Dental Ins.

Most PPOs are only with employer based programs. I've only been able to find HMOs for individuals.

I have Medico and I love it. It's only $33 per month for me and I'm 40. It would be cheaper if you are younger. There is a $1500 cap each year. The 1st year there were certain waiting periods and they paid 60%. The 2nd year, no restrictions or waiting periods and they pay 70%. The 3rd year 80%. The dentist I go through bills directly to them and I only have to pay my 30%, so, no paying up front and waiting to be reimbursed.

try aetna dental access

I have aflac and I hate it.

Hi!

Mamapedia is offering a special at the following site right now ($50 off of a $100 purchase). If the special doesn't come up when you go to the dentalplans site, maybe you can do a search on Mamapedia for it.

http://www.dentalplans.com/index.asp

The special is only for the next few days, so if you're interested, act now. I discovered that my dentist is on the list, and you can definitely save money. Note that this site doesn't offer insurance, but significant discounts on dental work.

I also wanted to suggest that you ask your dentist's office about which insurance/discount programs they participate in, and if they have any suggestions as to the best one for your situation. My dentist's office has a dedicated insurance person who's extremely helpful with this kind of stuff.

Good luck!

My question is whether you need the insurance at all. I know we like to be insured in case of accidents that might damage our teeth, or unexpected large problems. However, you may want to look at your dental history and decide whether it would be better to simply have a savings plan for such emergencies. If your only visits to the dentist are the twice annual check-ups and cleaning, you may be better off to pay out of pocket. When I had a dental plan a few years ago on one job, I found out that what I paid in premiums was more than the cost of paying the dentist directly.

I agree with the pp who says PPO is through group plans. I had to find our family dental insurance when we lost group coverage and it seemed the only choices out there are HMOs. We have Delta Dental's HMO plan and it's pretty reasonable, although the selection of dentists is pretty limited (we did find a good one, so it wasn't an issue).

Are you eligible for COBRA?

Also, contact your current insurer and ask them pricing for individual plans.

Google dental insurance and see what you get.

Have you asked your dentist what a teeth cleaning actually costs. Most of the time it is cheaper to save what you would have paid for dental insurance and just pay out of pocket.

Most major dental injuries are covered under your health insurance. Dental generally covers teeth cleaning and occasional filling.

We recently had to find our own medical and dental insurance and decided to forgo dental. The premiums were very high and they don't really cover much. We went to our dentist and asked about cash pay rates. It turns out that we were much better off with paying cash. The more expensive major work is only covered at 50% through insurance anyway. If your dentist gives a 30% discount for cash and you add that to the premiums you save not having insurance it comes out about the same. We are a family of 4 and decided private dental insurance was not worth the money.
My two... :)

Individual dental insurance plans are pretty bad, but PPO's are available. Most common is Delta and Anthem. Call a local insurance broker (they don't charge anything) and they can help you find something. (Again, don't expect a ton of savings - we have it for my family but sometimes i wonder if it's worth it even though premiums are pretty cheap.) My broker's name is Todd Scheuer at Pro Insurance in Menlo Park. He's very helpful and has a young family and knows the issues families deal with.

I work for Ameriplan, which is the number one dental discount plan in the US. It is $19.95 for the month for your entire family, and includes dental, vision, and chiropractic discounts. It is not insurance, but for my family it was much much cheaper than what my husbands company was offering and it made the procedures cheaper than what insurance would have covered. You can check out my website at www.everyonebenefits.com/C..

K.,
I had the same question when I left my job with a major company. I asked my dentist and my daughter's pediatric dentist and they both stated dental insurance doesn't cover much except maybe a small discount on cleanings and a few other things that you may end up paying out more than your getting. Many patients do not have insurance so I opted not to get it. It would behoove you to talk to your dentist and get the names of insurance companies he accepts and then call and compare plans. I will continue to read other posts to hear if I have made the right decision for myself.