OT - Dental Insurance

ColtCrazy · 06-24-2008, 01:25 PM

My wife needs some intensive work done on her teeth (her parents were poor..dentists weren't an option apparently) and it will cost a fair amount. Does anyone know of a really good dental plan? My school has great insurance for health, but the dental plan leaves a lot to be desired once you get past basic cleaning.

MikeVic · 06-24-2008, 01:27 PM

Springfield Power Plant.

MacroGuru · 06-24-2008, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

My wife needs some intensive work done on her teeth (her parents were poor..dentists weren't an option apparently) and it will cost a fair amount. Does anyone know of a really good dental plan? My school has great insurance for health, but the dental plan leaves a lot to be desired once you get past basic cleaning.

The best of most Dental Plans pay 50%, and also have a waiting period for major work, and that is generally a year.

If you are looking for supplimental and looking to keep it cheap, AFLAC has one as well, but again a year waiting period for major work.

Eaglesfan27 · 06-24-2008, 01:29 PM

Every dental plan I've ever seen is lacking. The ones that are offered at my work are so bad, that I just pay out of pocket when I need work (had some extensive work done last year.) The best ones at our work have a maximum benefit of 2,000 per year, but they cost that much in annual deductions on the part of the employee.

flere-imsaho · 06-24-2008, 01:30 PM

My company's dental is through Guardian, but since I have (knock on wood) very good teeth, it doesn't really matter to me.

I know that sometimes, if the work to be done is extreme, dental can be covered under health if it's in fact a health risk. You would probably need a referral from your primary care physician.

hukarez · 06-24-2008, 01:35 PM

I know I've got to go in to get some work done, especially since one of my fillings got knocked loose eating a steak back in March - of last year.

Since then, I've been chewing on my left side, and my right side's been left alone, which has always been awkward. One of the main reasons being that I got laid off back in March of last year, and just did not have the funds to see a dentist - especially since my previous job did not have a dental plan.

Now, having been at my new job for about a year (as of tomorrow, actually) with a dental plan, I'd probably have to side with Eaglesfan27 about the plans. Some of my co-workers were complaining about the plan itself (First Dental here, I think) and I'm not positive what the percentages are for coverage from basic, to recommend, to required, etc...

Well. One thing's for sure: that steak was damn good.

Lathum · 06-24-2008, 01:38 PM

do you have access to a flex spending plan?

Eaglesfan27 · 06-24-2008, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lathum

do you have access to a flex spending plan?

That I do have at work and find very useful, much moreso than the Dental Plans.

ColtCrazy · 06-24-2008, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Every dental plan I've ever seen is lacking. The ones that are offered at my work are so bad, that I just pay out of pocket when I need work (had some extensive work done last year.) The best ones at our work have a maximum benefit of 2,000 per year, but they cost that much in annual deductions on the part of the employee.

The more I look, the more I find this to be true. Our yearly max is $1000 right now. Maybe my wife needs to prioritize which teeth are most important to her.

I agree about the premiums, why pay $1500 a year in premiums when the max payout is nearly the same.

I'm looking at Compdent right now, it says their out of network coverage on major procedures is the same as in network. I'll have to find out how that works, but it will at least let us switch to a dentist in town that will take a payment plan.

How's a flex spending plan work?

Thanks all for the help.

Eaglesfan27 · 06-24-2008, 02:49 PM

Flex Health Spending Plans let you take money pre-tax and put it toward health care related expenditures - that can include co-pays, dental work, other health payments, prescriptions, and other specified items from pharmacies. The downside to most (all?) of them, is that if you don't spend the money in a year, you lose it. I think some are starting to allow roll-overs. In my case, it doesn't yet, so if I have extra money (you determine how much you want to put in, but most plans have a max), I make sure I spend the excess on the fairly wide list of accepted items from a pharmacy that are useful to stock up on.

Edit: At least the one that I use, you have to specify the annual amount every April.

DanGarion · 06-24-2008, 02:52 PM

My wife just had 4000 in periodontal work done and even with our good dental plan through work we are still out 2150 of our own cash.

She's getting the bottom teeth done next year, I'm going to open up the FSA that my company has so we get the tax breaks on that money next year.

DanGarion · 06-24-2008, 02:53 PM

Oh and that's not counting the additional 1500 for the anesthesiologist...

oliegirl · 06-24-2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Flex Health Spending Plans let you take money pre-tax and put it toward health care related expenditures - that can include co-pays, dental work, other health payments, prescriptions, and other specified items from pharmacies. The downside to most (all?) of them, is that if you don't spend the money in a year, you lose it. I think some are starting to allow roll-overs. In my case, it doesn't yet, so if I have extra money (you determine how much you want to put in, but most plans have a max), I make sure I spend the excess on the fairly wide list of accepted items from a pharmacy that are useful to stock up on.

