Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife and I let the work pile up for a few years and then get a plan for the serious work. It usually amounts to 50/50 between my total cost and what the Ins co pays. Then we get out in open season and BCBS covers cleanings.
I just canceled my dental insurance recently since it has a yearly max amount of $1,000. After the inital exam & x-rays the dentist said it would cost me several thousands dollars to get my teeth in good shape ( crowns, and a few root canals). So I would have paid $400 a year in premiums for a $1,000 max benefit and no major work could be done until 1 year after enrollment where they pay 50% of the cost then! My dentist wants $900 for a crown! I'm still searching for a good plan since i'm self employed.
Good luck with that. I have tried searching for a plan and I have not found any with a max over 1,500. This is why you get insurance. You don't get insurance to pay for things that you could ordinarily pay for, you get insurance for times...unusual, where it would be too expensive to pay out at one time.
Who would get insurance on their car if the max payout was a $1,000 or health insurance if the max payout was 1,000, or home insurance if the max payout was 1,000. Orthodontics work can cost well in excess of 5K. No one plans for their children to need the work or plans to have a root canal. I think the day is coming when you won't see any more dental insurance. they are going to put themselves right out of the market.
Let us know how it works out for you! I have heard from a few people that went to another country for medical and dental care and haven't heard anything negative, although I am sure there are some horror stories out there.... but if you do your research, I think it is a good option.
__________________
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. ~Henry David Thoreau
Guess I won't complain about my dental ins anymore. As a retired teacher, I can still participate in my district's group plan, which I thought was pretty lame....until I read the posts on this thread. My husband (also a retired teacher) and I each pay $180/yr. We get two free cleanings and a check up every year. My husband just had a root canal ($250 co-pay) and a crown ($750 co-pay) done. I thought the co-pays were outrageous. I stand corrected.
Bascailly if you look at dnetistry their are so many advanced treatments coming out that the cost of have risen to very high levels. Root canals that use to be near the top are common now days. that means that they are paying for less tooth removals evrus high cost treatments very year which drives upo cost. lookign at the modern dentist office it had more gihyer tech equipment than most specailist doctors offices. High tech means higher cost basically .
Guess I won't complain about my dental ins anymore. As a retired teacher, I can still participate in my district's group plan, which I thought was pretty lame....until I read the posts on this thread. My husband (also a retired teacher) and I each pay $180/yr. We get two free cleanings and a check up every year. My husband just had a root canal ($250 co-pay) and a crown ($750 co-pay) done. I thought the co-pays were outrageous. I stand corrected.
The co-pay for the crown was outrageous. The average cost of a porcelin (sp) crown is $750...so if you had to pay 750 as a copay your insurance did not help much.
I have not had a good dental plan offered from an employer in eight years. The thing that has changed so much is the max pay out. It used to be that you could get dental plan that covered orthodontics for your children...now with caps at $500 to $1000 per year who can have that done.
I actually saw some dental plans that say they cover everything for $100 a month. The fine print said $1000 payout max per year. This is an insurance policy for the intellectually challenged.
I need a couple of crowns. The cost here from several dentists was 2,000 for the two crowns. I checked out the rates internationally and I get the same work done through dental tourism for $600 at a hospital with good certification in Costa Rica. The price of plane ticket $500. The leaves me with $900 to spend on a vacation. So off to Costa Rica I go. I would encourage anyone with more than 2K or more to take a look.
Anyone with explanation as to why dental insurance has gotten stingy. Don't blame it on illegals. They are not entitled to free dental care at the dental emergency room.
Pay for it in cash, my friend. Dentistry has been able to avoid the minefield of the insurance industry, unlike medicine. There is no dental medicare and dentists do not take medicaid. Dentists are paid what people think they are worth, which is the way it should be.
One of my sons who is interested in healthcare is pre-dent, rather than pre-med, as he sees the mess that the feds and insurers have made in medicine. Smart boy. My daughter, who is a pre-med, is rethinking her position, despite being a 4.0. This is what will happen in our future- the talented, smart kids will avoid medicine due to reduced reimbursement and more trouble.
Not sure dentist can say they have a better time at work than medical physicians. Hope your son made the right decision.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
