options in and around Tijuana too.

Many of these dentists (and other health care professionals) studied in the US or Europe, and speak English. Just be sure to get a good reference or two.

 

[puppymommo]

Funny this came up now. Turns out I have an infected tooth that needs to come out. My dentist (been going to about 20 years) wants to do a crown. He does do implants but said my sinuses are too low (or something like that) and I would need additional surgery that he would have to refer me out for. I do have dental insurance through my work but it has a $1800 a year maximum. The bridge would cost me about $3300 AFTER the insurance. Today I went to Clear Choice which only does implants. They said my sinuses are fine and the total cost would be $5000. They don't take insurance but I already found out that I can submit my bill to my insurance and they will reimburse me. Since the implant requires multiple procedure over a one year period (ugh!) they can bill me as it goes even though they want all the money up front. So I can use both my 2018 and 2019 amounts for insurance. I also asked the insurance company about this. If that works, the implant will cost less than the bridge! Even if I can't use my 2019 benefit, the implant will only cost slightly more than the bridge. I'm not excited to be spending thousands of dollars on one tooth, but I'm very happy to being having an implant rather than a bridge. I did consider dental tourism, though, having it done in Cancun. It is less than $400 RT for me and I could get a cheap Extra Holiday or Last Call from RCI. (Here's the timeshare connection!) But I don't know anyone who has done this and I don't trust internet reviews because they can be easily faked.

 

[bogey21]

When I had my implants I always had the post put in late in the calendar one year and the crown (tooth) added early the following year. That way insurance paid more of the cost...

George

 

[Quadmaniac]

Two separate thoughts on this thread :

Private Dental Insurance : Usually it's not worth it as you're paying both ends of the premiums. Normally when you work for a company, the company is paying half the premiums and you're paying the other half. In exchange for signing up a large group they can give the company a better rate. The best is to add up what you're actually getting in benefit and comparing that to what you are actually paying in premiums. Also take into consideration how much work you have had in the past - how much do you spend on dentistry each year, how much work you've had in the past (will it need to be replaced soon ?) and how much benefit will you actually get (how much money savings ?)

Dental Tourism : Just remember you always get what you pay for. The standards are different in foreign countries and the regulations are different. Even though they may provide you with a "guarantee", how would you really enforce it in a foreign country like Mexico ? Are you going to be able to sue if something goes wrong ? Can you take them to court and get compensation ? There is good and bad work in every country, but at least here, you can hold them accountable if something goes wrong. Plus do remember, many times dental treatment may not be reversible if done wrong - specifically crowns, implants and root canals. You can always get "recommendations" from friends but the only real thing they know is that the dentist treats them well, they like him/her and it doesn't hurt right now, but that does not mean it is done well. It is cheaper, yes, but is it worth the risk ? If you're going to have it done, have it checked when you get back by taking x-rays and having the work checked out. You don't have to say where it was done, but have it checked without mentioning where it was done to see what the response is. The funny thing is that most times, you can tell when work was done out of the country from X-rays and its usually not a good thing.......

 

[Patri]

I'm just going to pay for the crown myself. For one policy, I would have to wait a year before they can complete the job (from the temporary cap I have on now, which is supposed to last a long time). Maybe it would be more worth it if I dropped the insurance as soon as the crown was done, rather than pay premiums the full second year. For the other company, you have to use their network, and their only dentist in my area is NOT good. His patients end up at my dentist's office having their fillings replaced. I might come out a couple hundred dollars ahead going with insurance, but it is not worth it if there are caveats I have not discovered.