The Top-5 Myths About Dental Insurance

It is no secret that the United States of America spends the most money in the world per person on our health and well-being. Our health systems are expensive and inefficient. The pharmaceutical companies are getting richer by the day!

Many Americans have been quarantining and have avoided regular medical, dental, and vision annual exams and physicals, especially in 2020! This means there will be some unpleasant surprises during 2021 regular checkups and exams. Surprises are good on your birthday, not when it comes to your health.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), nationally, 50.2% of adults aged 18-64 with private health insurance, had dental care coverage throughout the past 12 months. 

My Uncle, Gerard Meade, was one of those uninsured when he found out last year that he was going to need over $10,000 of dental work and surgery. This was not a surprise (maybe it was), as he had not gone for regular dental checkups in years. It created a scramble to figure out how to reduce these expenditures, which led him to pursue “dental savings plans.” 

The dentists gave Gerard a 2-phase treatment program. Phase 1 was 9 surgical extractions and 2 bone replacement graphs. As it takes time for these procedures to heal, it was then time for Phase 2, which included 2 implants. 

The Phase 1 quote was $5,673. Gerard used the Cigna Dental Savings Plan www.CignaDentalSavings.com which reduced his Phase 1 cost to $2,249. At first, he thought it was a scam, that he could enroll into one of these plans for roughly $100/year as an individual (who does NOT own a business) and two days later save this kind of money with no waiting period or dental insurance policy. That is the difference with savings or discount plans as they do NOT have the waiting periods or pre-existing condition exclusions that traditional dental insurance includes. In Phase 2, he was quoted $4,466 for 2 implants. He paid $3,300 after the dental savings plan applied a discount. 

His process was to first go to the dental savings plan company website to check if his dentist and surgeon accepted the plan. Then, he double-checked by calling his dentist’s office to confirm they accepted it. Gerard then got a quote from the surgeon which included the “dental code” and cost for each specific procedure. He called Cigna to confirm and received the discounted pricing. Most will agree his research time was well worth it!

MY TOP 5 MYTHS ABOUT DENTAL INSURANCE AND SAVINGS PLANS:

1. I own a business and cannot get a Discounted Group Dental Insurance policy without including at least 1 employee:  FALSE! If you are working and own a business, we have access to discounted stand-alone dental plans for yourself and your family without including any employees.
2. I have upcoming dental work needed and there is NO way to get a discount on the procedure without a dental insurance policy: FALSE! You can enroll in one of a variety of dental savings plans and download and use their discount card in as little as 2 days.
3. It is almost impossible to find a dentist locally that accepts dental insurance or dental discount plans: FALSE! Some of the insurance carriers like Cigna and Aetna also have dental savings plans. They have “search for provider” website links, so you can find a dentist and/or surgeon in, or close to your zip code that accepts the plan. 
4. These dental savings plan’s only cover major surgeries: FALSE! The majority of these plans offer discounted annual checkups, x-rays, fillings, dentures and implants to name a few procedures. Usual discounts range from 25%-60%. 
5. I have never heard about dental savings plans before, it must be a gimmick: FALSE! Dentists are “for-profit companies,” and many dental offices are instructed to not mention these programs unless their patient brings it up first, as these discounts severely impact profitability.

Be Positive, Test Negative, and Keep the Faith!!