Let's talk Dental Insurance

Lawrence00

Lawrence00

Senior Member
I currently don't have any.

Am completing my first year on Medicare and Plan G saved my butt. 🌙 January 12th hospital stay.

I got two dental cleanings this year and an exam but skipped the x-rays.

The Medicare lady is suggesting Mutual of Omaha but I would need to go to a new dentist. 🙁

The Dentist suggests Delta Dental or Careington. While looking at Delta, it seems to me that for all their plans, you give them monthly money, and they still make you pay big percentages if real work is needed ... including their most expensive plan. $$$
 

I've had dental insurance for years. And it's saved my butt since my teeth are so challenging.

No, they don't pay all of many services but when you pay half the amount of a crown out of pocket without it, over a grand cost, it makes quite a difference.

My biggest issue with what I have is that the max they pay out each year is pretty low. Which is probably fine for folks that don't help pay for the dentist's office in needed procedures.
 
No teeth …no insurance …no insurance premiums. 😉🤭😂

My zero premium Medicare advantage plan does cover basic cleanings, X-rays, and some medically necessary procedures.

When I had my last two post teeth removed and a full set of new dentures made the dentist did cut me some slack for a cash payment but it still cost around $5,000.00 out of pocket.
 

Mine covers that too but with the issues I've had with my teeth the dental insurance has helped me not to spend what I don't have.

The dental I have pays far more than I pay in premiums a year.

@Aunt Bea, I had a partial made recently. Out of pocket was 500$. The total without would have been just over a grand.
 
I have a Medicare Advantage plan with a Liberty dental add on. I have always had weak teeth, lot's of cavities in my childhood has cost me a lifetime of dental issues.

My advantage plan gives me $500 per year for dental and the Liberty dental add on pays up to $2,500 per year, I get two cleanings plus some x-rays per year at no out of pocket cost. This year, 2025 is the first year I haven't maxed out my dental in the six years I have had the plan.

The insurance has been easy to deal with, no issues paying toward crowns and implants, though in 2024 Liberty started excluding coverage for implants so if I need more that will cost me.
 
I've had Delta Dental since 2006 and military retirement. In fact, it's the only dental plan I've ever had, so I can't really compare it to others from personal experience. Only compared it from time to time on paper and with other plans. At the end of the day and having crunched numbers, Delta Dental has always won out for my dental coverage.

I've never had any problems with Delta Dental and never had a dentist turn Delta Dental coverage down.

I asked the lady that handles dental insurance at my current dentist's office, if Delta Dental was good coverage to have, and she said it was very good coverage.

I have the Delta Dental High Plan and pay some $39 a month. It comes out of my military retirement pension automatically. So it's painless because I've never had to deal with manual monthly payment.

I've gone from crown replacements to partial dentures to multiple extractions to full dentures top and bottom. Delta Dental has never turned down a claim. I remember I did have to pay several hundred toward the price of the dentures themselves but that could have been a timing issue in my dental care that may not have been in compliance with Delta Dental claim caps. Not sure, been a few years now. Based on my experience, I can recommend Delta Dental. It's worth a look.

If you are on great terms with office personnel at your dentist, you could ask them what their recommendation is.

EDIT to add: There's a $50 a year deductible on Delta Dental coverage, for the high plan anyway. It starts/resets in October of each year. For me, after that $50 deductible, Delta Dental has covered most everything else in my dental care ... except that several hundred mentioned that time for denture appliances.

Wait: Shoot, now that I think about it, I had to get a referral from my local dentist, to a dental specialist for implants for snap in dentures. The specialist was out of the dental insurance network and ended up costing several thousand dollars. Most wouldn't go that route though.
 
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We have Delta Dental. They cover the first $3,000 and that's it. The rest is out of pocket.

I just had a deep cleaning and two caps put on cracked teeth, which went way over the $3,000 limit. I still need to have my wisdom teeth removed and a few more caps put on other cracked teeth. To save money, I'm just going to have a few things done each year. Next month, I'll have one of my wisdom teeth extracted. That alone will probably put me over the $3,000 limit.

Our healthcare system sucks.
 
Way back in 1990 I had to have periodontal surgery followed by bridgework to the tune of $11, 000 which I paid out of pocket. If I had, had the Air Force's dental insurance I would have paid 10,000 out of pocket. Their annual cap at that time being 1000 . Not worth it.
 
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