The truth is, most individual health plans, including Medicare, do not cover any dental work unless there is an accident or disease of the mouth. Unless you’re willing to pay the expensive out-of-pocket costs to go to the dentist for the recommended two cleanings per year, you’ll want to pay close attention to this article.
A recent article I read exposed the ugly truth about dental work and the out-of-pocket costs that incur when a patient does not have dental insurance.
Let’s take a look at six common dental procedures, and what the costs would be if you did have dental insurance, versus if you opted to go without dental insurance.
Teeth Cleaning
With Insurance: Completely covered (up to twice a year)
Without Insurance: $127 per visit
Cavity Filling
With Insurance: Typically covers 50%-80% of the cost
Without Insurance: $204 per tooth
Wisdom Tooth Removal (Per Tooth)
With Insurance: $416
Without Insurance: $500 – $775
Braces
With Insurance: $3,047
Without Insurance: $4,937
Root Canal
With Insurance: $608 (front tooth), $333 (back tooth)
Without Insurance: $1,156 (front tooth), $957 (back tooth)
Dental Crown
With Insurance: $618
Without Insurance: $1,093
Hopefully this cost breakdown helps clearly illustrate how much money a dental insurance plan could save you in out-of-pocket costs.
Now that you understand the importance of having a dental insurance plan, let’s quickly talk about your options.
At Smart Health & Life Insurance Agency LLC., we partner with insurance plans that cover more than 100,000 dentists nationwide who have agreed to charge reduced fees on the dental services you need. Our goal is to get you the quality care you deserve at the most affordable rates possible.
The first step we take is to check who your preferred dentist is. This will help us determine, right off the bat, which direction will be best to take with a customized dental plan.
We typically offer three dental solutions:
All three of these options have their pros and cons, depending on you as an individual person or families dental needs.
Our dental discount plans are generally the most popular because they are very affordable, offer a decent discount for all dental procedures and thousands of dentists nationwide participate.
With a dental discount plan, you pay an annual fee and get access to significantly reduced rates. Dental discount plans offer many other benefits over traditional dental insurance, such as no annual caps or limits, no wait times and absolutely no paperwork.
The discount schedule is provided to your dentist, who then agrees with the rates given. All around, this is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a low-cost dental plan that can be used immediately.
Argus is an example of an extremely low-cost dental insurance plan, but the dentist of your choice must be in-network for the plan to be cost-effective. In the Tampa Bay area, we are finding that there are reasonable for dentists through Argus. The main benefit, in my opinion, is the convenient online search portal. In today’s digital world, this online look-up is very beneficial. If you are willing to change dentists or are starting a plan with no specific dentist in mind, Argus is worth considering.
meritas, for example is a true PPO, making it a little more expensive than the previous two options. Other major Carriers with PPO plans are UnitedHealthOne, Cigna, Delta Dental and Aetna to name a few. There are also wait times for more expensive procedures. However, the benefits are that most dentists will accept a PPO either in or out-of-network, and there is a wide range of coverage for dental procedures.
Your dental health and your wallet are both important to us at Smart Health & Life Insurance Agency. Our goal is to get you the coverage you need without wasting your time and money.
Contact us today to discuss your Dental Insurance options!
Smart Health & Life Insurance Agency
2211 Ashley Oaks Cir
(813) 544-5568
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