Question:
I've started to look for dental insurance. How do you shop
for dental insurance? How do you know if a company is
legitimate?
I live in Pittsburgh, PA, and want to get some dental
insurance because I'm going to need a filling. I went for
a cleaning/check up under a "new patient" special. The
dentist found a pre-cavity on my x-ray. His office charges
$75-$135 for a filling. I know nothing about fillings (have
been fortunate enough not to have needed one until now --
any advice about getting a filling is also welcome!). A
friend of mine said that was pretty high (she thinks it
should cost around $30-$40 without insurance). I may
see if I can ask for a copy of my dental x-rays, records...
and try to save on paying for the x-rays at a different
dentist's office.
Answer:
The dentist I WAS going to charges $180 for the tooth colored fillings
(3surface) and $85 for the silver (3surface). My dental insurance wont cover
the tooth colored fillings unless its a necessity (like a front surface
tooth) but they do cover silver fillings 100%. When I went for a check up
this past summer a*new* dentist (who looked and acted like a 16 year old)
joined the others in this office where I have gone for several years . He
suggested I have the old silver removed from a back tooth and he'd refill it
so it matched the rest of my teeth. He tried to convince me it would *look*
nicer, although there was nothing wrong with the silver filling. I don't
care if the filling is purple as long as the tooth doesn't hurt! When he
couldn't sell me on that then he proceeded to tell me that the crown I had
put on 2 years ago was all wrong and needed to be re-done. There isn't
anything wrong with the crown and at $800 (my co-pay is $250 for crowns) a
crown I simply said "Yea ok". I am currently searching for a new dental
office who accepts my insurance......
The price your dentist wants seems very reasonable to me. Why don't you
ask your dentist if he's affiliated with any insurance plans? Since
you're in Pennsylvania, it can't hurt to check Pennsylvania's web site
at http://www.state.pa.us/ to see if there is any consumer information
about dental insurance providers there. You might also try asking
friends, co-workers, and relatives in your area if they have any
recommendations because sometimes, word-of-mouth from people you know is
the best way to get recommendations.
First... find a respeectable dentist that your friends, coworkers, or family
recommends. A good honest dentist makes all the difference. There are still
plenty of them around. Go to them and get a thorough checkup. If all is well
or at least reasonably well, don't worry about insurance. Dental insurance
can get very "chincy" with just about as many exclusions / limitations as a
cheap health care policy would offer.
I'm scared to death of dentists and a few years ago needed 4 badly impacted
wisdom teeth removed. Waited until I was 26 years old... not a good thing.
Ended up going to an oral surgeon widely recommend by many people I knew. I
was scared to death, but he did a beautiful job and make the procedure very
easy. I gladly paid my $550 owed to him with a big smile. There is
definitely life after major oral surgery... ;-)
