Dental Insurance Is Not Always The Best Option!

If you can see yourself in the same position as this young man in the video, then it should be time to for you to evaluate your dental coverage. 

Being shocked by massive dental bill that you thought, or were even told that your dental insurance was going to cover is nothing new, and believe me when I tell you that you are not alone. This happens to a lot of people on a daily basis. You into the dental office, you pay your co-pay, they give you a treatment plan and they perform the treatment or procedure. Sound simple right? You paid your co-pay, everything is good, right? No so fast! A few weeks later you get a bill in the mail from your insurance company saying that you owe the dentist hundreds or even thousands of dollars for "uncovered procedures". It leaves you shell shocked and asking yourself "how can this be"? The easy answer is that is "in the fine print" of your insurance policy, also known your declarations page! Dental insurance companies have so many things in place that allow them to deny your coverage on procedures and leave you footing the bill. 

It starts with their "waiting periods". Every dental insurance policy comes with waiting periods. This requires you to have the policy for anywhere from 60 days to 1 year before certain procedures are covered. If you get that procedure done before the waiting period is up, then they will not cover that procedure.

Then it comes down to the actual procedure you are having done and what it takes to accomplish it. For example, if your insurance covers 1 vial of Novocain for a local anesthetic, you throughout the course of your procedure it determined that you need another one, you will be ponying up the dough for that extra vile and not even know it until weeks later. If your insurance covers a “free cleaning”, but your cleaning is determined to be a “difficult cleaning”, then guess what.. surprise, they may not cover that! They cover bite wing ex-rays, and your get a 3D X-ray, be prepared for that bill.

Lastly, it comes down to their classification of certain procedures. For example, dental implants are very popular and provide patients with a way of replacing a tooth that needs to be pulled or is lost. However, most dental insurance companies classify that is “cosmetic dentistry”, which means they do not consider it to be medically necessary, and it is only for cosmetic reasons, so they will deny covering it. You will be stuck with that bill and there is nothing you can do about it.

I will refrain from getting to the “you have not met your deductible” part of this. We all know how that works.

Insurance companies are in the business of collecting your premium, not paying claims. They have no problem collecting your dues, and then spending hours finding ways to deny your claim. That is what makes them profitable.

When you are considering dental coverage, I do invite you to look at a dental plan such as ours. With our dental plan, you have no waiting periods, no deductibles and all procedures are covered. With our fee schedule, your will know what you are required to pay at the dentist and be able to budget accordingly with your treatment plan. You will not have worry about getting a surprise bill from a dental plan, 2-3 weeks after your dental visit.

Insurance is not always the best option. People hear insurance and assume that it is the greatest thing to have. Years of marketing and advertising have programmed us to think that way. However, when you compare apples to apples on Dental Insurance and Dental Plans, you might just be surprised at how much you can actually save with a Dental Plan. Look at all areas that you have to pay with dental insurance, your down payment, your monthly premium, your deductible and your maximum out of pocket. Then look at the low annual payment of a dental plan and compare it to what you will actually pay at the dentist office. The results may just astonish you!