Is Dental Insurance Worth It?

[Aimster]

I have to get my own dental insurance since I am a contractor. $35/month.
Is it worth it? 2 cleanings a year and a maximum of $1,000 a year that the insurance will cover per year.

 

[mugs]

Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces

 

[Sphexi]

Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

Hey, at least they give you a free toothbrush!

 

[Aimster]

so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

Seriously? Teeth cleaning costs me $300. That's pretty standard here.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

Seriously? Teeth cleaning costs me $300. That's pretty standard here.

Sounds pretty high to me unless it includes xrays. I know most of the dental insurances I've had they'll only cover cleanings up to $100 or so and that's what the dentists will charge. I believe most insurance companies will cover xrays once every two years.

 

[IGBT]

..if you have kids and other dependents it's prob.worth it. try to get a group rate.

 

[SpunkyJones]

If you have teeth its worth it.

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Aimster
so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

what's your deductible with your health insurance? 105 a month is very cheap for both. Unless you're deductible is $1 million.

 

[Aimster]

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster
so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

what's your deductible with your health insurance? 105 a month is very cheap for both. Unless you're deductible is $1 million.

$2,000 but it covers up to $2Million and max out of pocket is $5,000. It's for emergencies.
But I do get 2 doctor visits for $20-30 a year and a get pills for $5-20.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

Seriously? Teeth cleaning costs me $300. That's pretty standard here.

$300 for routine cleaning? You need to find another dentist.

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster
so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

what's your deductible with your health insurance? 105 a month is very cheap for both. Unless you're deductible is $1 million.

$2,000 but it covers up to $2Million and max out of pocket is $5,000. It's for emergencies.
But I do get 2 doctor visits for $20-30 a year and a get pills for $5-20.

Sounds like a good deal. how old are you? Is this independent coverage or are you in with a company?

 

[RKS]

not if you are British.

 

[Aimster]

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster
so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

what's your deductible with your health insurance? 105 a month is very cheap for both. Unless you're deductible is $1 million.

$2,000 but it covers up to $2Million and max out of pocket is $5,000. It's for emergencies.
But I do get 2 doctor visits for $20-30 a year and a get pills for $5-20.

Sounds like a good deal. how old are you? Is this independent coverage or are you in with a company?

26. Independent coverage. I got my health insurance from ehealthinsurance.com. Unicare Savor 2000. It used to be $50/month but they keep increasing it every 3 months. It's $68 a month now.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: Aimster
I have to get my own dental insurance since I am a contractor. $35/month.
Is it worth it? 2 cleanings a year and a maximum of $1,000 a year that the insurance will cover per year.

Depends, how are your teeth now? Have you been going regularly? In my experience, dental problems dont spring up overnight (well, unless you grind your teeth). If you go, you know where you stand and what kind of work you need.

If you go regularly, get cleanings, and no other problems, just sock away the $35/mo and keep going for cleanings. Use that savings to pay out of pocket. If you tell them you don't have insurance, there's usually a discount.

On the other hand, if you haven't been to the dentist in 3 years and have no clue what's going on, I'd pay that premium and go ASAP to see if you need to continue it.

I get it through my employer, and it's been a very good thing for me this year. I decided to start going to the dentist again. Hadn't gone in 3 years, since I got my wisdom teeth out, although I do take care of my teeth at home. Turns out the prior years of NOT taking care of my teeth bit me in the ass, needed like 6 fillings and 2 crowns. Luckily, no root canals, basically told me that if I'd put it off any longer I was screwed.

So yeah, dental insurance if you are/were like me.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

Seriously? Teeth cleaning costs me $300. That's pretty standard here.

Sounds pretty high to me unless it includes xrays. I know most of the dental insurances I've had they'll only cover cleanings up to $100 or so and that's what the dentists will charge. I believe most insurance companies will cover xrays once every two years.

Ah, that's my bad. It does include x-rays.

 

[Aimster]

Originally posted by: sjwaste

Originally posted by: Aimster
I have to get my own dental insurance since I am a contractor. $35/month.
Is it worth it? 2 cleanings a year and a maximum of $1,000 a year that the insurance will cover per year.

Depends, how are your teeth now? Have you been going regularly? In my experience, dental problems dont spring up overnight (well, unless you grind your teeth). If you go, you know where you stand and what kind of work you need.

If you go regularly, get cleanings, and no other problems, just sock away the $35/mo and keep going for cleanings. Use that savings to pay out of pocket. If you tell them you don't have insurance, there's usually a discount.

On the other hand, if you haven't been to the dentist in 3 years and have no clue what's going on, I'd pay that premium and go ASAP to see if you need to continue it.

