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I have dental insurance (individual because I'm over 65) through Manhattan Life, serviced by Careington Int'l. It's $42/mo and well worth it. It started out 7 years ago at about $34/mo and has gone up a couple dollars every year. The first year it's covered 60%, then 70% at two years, then 80% at three years. 2 cleanings a year, 100% covered. When looking at the alternative, I'm happy to pay the $42/mo. After a bad experience I found Aspen Dental which I'm very happy with.
Oh, and it's "Dental, Vision, Hearing" which obviously if you need glasses or hearing aids, you have to put off the dental. I have not used the vision or hearing yet. https://www.manhattanlife.com/Indivi...Vision-Hearing
One more thing: my Medicare Supplemental ins. broker arranged this for me. It really is the best individual deal out there - unfortunately. But when I was on company employee group plans, there was a time when I could not get a root canal no matter how hard the dentist tried - even though it was absolutely necessary. So there's that. I've already had 2 root canals with this insurance.
I have previously read articles about medical research looking at dental infections. Some infections located in the roots are NOT combated by antibiotics in our blood system, they are protected in some manner. A person could have an infected tooth, that 'leaks' infection into the circulatory system giving you a long list of possible diseases. Treatment with antibiotics might clean up things, but it will return so long as the original infection continues to exist. From what I remember reading the only way to rid the body of such an infection was to remove the infected tooth.
A lot of older folks have no teeth. My grandparents [all four] had no teeth by the time that I came along, and my parents did too. As far as I am aware I am the first generation in my bloodline to have retained all teeth into my 60s.
I assume that the primary method of avoiding this issue is oral hygiene, though I am not certain if that is correct.
Bingo! We have a winner. The "protected" bugs were raising hell with me. I'm three days after my oral sugery (I got full dentures)and I feel way better already. It wasn't easy for a guy on disability to pull off though. Yeah my Medicare advantage has "dental coverage" but folks shouldn't expect much there even on a top tier plan. 1000 bucks a year allowable expense. No major work is covered but they have a trick to sell you on their "stand alone plan'. 50 bucks a month extra for no better than you will get on the Medicare side.
I managed to make it happen cuz I plumb had to. My life was becoming a burden. Lost my right leg below the ankle this last year and now my terminator re fit is bout done I hope. No I'm not diabetic. Lost the leg to an old injury. My new teeth are already fitting well. I'm settling in quick but ain't gonna push. Been there. You don't push a prosthetic appliance. it will win.
Yes I managed it but the most of folks on disability couldn't swing it. Just the extractions alone was close to 40% of the cost. Lab fees are the worst. They make good coin. I'm in debt again for the first time in 10 years but it had to be done. It wasn't easy to swing. but I'm told my pension pays to good for any extra help from say Medicaid. Yep I'm >wealthy" at 2000 a month. Ain't life grand.
But I got it done. My life is mine again not being tied down burning energy fighting an infection/inflammation that won't go away minus extreme measures. I wish anyone needing the same all my level best. It's tough getting major mouth work on a fixed income when you're still trying to build credit after a divorce or some major happening.
I'll be much more likely to donate what I can to community services for such things in the future.
You have my empathy. Nothing like a dental infection to play havoc with your whole body. It would be easy for people who haven't been educated about dental health to mistake it for something else.
I've visited a dentist twice a year since I had teeth. But times have changed, the rules of oral hygiene have changed and my mouth has changed. My husband's work insurance pays for two maintenance visits a year and I pay out of pocket for two more making it four visits a year.
I always have a root planing and deep cleaning which is cheap at the college and about three hundred dollars at the commercial dentist. There is six-month's time to save between those visits. I need the commercial dentist twice a year because their instruments are more sophisticated so it was recommended.
When I visit the dental college I have excellent, though lengthy treatment. It's thorough and inexpensive. And being retired I have the time. Done by second-year student I ask for, then checked by teacher and finally checked again by a dentist. They have given me honest opinions and information you can't always get from a commercial dentist.
I have a regular dentist in town for work the college doesn't do and pay out of pocket.
I also have a dentist in Mexico for my annual winter visits and he's a small town guy educated in Mexico City. I try to hold off on extensive work until my vacation if I can as he's very inexpensive. He hand-made me a dental plate with three teeth for eight-hundred dollars American and it's still good about ten years later.
I once had an infected tooth he treated with two visits and then pulled. The total cost including the medication was under fifty dollars.
I paid for dental insurance for a year and decided I was paying them more than if I just paid out of pocket. That was a mistake.
So here's my choice. Paradontist told me he could "fix" me for twenty-seven thousand dollars. I've got it but he isn't going to get it.
I told my dentist at the college I don't care if I'm buried with a mouth full of beautiful teeth and he respects my conservative choice so that's how we'll proceed, focusing on the physical health rather than appearance. I've been married for fifty-six years and my sweetheart will love me even if I'm missing a tooth or two. LOL. So far so good.
I should mention I attend to my teeth at home like a fanatic. Mouthwash, brushing after anything goes in my mouth, flossing. All the best I can do.
Dentistry is an occupation that is literally a conflict of interest.
If everyone ate less sweets, dental health would collectively be in a better place. But that means less money for the industry.
Vitamin K2 deficiency is another reason why teeth health is poor for most. Fermented foods like cheese or bacterially fermented veggies(not vinegar) provide that.
It would only be a conflict of interest if they encouraged poor hygiene or tried to sell you sweets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SethGrayson
Dentistry is an occupation that is literally a conflict of interest.
If everyone ate less sweets, dental health would collectively be in a better place. But that means less money for the industry.
Vitamin K2 deficiency is another reason why teeth health is poor for most. Fermented foods like cheese or bacterially fermented veggies(not vinegar) provide that.
It would only be a conflict of interest if they encouraged poor hygiene or tried to sell you sweets.
Why single out dentistry? Other specialties could do the same in order to line their pockets! (cardiologists recommending fatty diets and a sedentary high stress lifestyle...)
Not all medicare advantage plans are the same. My husband has medicare advantage with dental coverage. Coverage is provided for routine cleanings, x-rays, restorative services, root canal, crowns, extractions, bridges, etc. The percentage of his copayment varies (free - 40%); however the copayment percentage is applied to a fee schedule that contracted dentists must accept. The fee schedule is very good. I do not have dental insurance and pay out of pocket so I can verify the fee schedule is much less. The annual maximum of what the plan will pay is $2000 per year.
Since my husband is needing some major dental work, he is having some done by the end of this year and then the rest the beginning of next year when the annual max starts over.
The premium for his medicare advance plan is zero.
Dentistry is an occupation that is literally a conflict of interest.
If everyone ate less sweets, dental health would collectively be in a better place. But that means less money for the industry.
Vitamin K2 deficiency is another reason why teeth health is poor for most. Fermented foods like cheese or bacterially fermented veggies(not vinegar) provide that.
There's still a genetic component at play, when it comes to teeth and cavities.
If you have the "right genes" you can literally eat all the sugar you want and get no cavities, where as someone with the "wrong genes" can literally eat no sugar and still get cavities, in the end it is what it is!
"Why single out dentistry? Other specialties could do the same in order to line their pockets!"
I don't doubt that, but I don't see dentistry as a specialty. There's a serious disconnect in the medical profession on this, and it's been that way for decades. Teeth are necessary, period. Dental health is a huge factor in one's health, and bad teeth can cause a cascade effect of problems w/ other parts of the body. Dental infections are a serious problem too. All insurance should fully cover dental health.
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Ain't life grand. 
Why single out dentistry? Other specialties could do the same in order to line their pockets! (cardiologists recommending fatty diets and a sedentary high stress lifestyle...)
