Or that’s what I’ve always heard. How do I explain to people who think they have dental insurance that they don’t actually have dental insurance?
Where have you heard that?
wut
It’s unclear what counts as “insurance” in this racket.
There are numerous dental clinics that sell a product that resembles a dental insurance policy, but it says emphatically somewhere, that they aren’t an insurance policy. What they actually are (or claim to be) is some kind of pre-paid club membership, or something. You pay a flat fee up front to join for a year, then you get “discounted” services for a year thereafter. Somehow this is specifically NOT the same as insurance.
OTOH, there really are bona fide dental insurance policies. As far as I’ve been able to tell, they’re all pretty shitty, covering a small portion of your bills, with high co-pays. One might be forgiven if one can’t tell the difference between these genuine insurance policies and the other kind. I sure can’t figure it out. If anyone here can, let me know!
Well, somewhere!
Actually, I believe it is true and based on a distinction between actual “insurance” and whatever is dental plans provide.
I have dental insurance through my employment. It’s true there are caps on things (like I can have only 1 routine visit per 6 months), but then so do many health insurance plans. That was one thing that the Affordable Care Act tried to eliminate or reduce and it was one of the big reasons people couldn’t keep the plans they had because they were horrible plans.
A lot of people who have medical insurance through work also get dental insurance. That was the deal with Mrs. FtG and myself throughout our careers. We now have dental insurance through an ex-employer with a discount rate for retirees.
The problem is that fewer and fewer people get health insurance through work. Hence fewer and fewer get dental insurance this way and it’s kind of pricey on its own. (The people who know they are going to need it go for it and the ones who don’t think they do don’t. So the insurance pool isn’t as uniform as it might be.)
Medicare (the default health insurance for seniors) doesn’t do dental insurance. But some supplemental plans offer it as an extra.
What everyone says above. Essentially, all dental insurance does for you is…well I’m not sure what it does for you, actually. Last time I had some and went to the dentist, yeah, I’d see a bill where $6000 worth of treatment would ‘only’ cost me $1700. But I’m not sure that the $1700 wasn’t the “real” rate and all the insurance is doing is negotiating with the dentist for a normal rate. I’ve been to dentists in rural areas that charged a lower cash price for treatment than the ‘insured’ treatment, so…
My Medicare plan (a “Medicate Advantage” type of plan) offers this as an add-on (it comes packaged with a few other add-ons with it), but it seems to be a fairly perfunctory plan. Routine exams and cleanings are covered, of course – but more serious work, like root canals or false teeth, while also covered", are still quite expensive out-of-pocket.
Many employers provide medical insurance by “default” and it does not cover teeth. But they offer separate opt-in dental and vision plans. What they cover varies, but usually free annual or biannual checkups, cleanings, X-rays, etc. for preventative care. For fillings, crowns, and such, they typically pay 50% to 80% or even 100%, often with some sort of deductible, YMMV.
Dental plans are always a good idea but I’ve never found much use for vision IMHO. Maybe if you’re buying designer frames, but Zenni Optical works for me. Dental seems always worth it especially as I didn’t have it for years, but didn’t pursue it enough to be smart about it.
It is definitely common to call it insurance, but it does not fall under the same category as health insurance. I would not be surprised if the regulations and rules on it are different from health insurance as well.
I have a very common kind of dental “insurance” in Michigan. It is provided through my employer and is a separate company from my health insurance.
It is the classic 80/20 plan. They pay 80% of my dental work, including any endodontist and periodontist work, both of which i have used once. Those are the big-time expensive guys.
It does have a maximum of a few thousand per year. In fact, you can get half of a job done in December and the rest done in January and use up two annual maximums if you want. I’ve never had work that was this expensive, though.
National Health question: Is dentistry covered by most national health programs? UK? Canada?
Even regular 6 month checkups?
Not in Canada, no. The Canadian system is based on medical doctors and hospitals: if it’s something done by a doctor (e.g. clinic visits to get a prescription) on in a hospital (surgeries), it’s covered. If not, not.
(But if you need dental surgery as part of a medical treatment, e.g. because you were in a car accident and your face was injured, and the MD believes that dental surgery is needed for the medical treatment, then it would be covered.)
So dentistry isn’t covered and many employers offer dental plans to cover it as a benefit.
