My dental insurance *RANT*

So back in September I went and got my teeth cleaned, X-Rays done, etc.

Since this I've been receiving bills from my dentist to make up for the difference of the insurance company ($87)...even though when I looked up the dentist on my dental insurance they state that the Dentist is 100% covered.

So I finally remembered to call my insurance company about this. They said that I have a $100 deductible that needs to come out of my pocket before they start to pay 100% of the dental procedures.

This is the 4th dental company I've been with and (other than going to a new dentist) have I ever had to pay $$$ out of pocket if they say the dentist is 100% covered.

This sucks.

yeah, Dental insurance sucks!! I am part of the dental HMO at my work, but none of the dentists are near where I live, and the ones near my work are not excepting new patients. The dentist that I chose will not do silver fillings, which are covered 100%, they only do clear fillings which cost me an additional $25 I already have silver fillings, I don't care if there's more silver!!!! If I choose the non-HMO plan, the most the insurance will pay for a examination is like half of what the average dentist charges!!! rip-off! glad our medical insurance is at least decent

I hear ya ... WHen I asked my dentist office what insurence to look into ... THEY STATED NONE since all of them were not great ...

I've never heard of paying a "deductible" for dental before. I have dental insurance through my work and I pay some and the company pays some. When I go to the dentist I don't pay anything on procedures that are 100% covered and only pay 50% on some procedures that are only 50% covered.

Wow. I never have to pay anything. That really bites.

That must suck. I don't pay anything for dental because I'm covered under my boyfriends plan. He gets 100% coverage, but he gets $27 taken off of every paycheque which sucks. It used to be $9 until he added me onto it.

Did you call your dental insurance company or your health insurance company? For me, all preventative care (one well-woman exam/yr, two teeth cleanings/yr, one physical/yr, etc.) are all covered at 100% by my health insuranace provider.

I'm not sure if your health care is the same way, but I thought I would mention it in case you gave the dentist's office the wrong insurace card/were calling the wrong insurance company.

Good luck getting it straightened out!

Originally Posted by Jillian

Did you call your dental insurance company or your health insurance company? For me, all preventative care (one well-woman exam/yr, two teeth cleanings/yr, one physical/yr, etc.) are all covered at 100% by my health insuranace provider.

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My Dental insurance is the one that told me all of this, not the dental office.

I would've paid the $87 had I known 2 months ago...but $87 right before the holidays stinks. I'm sure they'll let me pay in increments, but still.

Maybe I'll just start going to my school's dental...Its the students that are the dentists, but still...if I just get through the $100 I'm set.

I should've known, this dental insurance didn't have anyone listed with a good rep on my side of town, so I'm still going to my old dentist 45 minutes away since I trust him and not the ones listed for my side of town. It's a PPO dentist, but still, if I can avoid out of pocket costs, I want to!1

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I've never heard of paying a "deductible" for dental before. I have dental insurance through my work and I pay some and the company pays some. When I go to the dentist I don't pay anything on procedures that are 100% covered and only pay 50% on some procedures that are only 50% covered.

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We have that as well BUT you have to read the fine print. The insurance companies often will cover 100% of STANDARD FEES for a particular year and it usually isn't the current year fees (they are often a year or two behind on the fee guide). We had a dentist that charged more for each of his services than the standard and it was up to us to pay the difference if we wanted to continue having him as our dentist. So the reality is that yes they cover 100% or 50% but it may not be 100 or 50 % of what your dentist charges. Our current dentist takes what the insurance company gives him and doesn't charge us the difference and I think most dentists do this. (Can you tell I used to work in HR?)