Edit: At least the one that I use, you have to specify the annual amount every April.

I will second the benefit of an FSA...the one I was in had a debit card attached to it, and I had access to my entire yearly deduction right from the start. I was able to use it for copays, prescriptions, contact lenses and "everyday" drug store items like tylenol, toothpaste and toothbrush, saline, etc...it was great. If it was an over the counter purchase, I would have to send in the receipt substantiating the purchase as FSA approved, but that was a small price to pay for the convenience it gave me. My husbands company doesn't offer it, and I'm really bummed out. I loved it.

Logan · 06-24-2008, 06:30 PM

As part of my benefit package, I get $1000 put into a flex account. I cash it out (and pay tax on it) because I don't have contacts, don't have kids, etc so there's no way I'd run through it. But people at work love it and get a ton of value on it.

Ironhead · 06-24-2008, 08:25 PM

I spend about 8 hours a day pricing it so that my company makes money off your company.

I honestly couldn't tell you much about the marketplace for individual dental insurance though. You will likely pay an arm and a leg for it and have long waiting periods for services. The general assumption is that you are purchasing it with the full intent of using just about every last drop of it's benefit. Not sure if they exist on the individual market but you might want to look into purchasing a DHMO (Dental Health Maintenance Organization) plan. DHMO plans should be affordable and generally do not have annual limits or waiting periods. The big drawback is that you will only have your claims paid if you visit a dentist the insurance company has an agreement with. Many times the list of dentists is small and there can be long waits (months) simply to see the dentist.

Buccaneer · 06-24-2008, 08:41 PM

We've been on an employee play that paid for 50% of such work and when my wife had her 4 crowns, we just worked out with the dentist office on low monthly payments.

Marc Vaughan · 06-24-2008, 09:16 PM

Emigrate to England for a while - Women get their dental free (everything) for a year after they give birth and the rest of the time its a nominal amount on the NHS anyway (compared to what you have to pay for dental care in Florida anyway).

Yes I'm missing the days where when my family was ill all I worried about was them getting better rather than the bills .... not least because my wife told me how much my daughters braces were going to cost recently ... wow .... we've owned cars which haven't cost that much.

Buccaneer · 06-24-2008, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Emigrate to England for a while - Women get their dental free (everything) for a year after they give birth and the rest of the time its a nominal amount on the NHS anyway (compared to what you have to pay for dental care in Florida anyway).

Yes I'm missing the days where when my family was ill all I worried about was them getting better rather than the bills .... not least because my wife told me how much my daughters braces were going to cost recently ... wow .... we've owned cars which haven't cost that much.

Probably not a good point since we've all seen those British teeth.

Marc Vaughan · 06-24-2008, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Probably not a good point since we've all seen those British teeth.

LOL - I remember the 'Big book of British smils' on the Simpsons

On a more serious note one of the things my wife has been working hard to convince me on is that my daughter actually needs braces - cosmetic dentistry isn't half as common in England as in America.

Simply put or whatever reason in England its the 'norm' to have imperfect teeth so long as they're healthy, which is fine my me ..... I don't really get why its so common in America to sculpt teeth so they look 'perfect'.

Galaxy · 06-24-2008, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

LOL - I remember the 'Big book of British smils' on the Simpsons

On a more serious note one of the things my wife has been working hard to convince me on is that my daughter actually needs braces - cosmetic dentistry isn't half as common in England as in America.

Simply put or whatever reason in England its the 'norm' to have imperfect teeth so long as they're healthy, which is fine my me ..... I don't really get why its so common in America to sculpt teeth so they look 'perfect'.

Plastic surgery is huge. It's not just teeth.

Drake · 06-25-2008, 01:57 AM

Oof. I just dropped $8k on dental work for my wife last weekend. My dental insurance covered $1k, which maxed out her benefit for the year.

I got more benefit out of the dentist. He accidentally cut her with one of his instruments while she was unconscious (all day sedation dentistry for teh win!) and felt so badly about it, he cut us a 30% break. Granted, this was probably to keep us from suing him, but since I'm not really a litigious guy over honest accidents, I'll take it and be happy.

DanGarion · 06-25-2008, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Emigrate to England for a while - Women get their dental free (everything) for a year after they give birth and the rest of the time its a nominal amount on the NHS anyway (compared to what you have to pay for dental care in Florida anyway).

