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I'm new to the US (in Los Angeles) and need to get a cavity filled + cavity consultation. I keep reading online that Dental Insurance is $1000s per year, but then go to websites like dentalplans.com, 1dental.com, ehealthinsurance.com or others, and individual plans start at $10/month or $75-$135/year, which isn't bad at all.
Yes, what you're not understanding is that the $1000's is the potential cost of dental care, even if you have dental insurance. Dental insurance is generally not considered all that great in the US, there are very few plans that cover more than 50% of the very minimal services (yearly checkup, every other year x-rays, twice yearly cleanings, extractions, and fillings). So if you needed something significant, like a crown or implant or braces or grafting, in many cases, insurance won't cover it at all and you'd have to pay 100% of it yourself.
That's where the "thousands" mention comes from. That even with insurance, it could still cost thousands.
However.
It doesn't necessarily cost thousands, because in -most- cases, if you take care of your teeth and have checkups and cleanings as recommended, the additional cost can be zero. So you'd pay only 50% of the cost for 2 cleanings, 1 checkup, and x-rays only once every other year. That could be a few hundred dollars, on top of the $10/month insurance.
My dental insurance covers 80% of the minimum, plus it guarantees that the dentist won't charge me more than the amount the dentist agreed to charge patients who have that insurance, on things that it doesn't cover. So if I need an implant, and their usual fee is $3000, they can only charge me $2550. Insurance won't pay for any of that $2550, but I won't have to pay the usual $3000.
Be careful with dental "plans" that you find online. They are often just discount plans, and you have to go to a very limited list of dentists, sometimes nowhere near where you live or work. Sometimes they will claim to save you money, but won't cover much of anything and won't guarantee minimum fees, so you might pay $10 a month - which is $120 a year - but they'll only cover $20 for a yearly checkup and you'll still have to pay the balance to the dentist. They're not all like that but I actually saw something similar at the place I work, offered to employees. You end up paying more than you would if you just paid whatever the dentist charged and didn't have any insurance at all.
There is no such thing as dental "insurance". There are only dental "benefit plans" which are actually the opposite of insurance. Insurance is meant to cover catastrophic problems while you pay for the routine smaller stuff. Like disability insurance, auto insurance, and life insruance, you should hope you never need your insurance. Dental "insurance" is the opposite because it covers small stuff but not more expensive stuff. It would be like your auto insurance paying for your oil changes but not for a major collision.
More and more dental plans now have waiting periods before you can access the benefits. This is to keep people from waiting until they have a problem and then signing up to get that problem paid for, then stop paying premiums. Why would an insurance company take $100 from someone as a premium, then pay for $1200 in dental work, then allow the patient to pay no more premiums?
There is no such thing as dental "insurance". There are only dental "benefit plans" which are actually the opposite of insurance. Insurance is meant to cover catastrophic problems while you pay for the routine smaller stuff. Like disability insurance, auto insurance, and life insruance, you should hope you never need your insurance. Dental "insurance" is the opposite because it covers small stuff but not more expensive stuff. It would be like your auto insurance paying for your oil changes but not for a major collision.
More and more dental plans now have waiting periods before you can access the benefits. This is to keep people from waiting until they have a problem and then signing up to get that problem paid for, then stop paying premiums. Why would an insurance company take $100 from someone as a premium, then pay for $1200 in dental work, then allow the patient to pay no more premiums?
You're arguing semantics. There are discount "plans" and there are dental benefits/insurance "plans." The first offer only discounts, it's like a rewards card - you pay a small amount every month, and you get a discount on services offered by participating providers.
The other thing, whatever you want to call it, is actual coverage of certain procedures, and might ALSO include discounts on procedures that aren't covered.
Whether there's a waiting period or a max cap or a minimum deductible or any other caveats depends on the plan. Some plans even cover implants, grafting, and I know mine covers 50% of the cost of braces for children under the age of 15 or something like that (I don't have kids so I didn't pay attention to the details). My dental insurance has zero deductible, and zero max. It doesn't cover all that much, but it guarantees prices if I use a participating provider, and it covers 80% of all the things that it does cover. So my yearly x-bitewings and dental cleaning and consultation and checkup cost me I think $28. The insurance covered the rest. And yes - it's called insurance. No matter what it is intended to do, that's what it's called.
It's not insurance just because someone calls it insurance. If I put my head in the oven, it doesn't make me a biscuit. But you're right, it's just semantics. I have this conversation 2-3 times per day in my dental office when new patients show up with their fresh crisp "dental insurance" card and are outraged that they still have to pay something. They feel cheated, which is amazing to me because they signed up for the plan without understanding all the details. I am also amazed that most patients leave it to the doctor's office to explain THEIR own plan to them. Don't get me wrong....the plans are not inherently bad, but patients RARELY understand he level of benefits actually provided. You would be amazed at how many people show up at the doctor's office thinking their insurance card is like a credit card and they don't have to pay anything at all.
It's not insurance just because someone calls it insurance. If I put my head in the oven, it doesn't make me a biscuit. But you're right, it's just semantics. I have this conversation 2-3 times per day in my dental office when new patients show up with their fresh crisp "dental insurance" card and are outraged that they still have to pay something. They feel cheated, which is amazing to me because they signed up for the plan without understanding all the details. I am also amazed that most patients leave it to the doctor's office to explain THEIR own plan to them. Don't get me wrong....the plans are not inherently bad, but patients RARELY understand he level of benefits actually provided. You would be amazed at how many people show up at the doctor's office thinking their insurance card is like a credit card and they don't have to pay anything at all.
I don't know why they'd think that, when their -health insurance- plan doesn't work that way. They have deductibles, and co-pays, and out of pocket expenses, things that are covered, things that aren't covered, requirements for coordination of benefits, required referrals to specialists in some cases, etc. etc. They know this AND they know it's called insurance. They don't confuse it with a free-pass-card.
So why do they confuse it with the exact same -kind- of thing, with dental?
I agree and I have no idea why people think this way. Actually, I do....it's the ever-increasing entitlement mentality where people want others to pay for them.
It's really not the same as health insurance and the plans don't cover much. I'm losing my dental insurance from work and won't be picking up a plan on my own because the cost outweigh the benefit. Even my dentist agrees. I could put the money I'd pay towards the premium into a savings account and darn near have enough to cover what a dental plan annual MAXIMUM benefit is.
There are some cheap plans that are usually associated with only a few dentists who, IMO and in my area, aren't good. Those may work for some people but not for someone like me who plans to keep all my teeth until I'm dead. A good dentist is one of my life's priorities.
I tried Brighter.com which said that I'll pay $110 for a cavity filling, but I left the office paying $350 (with x-rays), not sure what happened there, lol.
Anyway, I know that I don't have any cavities but just need some cleaning done. Should I get insurance which is, apparently, around $80/year? If it covers only small things like that, which is what I need, maybe it's worth it?
Thanks!
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