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Is Dental Insurance Worth It? - Buy Dental Insurance:Many of us without dental insurance have to ask ourselves - Is it really worth getting? I have been with no dental insurance for the past 10 years, as long as I've been married. My wife had a regular job and her employer offered full coverage dental insurance for her, but spouses weren't included in the dental plan. I've been self employed my whole career so benefits are not something I'm used to. When my teeth and gums were healthy dental insurance seemed like a waste of money to me since my yearly bills were only about $300. The cost of dental insurance was way more than that so it didn't make sense. In the past few years I have had to get 2 crowns put on teeth and had a large filling removed and redone. The bills have started to get pretty high and I'm seriously reconsidering my past thoughts on insurance for dental work. Most plans pay for your twice yearly dental exams and they will also cover x-rays as often as every year. Fluoride treatments for kids are generally covered if they are under twelve as this is a preventive measure. Now that we have 2 kids and my wife is no longer working it's looking like I will buy dental insurance.
Best Dental Insurance - Compare the Dental Plans:Which dental insurance companies are considered the best? There are dozens to choose from like Delta Dental, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross, Fortis, and Humana. A search on Google brings up 100's, so you can wade through those or check with your current health care provider to see what they offer. We live in Oregon and both Blue Cross Blue Shield and Lifewise offer dental plans as add-ons to normal health care packages. I went to the Web to compare dental plans and a good website is at Dentalinsurance.com. I entered in my email and preference for family/individual plans and was given a wide selection of low cost plans to supplemental plans to full coverage dental insurance with no waiting periods and affordable deductibles. The plans with higher monthly premiums tended to have no waiting periods but that was not always the case. Deductibles ranged from $0 all the way up to $100 depending on the coverage and company. If there was a waiting period it tended to be NONE for preventive care, 3 to 6 months or basic care, and major dental care had a 12 to 18 month waiting period. All these dental companies want to cover themselves so you don't suddenly have to get a root canal right after you signup with them. They want to make sure all dental procedures you get haven't been "waiting to get done" for a while. I have my own insurance broker that I use in Oregon and he helps me find the best rates on health insurance and I will probably use him for my dental coverage as well. If you don't have a favorite dentist then companies like Delta Dental and other may be best for you as they find dentists in their networks. Make sure to find out what the annual maximums are for the insurance - most companies have one. Check on things like deductibles, copayments, reimbursement levels, limitations, and exclusions. The biggest gripe we read online in dental forums were from customers complaining about procedures that they thought would be covered more and they later found out that their portion of the bill was larger than originally thought.
Dental Insurance Cost:HMO dental insurance can be as low as $6/month but most are closer to $20/month. If you want to choose your dentist go with an indemnity dental insurance plan which is close to $25/month and covers about 50% to 80% of dental fees. From what I have seen a family dental plan will cost about $50/month in our area and it's not like all dental work is covered. Assume you are going to spend at least $500/year on premiums and even more on out of pocket deductibles and a partial % of the cost with procedures like fillings, spacers, crowns, root canals, extractions, and braces. Not all dental insurance covers things like braces so check with the provider. In my case, our provider did not. For things like crowns and root canals you are looking at a 50% payment. My last crown was $1000 so I would have an out of pocket expense of $500 with the insurance. The good news is that with insurance items like spacers (my daughter just had one put in) would only be about $75 compared to the $375 I paid. With a growing family it's worth the price to me to be covered, but if I was still single I may go without a dental plan. I have submitted the paperwork with my agent and hope to start the dental insurance plan in about 2 weeks if all goes well. Shop around as the premiums change rapidly from HMO to PPO plans.
Deductibles - Waiting Periods:The hidden parts of dental insurance programs are things like deductibles and those dreaded waiting periods. Let's look at the deductibles first. Most plans will cover the basic like those with Delta Dental which range from about $250 to $500 a year. Surprisingly, not all the low cost dental plans had deductibles associated with them (that is not the case with health insurance). The plan I am looking at with Blue Cross will have a small deductible but we also get shortened waiting periods. The whole idea behind any "waiting period" is to make sure the medical procedure (dental in this case) is something that hasn't been lingering for very long. Most insurance companies don't want you signing up and then the next day getting a root canal. That's "fishy" in their eyes and not something that most will cover. The good news is that most dentists will give you a heads up on what might need to be done down the road. In my last visit, the dentist mentioned a potential crown on a tooth with a small crack. He said "within 12 to 18 months we will need to deal with that". I almost feel like he was giving me a heads up to get some insurance and make sure I'm covered when the procedure is necessary. That is why I am doing this research and finding a dental plan that will cover me when the time comes. Most waiting periods are anywhere from 6 months to a year and half in length. Plan ahead with your dental work and you'll be happy you did. Another thing to remember is that many dental insurance programs have a maximum so it's not like you can get all your tooth crowns put on at the same time and expect them to cover it. You will have to space those out over a few years to get your coverage done properly.
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