Just want to throw this out to the crowd,
Regular dental care, including visits to the dentist, may do more to enhance your overall health than dieting or going to the gym. Don’t really know how it stacks up against quitting smoking and eating healthy. I’m sure it’s a lower priority than kicking your drug habit.
I guess I just want to say that a really comprehensive approach to fixing health care should want to look at dentistry, too.
There absolutely is dental insurance, but usually only group dental insurance.
Most individual insurance is, as stated, actually a prepaid discount plan. There are others though. Usually these are what are called indemnity plans, where you get reimbursed from the insurance company based on the procedure but there are legitimate plans too.
Also, while we are on the subject, Medicare Advantage plans may (and usually do) offer dental and Medicaid will too, Medicare Supplements do not, which can make things tricky for Seniors who are trying to choose between taking Medicare with a Supplement and replacing Medicare with a Medicare Advantage plan.
Here in the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) includes dental (and optician costs), though you may have to pay something (i.e. more than for a doctor).
Employer Plan:
Will cover 2 cleanings/checkups per year, and one set of full-mouth x-rays every 2 years.
Fillings are covered at 80% of the allowable cost (insurance set cost). You pay the other 20%.
Root canals and crowns are where things get expensive. The insurance will cover about 50% of the allowable cost, with you paying the other 50%.
There is an annual cap of $2000 per person insured. Go over that and you’re paying out of pocket for the rest.
Orthodontics are partially covered for dependents under age 19. It’s actually pretty good, but it’s a one-time shot. Quit the orthodontic program before it’s done and you won’t get a 2nd chance if you want to try again.
Dentures are either fully or partially covered, depending on how expensive they are.
Unless you have really, really good (“expensive”) insurance, things like implants are not generally covered.
I’ve paid the entirety of dental implants out of my own pocket. Insurance will cover 50% of the replacement crowns, if you lost those teeth while under their plan, but the surgery, any needed bone grafts, and the implants are your responsibility.
I love my oral surgeon and I love the implants, but I have to get my teeth replaced on the installment plan because it’s very, very expensive. Four have been done so far and I need four more. I get them done as I can.
On the other hand, I know a few people who have had their work done in Costa Rica, where dental implants are practically a national industry and less expensive than they are here. The people I know have been very happy with the work AND they got to sit on a beach in between visits. I could take that. 
The “dental insurance” described here reminds me of the following “automobile insurance” which covers
- $95 gasoline per month,
- up to two oil changes per year,
- gas filter, air filter, oil filter, 1 each.
- one new tire and one new windshield wiper every year,
- 20% discount on headlamp replacement,
- $105 per collision, up to a maximum of two collisions per year.
My cousin broke his hip, flew to Spain to have it replaced, relaxed on the beach while it healed, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, broke his hip again and needed it replaced again, convalesced at the beach asecond time, sipping margaritas with the senoritas … all for less than the co-payment on a hip replacement in U.S.
I’ve had dental in my employer health insurances 1993-99 and 2005-present. However my primary dentist and most of the endo and peri specialists he does referrals for are not in the provider group any more (contract renewal disputes) so for the last few years I have to pay cash and then submit a claim. But he’s damn good so I don’t mind that at all.
I took an early retirement a couple of years ago. Delta Dental, who provided by former employer’s dental plan, sent me a brochure offering a private policy. I accepted. Since then I have had several dentist visits where I had work done and Delta paid for a good deal of it. This year, I paid 547.17 for a year’s coverage. If you have a messed up mouth, like I do, it’s easy to more or less almost break even. And I’m covered for the occasional big deal that might happen. I think the coverage is adequate. And coverage and cost match what my former employer provided. When I was covered by my former employer, I could get out of dental coverage if I had a life changing event. With my private policy I must accept a one year lock-in. That’s the only difference.
I don’t think Delta Dental is unique and I’m sure other providers must exist. If you have no dental insurance but want some, just google Delta. They are easy to find.
I have been covered by dental insurance continuously for several decades. I don’t know who told the OP that the US has none. But the OP is misinformed.
Dental insurance exists, but it is usually capped at $1000 a year. However dental costs can easily run above that if you need root canals, or if you need massive work done due to an injury.
Dental insurance really only covers exams, cleanings and fillings. If you need cosmetic work done, orthodontics or work that costs more than $1000, dental insurance doesn’t help.