Yes I'm missing the days where when my family was ill all I worried about was them getting better rather than the bills .... not least because my wife told me how much my daughters braces were going to cost recently ... wow .... we've owned cars which haven't cost that much.

Too bad they have to wait 2 years for run of the mill knee replacement surgeries...

Marc Vaughan · 06-25-2008, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangarion

Too bad they have to wait 2 years for run of the mill knee replacement surgeries...

Depends on the county your in as to whether there's a waiting list for a particular operation, also do bear in mind you always have the option to "Go Private" and pay or have it done by a health scheme if you have one (which are MUCH cheaper in the Uk than in America because most people don't bother with them for minor issues and use the NHS for most things, thus the cost to the health care companies is a fraction of what it is for an American to be covered ... so much so that a lot of the companies have started giving away stuff like 'free gym membership' with their policies because people tend to drop them due to not using them after a while).

PS - You'll have to bear with me, I'm somewhat passionate about the NHS

DanGarion · 06-25-2008, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Depends on the county your in as to whether there's a waiting list for a particular operation, also do bear in mind you always have the option to "Go Private" and pay or have it done by a health scheme if you have one (which are MUCH cheaper in the Uk than in America because most people don't bother with them for minor issues and use the NHS for most things, thus the cost to the health care companies is a fraction of what it is for an American to be covered ... so much so that a lot of the companies have started giving away stuff like 'free gym membership' with their policies because people tend to drop them due to not using them after a while).

PS - You'll have to bear with me, I'm somewhat passionate about the NHS

No worries, I just have someone that is related to my wife that has had to wait about a total of 3 years for two knee surgery replacements. Could you imagine not being able to do much of anything for 3 years.?

flere-imsaho · 06-25-2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangarion

No worries, I just have someone that is related to my wife that has had to wait about a total of 3 years for two knee surgery replacements. Could you imagine not being able to do much of anything for 3 years.?

That's how long it took my father-in-law to have 2 hip replacements done in the U.S. on good private health insurance.

Having lived in both the UK and the US, I vastly prefer the NHS to the "health care system" we have in the US. And I can afford (and do pay for) excellent private health insurance.

Kodos · 06-25-2008, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Springfield Power Plant.

Lisa needs braces...
DENTAL PLAN!
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Sun Tzu · 12-31-2008, 10:27 AM

Lisa needs braces...

sterlingice · 12-31-2008, 10:36 AM

Dental Plan

(Holy thread necromancy, Batman!)

SI

MikeVic · 12-31-2008, 10:58 AM

Lisa needs braces...

06-24-2008, 01:29 PM	#4
Eaglesfan27 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: New Jersey	Every dental plan I've ever seen is lacking. The ones that are offered at my work are so bad, that I just pay out of pocket when I need work (had some extensive work done last year.) The best ones at our work have a maximum benefit of 2,000 per year, but they cost that much in annual deductions on the part of the employee. __________________ Retired GM of the eNFL 2007 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles (19-0 record.) GM of the WOOF 2006 Doggie Bowl Champion Atlantic City Gamblers. GM of the IHOF 2019 and 2022 IHOF Bowl Champion Asheville Axemen.

06-24-2008, 01:35 PM	#6
hukarez College Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chula Vista, CA	I know I've got to go in to get some work done, especially since one of my fillings got knocked loose eating a steak back in March - of last year. Since then, I've been chewing on my left side, and my right side's been left alone, which has always been awkward. One of the main reasons being that I got laid off back in March of last year, and just did not have the funds to see a dentist - especially since my previous job did not have a dental plan. Now, having been at my new job for about a year (as of tomorrow, actually) with a dental plan, I'd probably have to side with Eaglesfan27 about the plans. Some of my co-workers were complaining about the plan itself (First Dental here, I think) and I'm not positive what the percentages are for coverage from basic, to recommend, to required, etc... Well. One thing's for sure: that steak was damn good. __________________ ...what we have here is a man who looks like Tarzan, but fights like Jane! My VG collection \| Xbox 360 Gamertag: ManThol \| PS3 Network ID: hukarez Doce Pares International - San Diego Council Filipino Martial Arts Digest tweet tweet twitter

06-24-2008, 02:49 PM	#10
Eaglesfan27 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: New Jersey	Flex Health Spending Plans let you take money pre-tax and put it toward health care related expenditures - that can include co-pays, dental work, other health payments, prescriptions, and other specified items from pharmacies. The downside to most (all?) of them, is that if you don't spend the money in a year, you lose it. I think some are starting to allow roll-overs. In my case, it doesn't yet, so if I have extra money (you determine how much you want to put in, but most plans have a max), I make sure I spend the excess on the fairly wide list of accepted items from a pharmacy that are useful to stock up on. Edit: At least the one that I use, you have to specify the annual amount every April. __________________ Retired GM of the eNFL 2007 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles (19-0 record.) GM of the WOOF 2006 Doggie Bowl Champion Atlantic City Gamblers. GM of the IHOF 2019 and 2022 IHOF Bowl Champion Asheville Axemen. Last edited by Eaglesfan27 : 06-24-2008 at 02:50 PM.

