Does all dental insurance suck?

In my experience, yes. I dropped my dental insurance a few years ago as I found I was paying more in premiums that just paying cash for cleanings and I didn't anticipate any other upcoming work.

I now pay a flat fee for my dentist's "membership fee" that covers 2 cleanings and 1 xray per year, plus a 20-50% discount on other services.

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I now pay a flat fee for my dentist's "membership fee" that covers 2 cleanings and 1 xray per year, plus a 20-50% discount on other services.

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If your dentist offers this, you will rarely find an insurance plan that is better than this.

We just switched over to United Healthcare, and so far I have been hearing good things. But no one at work has tried to have any major work done under the dental plan.

Most any private dental insurance not through an employer is going to be more expensive than it is worth. Look at how much you would be paying per month vs what they will pay per year. And don’t forget that dental insurance isn’t insurance in the medical sense where once you hit your max they pay 100%. It is more of an allowance and once you hit the max, they pay 0% and you pay 100%.

Unless it is a very cheap additional expense through employer insurance the best bet would be to put whatever your premium would be aside in an HSA and use that to pay for cleanings and save whatever is left over each year in the account for when you need more expensive work.

There is a reason insurance companies advertise for dental and vision….. you pay in a bunch and they pay out very little.

About 25 years ago most insurances paid 1000$ per year. Today most insurance pay 1000-1500$ per year. Cost of dentistry and premiums have gone up but what insurance is paying out has not gone up an equal amount. Starting to see a few plans that have 2000-3500$ in benefits… but those are rare.

Do you have kids?

If so, the insurance can help with braces and such.

The insurance can benefit you with multiple kids under a family plan.

Other than that, most dental plans feel like a prepayment plan.
They basically pass your premiums over to the dentist. So your value is equal to what you are forced to pay in.

(I.e. a HSA is a better alternative if you are likely to only need an X ray and 2 cleanings a year)

We have blue cross blue shield at my work and I pay $600/yr for it for wife and myself. For just me it would have been $300/yr.

For just getting 2 exams and 1 xray at my dentist i am paying more for the premium than what they charge in a year but a little bit, however, my wife i swear has a filling or crown or something every year and thats where the plan really pays for itself. This year she just got another crown and the plan pay 50% for that (up to $1k per beneficiary per year). The crown was $1600, so we paid $800 out of pocket and the insurance is covering the other $800. So in essence the insurance more than covered itself already this year. The plan covers 100% preventative (so the 2 visits plus one xray per year). Then itslike 80% coverage for minor work and 50% for major work. Max total payout for them is $1k per person.

In years we dont get any work besides the preventative stuff done, the insurance company is actually making out a little better than we are. Its not by a ton, but it costs us a little extra to just pay the premiums in those years. With the work my wife gets done though

Yes.

All insurance is a scam.

I e had dental coverage my entire adult life. In 30 years I think I came out to the good 3 years, and that was a close call

I still carry it, I am not smart

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The crown was $1600, so we paid $800 out of pocket and the insurance is covering the other $800. So in essence the insurance more than covered itself already this year.

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You should ask them what the cash rate for something like this would be. Chances are, it'll be around that $800 mark too.

Well, yes, because it's not really insurance.