Question:
New job doesn't have a dental plan. Recommendations for a family plan
for a husband, wife and 5 children that includes orthodontia?
Answer:
Find a good dentist, and get the really important things seen to first. If
it's cosmetic, it can probably wait until the child is old enough to pay
for it him or herself. If it affects the child's ability to chew, or
causes pain, you are going to probably have to pay full rates.
You can often get good quality, cheap care at a university offering a
dentistry program. Not to be recommended for nervous types, but I chose
that route once when I was a penniless student. I got my impacted wisdom
teeth out, no complications, taken out by a nervous student hovered over
by a professor of dentistry.
I personaly think my dentist is worth every penny I pay him, but then
again, I'm able to afford his fees.
I certainly wouldn't waste my time with Signature (the discount plan offered
through some credit cards, credit unions, and trade unions). We made the
mistake of signing up for it through DH's union and have not been the least bit
happy with it - the plan dentists are poorly screened (some of them didn't even
answer their phones or have answering machines/voicemail when we called) and
seem to be prone to making up the difference on the discounted rates by pushing
additional services (my husband had to raise hell to get the x-rays restricted
to just the bitewings included in the annual plan fee). The putative 10-20%
discount really isn't worth it when you have to ride herd on the dentist's
office nonstop. I called Signature to complain and got a response basically of
"what do you expect US to do about it?" and "what do you expect for thirty
bucks a year?" I've been overall very disappointed with the whole thing.
