Showing posts with label dental benefits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dental benefits. Show all posts
Thursday, May 23, 2019
My Insurance! My Insurance! My Insurance! - Do you know anything about your insurance?
This is a true story.
A patient of ours was in the other day. We had just made new dentures for him and his wife.
We said we would send it to his insurance company to see if they would pay but he right away knew that they would not pay since he didn't have coverage for dentures. Of course, shortly after that we heard from the insurance company that he has no coverage for dentures (major coverage).
He did tell us that he pays $170 dollars a month for only dental insurance for himself and his wife.
$2040 dollars a year for him and his wife and there was no major coverage.
My staff were flabbergasted. They almost never have fillings to do and their cleanings amount to about 2 months of their premiums
So they pay their premiums faithfully every month but never get value. In other words, in their case, it is not worth it to get insurance. Pay your dental bills out of pocket and they would be left with a larger sum of money in their pockets.
Is this the case for everyone? Of course not but it was the case for them. Many people when they come to see me, say that they haven't been to the dentist for years because they didn't have dental insurance so they couldn't afford it. I always explain to them that dental insurance costs money and that if they put that same money aside to go to the dentist they would be surprised by what value they get.
The morals of the story?
1. Check what you are actually getting when you buy dental insurance. How much does it cost and is it really worth it.
2. You can still go to the dentist even if you don't have insurance.
All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay
Having fun practising dentistry in Hamilton Ontario Canada
www.rondentist.com
PS. If you have any questions just send a reply to the post.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
YOU CAN STILL GO TO THE DENTIST EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE DENTAL INSURANCE
I had two emergency patients come in this past week and both said the same thing, "Doc, I haven't been to the dentist for years because I don't have insurance."
I wrote a similar blog about 5 years ago but I felt that I need to say a number of things regarding not having dental insurance. I wrote similar things in my blog back then but because this happens so often I felt that I need to write again on this subject so that if someone is not going to see the dentist because they don't have dental insurance, maybe they will read this and change their minds.
This is exactly what I told those patients when they said they couldn't go to the dentist because they didn't have insurance.
1. Here you are and you don't have insurance. So actually when you want to go you can go.
2. You will pay more now than if you had regular dental care since now, things will be more complicated.
3. When you haven't taken care of your teeth for years and you finally get insurance, don't think that it will cover the cost of large amounts of dentistry. Remember, most plans have maximums after which you are paying out of pocket. Not all plans cover major work such as crowns which you now may need since your mouth is falling apart. Again, this will be out of pocket.
4. Regular dental care is much cheaper than emergency dental care. Regular care will allow you to do a small filling in a tooth versus a root canal, buildup and crown at 10 times the cost because you waited. We all understand that we need to change the oil in our cars from time to time. We all understand that it is cheaper to change the oil than the engine.
5. If you think you couldn't afford the regular care then take a little more time between appointments to help you financially. ( But still go from time to time!)
6. Don't forget that you pay for your dental benefits! Your employer removes a certain amount monthly for your benefits from your paycheck. So even when you get benefits you are still paying for them. If you don't have benefits then perhaps put aside the amount you think your employer would remove monthly and then you are saving for your own dental benefit.
I never tell someone what they can or cannot afford, since I can never put myself in their shoes. What I do try to do is to help people look at this problem from a different perspective which I hope will help them in the long run save their teeth.
Having fun in Hamilton Ontario Canada
All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay
www.rondentist.com
I wrote a similar blog about 5 years ago but I felt that I need to say a number of things regarding not having dental insurance. I wrote similar things in my blog back then but because this happens so often I felt that I need to write again on this subject so that if someone is not going to see the dentist because they don't have dental insurance, maybe they will read this and change their minds.
This is exactly what I told those patients when they said they couldn't go to the dentist because they didn't have insurance.
1. Here you are and you don't have insurance. So actually when you want to go you can go.
2. You will pay more now than if you had regular dental care since now, things will be more complicated.
3. When you haven't taken care of your teeth for years and you finally get insurance, don't think that it will cover the cost of large amounts of dentistry. Remember, most plans have maximums after which you are paying out of pocket. Not all plans cover major work such as crowns which you now may need since your mouth is falling apart. Again, this will be out of pocket.
4. Regular dental care is much cheaper than emergency dental care. Regular care will allow you to do a small filling in a tooth versus a root canal, buildup and crown at 10 times the cost because you waited. We all understand that we need to change the oil in our cars from time to time. We all understand that it is cheaper to change the oil than the engine.
5. If you think you couldn't afford the regular care then take a little more time between appointments to help you financially. ( But still go from time to time!)
6. Don't forget that you pay for your dental benefits! Your employer removes a certain amount monthly for your benefits from your paycheck. So even when you get benefits you are still paying for them. If you don't have benefits then perhaps put aside the amount you think your employer would remove monthly and then you are saving for your own dental benefit.
I never tell someone what they can or cannot afford, since I can never put myself in their shoes. What I do try to do is to help people look at this problem from a different perspective which I hope will help them in the long run save their teeth.
Having fun in Hamilton Ontario Canada
All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay
www.rondentist.com
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