Discounted Dental Plans - are These a Good Deal or a Scam?
That seems to be what the public really wants to know. After all, if discounted dental plans are such a "great"
deal, then what exactly is the purpose of dental insurance? Let's take a look at both of these dental plans
and see if we can make some sense of this mess.
Dental Insurance
Dental insurance was designed to provide dental protection for individuals, families and groups. The main
benefit of these plans was that you could see a dentist every six months and it would either be paid for
as part of the policy premium or you would pay a substantial discount. In many cases, you would have
to pay for the checkup and then your insurance company would reimburse you.
Insurance companies encouraged you to visit the dentist on a regular schedule because you could catch
things before they became a major problem that required more costly procedures. This isn't always the case
anymore.
Dental insurance does not pay as much as it used to for dental procedures. As a matter of fact, dental
insurance doesn't pay for pre-existing conditions at all. This means that if you have a broken tooth that must
be repaired and you buy a dental insurance policy looking to get it fixed, you can expect a big surprise when
you get to the dentist's office and they ask you if you would like to pay in cash or put the procedure on your
credit card.
In most cases, dental insurance has a twelve month waiting period before you can be seen for pre-existing
conditions. Also, you can still expect to pay for most of the visit out of pocket as the insurance policy will
only cover a percentage of procedure..
Dental insurance is also very expensive. Most policies can cost up to 0.00 per month for a family just
for the premiums. You'll still have a deductible to pay for each procedure and certain procedures may or may
not be covered. This mostly applies to things like braces, cosmetic dentistry and certain types of oral
surgery. Dental insurance today is not what it was when our parents were younger.
Discounted dental plans
These are exactly what they say they are, discounted dental plans, not insurance. These plans have their
good points and bad, just like dental insurance, however, the good really does outweigh the bad here as
long as you prepare yourself for each visit to the dentist.
This is how a discount plan works.
You join the plan for a small monthly fee, usually less than twenty dollars for a family, and you may then
see any dentist in their network. These are NOT "horse doctors" either. They are fully qualified dentists
that are just like any other dentist you've ever seen. As a matter of fact, your family dentist, if you have
one, may already be a member.
You're probably wondering why a dentist would want to be a part of the network huh? The reason is because
they get cash on the spot and don't have to wait on their payment for up to forty five days to be paid from an
insurance company. Also, membership has its benefits and these dentists, as a large group, can also save
money on different things that they need for their businesses such as equipment, ect. Large numbers means
buying power.
Most of these plans offer a discount for services performed at the time of the visit. Your savings can be anywhere
from 10-60%, depending on the plan. Your actual savings will depend on what part of the country that you live
in too. It seems to be less expensive in larger markets because of the competition between dentists. They can
afford to give lower prices because of the steady amount of patients that they receive.
The only drawback to the discounted dental plans is the fact that you must have cash to pay the discounted
fees at the time of your appointment. If you prepare in advance, so that you have the money set aside, then a
discounted dental plan may be an option for you.
Are dental plans and discount programs really worth it?
I need dental work done, but we haven’t been able to pick up insurance from my husband’s work yet. I’m looking at discount plans, and they prices seem promising but are there catches? Are they really worth it and do they save you money?
the only way you can tell if they will save you money is if they give you their full price list up front. i looked at some plans that just give a “sample” price list so you don’t really know what you’re getting.
I have a dental discount plan called careington 500 Series that i investigated a lot. i found it at 1dental.com. you can see their full list of prices beforehand (so you know what you’re paying for. its saved me $2000+ so far on a combination of crowns/root canals recently and i haven’t seen any catches. so yeah mine has been worth it
i gather that the reason these plans can lower prices so much is that they are “in-network” only so they can kind of work the system. you have to go to a dentist contracted with the plan, but usually they have a list you can choose from so it’s not a big deal
Do Dental Discount Plans Really Save People Money?
I need to see a dentist about a toothache I’ve had since December. I lost my job and benefits last September. I can’t afford to pay a dentist cash. I do have a small reserve, though, and want to know if the discount dental plans out there really help to save money? I don’t want to get insurance because the premium will be more expensive than just walking into a dentist’s office and paying cash.
A discount plan saves you money. Even thought he insurance company is just pocketing the $100 or whatever to get you in the plan, you can definitely save that in a couple of fillings with the discount plan. You still end up paying 100% of the reduced rate, but can save quite a bit. There is also no maximum or minimum on what you can save. If you really plan on having some work done, I’d look into it.
Can someone please explain me the difference between discounted dental plan and dental insurance?
Can someone please explain me the difference between discounted dental plan and dental insurance? Which one is better? I am so confused.
Thank you all. Ann.
discount dental plan says “the desist will charge you less for this procedure, but you still have to pay him”
dental insurance says “we will pay the dentist this much for his services, the rest is yours to pay”
Insurance is better if you can get it, but some dentists will allow you to use both. They charge you less with the discount plan, so the insurance has less to pay and allows you to have more work done before you hit the maximum the insurance will pay per year. Talk to the dentist or office workers about it. they should be able to provide you with the best information.
Discounted dental plan in Bay area?
I feel a wisdom tooth coming in and its bugging the crap out of me. I don’t have dental through work or by any other means. Is there any programs that offer discounted plans? or does anyone know of any dentistry schools near the Bay that will take patients for a very cheap price. I am a full time student. Also my credit is not that great.
For discounted dental plans in the SF area, check out the Web page below. I don’t actually know this company, but they seem to have a decent number of participating dentists.
http://dentalinsurance.dentalplans.com/sanfrancisco/index.html
As for dental schools, the University of the Pacific has its Dugoni dental school and clinic in San Fran. The number for the clinic is 415- 929-6501
The University of San Francisco actually operates two dental clinics. You can find out more their Web site:
http://dentistry.ucsf.edu/patients/patients_main.html
I hope this helps. Good luck!!
Can I use one of those dental discount plans along with regular dental insurance?
My dental insurance maxes out at $1,000 per year. Can I also use a dental discount plan at the same time? Will one of them pick up part of the tab for where the other one left off? (Does that make sense?)
It depends. If you submit your own claims, you can use the second dental insurance. In other words, say your dental work would have cost $1,000. With your discount program, the dentist actually charges, say, $700. If you pay the $700 to him and submit the claim for reimbursement, you will get whatever benefits you are due under the insurance.
Of course, it would be easier if the dentist would both give you the discount and submit the claim to the insurance company. Some dentists might do that, but I think a lot of them would say you are asking for too much, since he is not going to get as much from the insurance company as he would normally charge, and he is already giving you the discount. It doesn’t hurt to ask, of course, but you should expect the dentist to decline that, and I wouldn’t blame him.