I get it through my employer, and it's been a very good thing for me this year. I decided to start going to the dentist again. Hadn't gone in 3 years, since I got my wisdom teeth out, although I do take care of my teeth at home. Turns out the prior years of NOT taking care of my teeth bit me in the ass, needed like 6 fillings and 2 crowns. Luckily, no root canals, basically told me that if I'd put it off any longer I was screwed.

So yeah, dental insurance if you are/were like me.

lol I am like you. Havent been in years

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster
so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

what's your deductible with your health insurance? 105 a month is very cheap for both. Unless you're deductible is $1 million.

$2,000 but it covers up to $2Million and max out of pocket is $5,000. It's for emergencies.
But I do get 2 doctor visits for $20-30 a year and a get pills for $5-20.

Sounds like a good deal. how old are you? Is this independent coverage or are you in with a company?

26. Independent coverage. I got my health insurance from ehealthinsurance.com. Unicare Savor 2000. It used to be $50/month but they keep increasing it every 3 months. It's $68 a month now.

Usually a 2k deductible plan is for folks who also open an HSA. Consider that as well, and putting in 2k a year, to cover that deductible tax-free.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: sjwaste

Originally posted by: Aimster
I have to get my own dental insurance since I am a contractor. $35/month.
Is it worth it? 2 cleanings a year and a maximum of $1,000 a year that the insurance will cover per year.

Depends, how are your teeth now? Have you been going regularly? In my experience, dental problems dont spring up overnight (well, unless you grind your teeth). If you go, you know where you stand and what kind of work you need.

If you go regularly, get cleanings, and no other problems, just sock away the $35/mo and keep going for cleanings. Use that savings to pay out of pocket. If you tell them you don't have insurance, there's usually a discount.

On the other hand, if you haven't been to the dentist in 3 years and have no clue what's going on, I'd pay that premium and go ASAP to see if you need to continue it.

I get it through my employer, and it's been a very good thing for me this year. I decided to start going to the dentist again. Hadn't gone in 3 years, since I got my wisdom teeth out, although I do take care of my teeth at home. Turns out the prior years of NOT taking care of my teeth bit me in the ass, needed like 6 fillings and 2 crowns. Luckily, no root canals, basically told me that if I'd put it off any longer I was screwed.

So yeah, dental insurance if you are/were like me.

lol I am like you. Havent been in years

Then pay the man and go to the dentist. I promise you that you will not like the first visit, because it brings bad news. I further promise that you will not like the second visit, because that's when the drilling starts. However, after that it's actually not that bad. I have a few fillings left that I'm getting done in January and that's it. The whole experience was nearly painless, including the crowns that required substantial drilling and buildup first.

I definitely got over my fear of the dentist, so I'm hoping never to have to do this shit again Yearly checkups for me from now on.

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Yzzim

Originally posted by: Aimster
so with health insurance + dental insurance I am paying $105/month. I guess this is normal even if I wasn't a contractor?

what's your deductible with your health insurance? 105 a month is very cheap for both. Unless you're deductible is $1 million.

$2,000 but it covers up to $2Million and max out of pocket is $5,000. It's for emergencies.
But I do get 2 doctor visits for $20-30 a year and a get pills for $5-20.

Sounds like a good deal. how old are you? Is this independent coverage or are you in with a company?

26. Independent coverage. I got my health insurance from ehealthinsurance.com. Unicare Savor 2000. It used to be $50/month but they keep increasing it every 3 months. It's $68 a month now.

Wow, that's a great deal. I should check them out again. Originally had coverage through them but switched when my wife started working at the hospital. You'd think they'd have great insurance, but it's terrible. For the both of us (I'm 27, she's 23) it's $330/month with a $2000 deductible.
Thanks for the heads up

 

[Aimster]

The thing with private dental insurance is I have to wait 12 months before the benefits kick in and they are usually 50% insurance pays and the rest I pay.

Is this how it would work if I got dental insurance from the company?

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

:roll:

do it yourself then. you can buy the tools on ebay. have at it.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: Aimster
The thing with private dental insurance is I have to wait 12 months before the benefits kick in and they are usually 50% insurance pays and the rest I pay.

Is this how it would work if I got dental insurance from the company?

Not usually. Through my company, I got benefits on day one. Insurance pays 100% for cleanings, annual x-rays, basic preventative stuff. 80% for fillings and related. 50% for major things like crowns, root canals, etc.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Oh good lord yes. The amount those crooks charge you have to have insurance, otherwise one cleaning will cost more almost than a year of insurance. 20 minutes of "scaling" and cleaning and they charge over $100, ridiculous.

:roll:

do it yourself then. you can buy the tools on ebay. have at it.

Mosh, I can barely tie my own fucking tie in the mirror. Don't encourage me to try this