06-24-2008, 02:52 PM	#11
DanGarion Coordinator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Great Northwest	My wife just had 4000 in periodontal work done and even with our good dental plan through work we are still out 2150 of our own cash. She's getting the bottom teeth done next year, I'm going to open up the FSA that my company has so we get the tax breaks on that money next year. __________________ Los Angeles Dodgers Check out the FOFC Groups on Facebook! and Reddit! DON'T REPORT ME BRO! Last edited by DanGarion : 06-24-2008 at 02:53 PM.

06-24-2008, 02:53 PM	#12
DanGarion Coordinator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Great Northwest	Oh and that's not counting the additional 1500 for the anesthesiologist... __________________ Los Angeles Dodgers Check out the FOFC Groups on Facebook! and Reddit! DON'T REPORT ME BRO!

06-24-2008, 01:27 PM	#2
MikeVic Head Coach Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hometown of Canada	Springfield Power Plant.

06-24-2008, 01:30 PM	#5
flere-imsaho Coordinator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicagoland	My company's dental is through Guardian, but since I have (knock on wood) very good teeth, it doesn't really matter to me. I know that sometimes, if the work to be done is extreme, dental can be covered under health if it's in fact a health risk. You would probably need a referral from your primary care physician.

06-24-2008, 01:38 PM	#7
Lathum Favored Bitch #1 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: homeless in NJ	do you have access to a flex spending plan?

06-24-2008, 06:30 PM	#14
Logan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NYC	As part of my benefit package, I get $1000 put into a flex account. I cash it out (and pay tax on it) because I don't have contacts, don't have kids, etc so there's no way I'd run through it. But people at work love it and get a ton of value on it.

06-24-2008, 08:25 PM	#15
Ironhead College Prospect Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Barnegat, NJ	I spend about 8 hours a day pricing it so that my company makes money off your company. I honestly couldn't tell you much about the marketplace for individual dental insurance though. You will likely pay an arm and a leg for it and have long waiting periods for services. The general assumption is that you are purchasing it with the full intent of using just about every last drop of it's benefit. Not sure if they exist on the individual market but you might want to look into purchasing a DHMO (Dental Health Maintenance Organization) plan. DHMO plans should be affordable and generally do not have annual limits or waiting periods. The big drawback is that you will only have your claims paid if you visit a dentist the insurance company has an agreement with. Many times the list of dentists is small and there can be long waits (months) simply to see the dentist.

06-24-2008, 08:41 PM	#16
Buccaneer Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Colorado	We've been on an employee play that paid for 50% of such work and when my wife had her 4 crowns, we just worked out with the dentist office on low monthly payments.

06-24-2008, 09:16 PM	#17
Marc Vaughan SI Games Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Melbourne, FL	Emigrate to England for a while - Women get their dental free (everything) for a year after they give birth and the rest of the time its a nominal amount on the NHS anyway (compared to what you have to pay for dental care in Florida anyway). Yes I'm missing the days where when my family was ill all I worried about was them getting better rather than the bills .... not least because my wife told me how much my daughters braces were going to cost recently ... wow .... we've owned cars which haven't cost that much.

06-25-2008, 01:57 AM	#21
Drake assmaster Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bloomington, IN	Oof. I just dropped $8k on dental work for my wife last weekend. My dental insurance covered $1k, which maxed out her benefit for the year. I got more benefit out of the dentist. He accidentally cut her with one of his instruments while she was unconscious (all day sedation dentistry for teh win!) and felt so badly about it, he cut us a 30% break. Granted, this was probably to keep us from suing him, but since I'm not really a litigious guy over honest accidents, I'll take it and be happy.

12-31-2008, 10:27 AM	#27
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Lisa needs braces... __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

12-31-2008, 10:36 AM	#28
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	Dental Plan (Holy thread necromancy, Batman!) SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!" Last edited by sterlingice : 12-31-2008 at 10:37 AM.

12-31-2008, 10:58 AM	#29
MikeVic Head Coach Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hometown of Canada	Lisa needs braces...

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