Private Dental in NC - Help?

[courtingreason]

Okay, I'm new here, and to be honest know almost nothing about insurance. My fiance has BCBS health through his employer, however they don't offer dental. He desperately needs work done; preventative, basic, and possibly major oral surgery. We are trying to muddle our way through different plans online, but have made little headway.

He needs crowns, fillings, yadda yadda. Even with a good plan, we will have to go slow due to our finances, but there is just so much that needs to be done, and he is frankly miserable.

Does anyone have any ideas of plans that would be good for this type of situation? No waiting period would obviously be preferable, but I think he could handle a 6 month waiting period for basic services as long as there was none for preventative services.

Sorry to be long winded. I've tried to find information, but have since realized I'm in over my head. TIA

 

[ctg]

Stand alone dental plans are a little different from a major medical plan. Usually, they'll cover the routine things like cleanings, exams, an x-ray per year etc, from day1, but they almost always have a waiting period for the big stuff. Even if they cover it from day 1 (with a higher premium) they will almost always cap the amount of benefits per year-say $2000 per year-but give you somewhat of a discount on the work that gets done. The insurance companies can't afford for you to take out a policy, pay a month, get work done then drop it.

For me personally, I have decent teeth and don't expect to need a bunch of work in the near future. My premium would just about equal paying out of pocket. I assume the risk. If I get kicked in the mouth by a mule, it goes to my heath insurance.

Your husband however, needing work, might benefit in the long run by getting a dental plan. It will take some old fashioned pencil and paper calculation to see if it makes sense to get a plan. Add up the premium and co-pays (keeping in mind the maximum benefit) and then compare it to what you would pay for his work out of pocket.

Hope this helps a little...good luck!

 

[Yagents]

Okay, I'm new here, and to be honest know almost nothing about insurance. My fiance has BCBS health through his employer, however they don't offer dental. He desperately needs work done; preventative, basic, and possibly major oral surgery. We are trying to muddle our way through different plans online, but have made little headway.

He needs crowns, fillings, yadda yadda. Even with a good plan, we will have to go slow due to our finances, but there is just so much that needs to be done, and he is frankly miserable.

Does anyone have any ideas of plans that would be good for this type of situation? No waiting period would obviously be preferable, but I think he could handle a 6 month waiting period for basic services as long as there was none for preventative services.

Sorry to be long winded. I've tried to find information, but have since realized I'm in over my head. TIA

If you know you have major work ahead of you, you will not beat the system. Dental insurance is a rip off in my opinion, as they typically have maximums of $1000 - 1500 a year, with 1 year waiting periods, costing $500/yr. When you have 5-10k of work that needs done, the insurance won't go very far.

My suggestion to clients is to buy a dental DISCOUNT plan for $120/YEAR. Buy the plan that your dentists accept. No waiting periods, unlimited discounts on everything. Here is what I'm talking about: William Steffen - Discount Dental Plan Broker-Affiliate

Then open a "Care Credit" credit card account to pay monthly at no interest rate for 6-18 months - Healthcare and Medical Financing for Consumers | CareCredit™
Make sure dentist will take this too.

Then, try to use your Flexible Savings Account or Health Savings Account at work (if you have one) to tax deduct the discounted prices that you put on the interest free credit card making monthly payments.

Or, go to mexico like a lot of Arizonans do
Dentists of Los Algodones Mexico - Yuma, AZ

 

[GAJ638]

Okay, I'm new here, and to be honest know almost nothing about insurance. My fiance has BCBS health through his employer, however they don't offer dental. He desperately needs work done; preventative, basic, and possibly major oral surgery. We are trying to muddle our way through different plans online, but have made little headway.

He needs crowns, fillings, yadda yadda. Even with a good plan, we will have to go slow due to our finances, but there is just so much that needs to be done, and he is frankly miserable.

Does anyone have any ideas of plans that would be good for this type of situation? No waiting period would obviously be preferable, but I think he could handle a 6 month waiting period for basic services as long as there was none for preventative services.

Sorry to be long winded. I've tried to find information, but have since realized I'm in over my head. TIA

If your husband needs extensive and expensive work done and since you are in NC. You might contact the University of NC school of Dentistry. I know a few people that have gone through them for that kind of work. Your work is done by Dental students supervised by a Dentist and the work is discounted if you qualify. My friend had a lot of work done on his teeth at a fraction of the cost. Good luck!

 

[adam3477]

Head to Thailand. My client just got a full set of veneers for $850