Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Dentists and Dental Insurance

My dentist is a friendly soul so we often engage in conversation when I'm in his office. He's Republican and religious, I'm a Democrat and not religious and yet we enjoy our conversations.

He holds the typical Republican opinion that Medicare is bad, Obamacare is bad, and Obama is bad, yada yada yada. However, over time I noticed he had nothing to say about the prices he's charging, about all the fancy equipment he has added to his practice, or the inadequacy of dental insurance.

One day I decided to bring that up so I asked why there seems to be less scrutiny on dentists than doctors. Dentists seem to be free to do whatever they want and charge whatever they please. It was a long conversation but the short of it was the folks overseeing healthcare do not include teeth.

Now that's a bummer. I think teeth are very important to overall health. For whatever reason dental care has not come under the same guidelines as medical care.

I also learned from him that dental insurance works nothing like health insurance. I've since investigated this and he seems to be right. Most dental plans consist of you paying a set amount of money in a given year and that's about what you get out of it.  I think pet insurance may work this way and perhaps concierge medicine.

With health insurance, if I have a major illness the expenses will be covered far beyond my premium costs for the year, not so with dental insurance.

I need to change my dental insurance plan so I called my dentist's office and noticed the receptionist seemed hesitant to talk a lot about other insurance companies, not because she didn't want to tell me, but I decided maybe they weren't seeing a lot of patients with dental insurance. I asked and was told they really are not seeing a lot with insurance anymore for a variety of reasons. One being most employers no longer cover its cost. Another being that people are realizing it's pretty much a wash. You get out what you pay in.

She told me they had a little in-house policy for patients who wished to make a monthly payment. She didn't seem to be pushing it. Apparently it's offered more as a convenience to patients rather than a money making project. It works much the same, a monthly premium and 15% off dental procedures above the amount of your yearly premiums.

I had never given a lot of thought to dental insurance. It's not very expensive so I just kept it when I retired. Funny though I don't have vision insurance to purchase glasses. Always figured that didn't pay enough to be worth the trouble.

What's your opinion of dental care and dental insurance?

19 comments:

  1. When I retired, I lost my employer sponsored dental insurance. I shopped around for and discovered that if you don't mind going to an in-network dentist, maybe the insurance would be worth it. The problem is that the in-network dentists in our area are few. In addition, they work in parts of the city that have a very high crime rate. I would need a body guard to go get my teeth cleaned.

    I ended up purchasing GHI dental plan through AARP. It allowed you to go to the dentist of your choosing. It was $500 per person per year. At the end of the year, after all of their exclusions, deductibles etc etc, I received exactly $14 in reimbursement for all of my dental costs for that year (2 cleanings, 1 crown).

    We no longer carry dental insurance and just pay out of pocket. I love my dentist. Her prices are fairly consistent. She advertises as Gentle Dentistry, and she is!

    Probably more than you wanted to know about my dental insurance experience. I do feel that oral health is very important. Hard to believe that there are not better options for those of us without affordable employer based plans.

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    1. I hear you. That's pretty much what I had figured out. I'm thinking I may just go without. The only other option I would consider would be the in house monthly plan offered by my dentist that would give me a 15% discount on any work he did above regular cleanings and x-rays.

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  2. Having never had anything very exciting happen to my teeth, it was a real awakening with my one and only crown. Not one penny covered. I'm spoiled by medical insurance, I guess. With (and just in the past 20 years) two rounds of cancer each, an appendectomy, a broken leg and torn quadriceps, we've certainly gotten our money's worth!

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    1. Yes, I'd say you've gotten your money's worth with health insurance. Hope you're both doing well. I'm tired off this dental situation. I have an absolute fortune in my mouth. I've finally reached the stage in life that I don't think much else will need fixing I'm wondering about young families. How to they afford dental care for their children? This country really needs to tae a look.

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  3. I think you pretty much get out of it what you put in, unless you have more problems than normal - then you are bleeped. I think it's been a waste of money. DH has had more than his share of problems and they still only pay what the plan allows.

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    1. Exactly. Not sure what took me so long to realize that. Really irritates me. Should not be called insurance at all.

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  4. Thanks for the good topic Linda. I have no experience with dental insurance but I've sure learned a thing or two reading your post and the comments.

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    1. It's a subject that needs to be addressed in this country. What do they do for dental care costs in England and Canada?

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  5. One time I overhead the receptionist ask the dentist what to charge for a procedure and he said, "If she has insurance it's ___. If she doesn't have insurance..." and he named a figure quite a bit less. I don't believe in dental because it seems to be a break even thing. You get out what you pay in. I don't need to have someone act like a piggy bank for me.

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    1. There's a price for the insured and a price for the uninsured in health insurance as well. Nope, I'll be my own piggy bank.

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  6. I had a lot of work done before I retired. I hope nothing like that happens again because I don't have another $10K to share.

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    1. My dentist thinks my days of major dental work are over I hope he knows. Mine aren't pretty but they work and I'm not spending anymore than I have to on them.

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  7. I'm glad you looked your dentist in the eye and asked why dental charges are so high. Lower income people here cannot afford dental care.I'm fortunate. I have dental insurance in my retirement package. It's expensive but worth it.

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    1. Sounds like Canada's Healthcare system also leaves out dental. What a shame.

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  8. We have dental insurance through the state plan for retired state employees/teachers. Most regular services are covered. I sometimes get a bill for an amount not covered. Right now i am awaiting the application of a crown to replace a temporary. I will be seeing how much of that is covered. We pay about $90 a month for the two of us and then don't worry about having to go to the dentist. My teeth are starting to break up, so I expect to get my monies' worth in the future.
    We also have some vision coverage through Group Health. Exams are covered, and there is a $150 allowance for glasses once every two years. I doesn't begin to cover the cost these days, but it helps.

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    1. Oh gosh, I hope my teeth don't start breaking up and they well could because I have so many old fillings. I was hoping just to do the minimum from here on out.

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  9. I opted not to get the dental insurance when I retired. It would actually have cost more than the two annual cleanings and occasional x-rays I typically need. If I need something more I will deal with it but I think it would have to be something really major for me to regret not having dental insurance at this point.

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  10. P.S. That is my trouble with insurance in general. It is a gamble that something bad will happen to you. I hate that.

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    1. Insurance in general is a terribly messed up system in this country. We so need to make some meaningful changes but all Congress can do is fight.

      From the little I read about Canada and England they also have not solved the problem of dental costs.

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