Denplan or Savings

Whiteknight

Since leaving full time education I have been with Denplan, it was sold to me by my dentist years ago and since then the dental practice has gone completely private. I have been considering cancelling my subscription to Denplan as I no longer feel that I am getting value for money.

I am currently paying just under £25 a month and go to the dentist every four months, either to see the dentist or hygienist and the treatment is always the same a scale and polish and has been like that for the last ten years. I feel that paying just under £100 a visit is not good value for money and am considering cancelling the Denplan and instead putting the money into a seperate savings account and paying for my treatment as and when I need it (I realise that money I pay to Denplan covers more than just my routine visits).

I have checked the prices at the practice and a scale and polish would cost me £45 and a check up would cost £27 so if I went every four months I would seriously cut my costs and more importantly if I felt I needed to have additional scale and polish treatments I would still have funds available.

I had cancelled my Denplan a few years ago but the dentist suddenly decided that the condition of my oral health had deteriorated and started seeing me every other month to keep on top of things and of course charging me for each visit. He soon talked me into signing back on to Denplan at which time the frequency of my visits decreased. I would move to another dentist if I could but that is not an option - I have checked and have discreetly checked with the practice if they have any small print which states a patient has to attend a certain number of appointments or can refuse an appointment.

Does anyone have any positive/negative feedback on this course of action or faced similar problems with a dentist?

Toothsmith

It's a gamble - like most insurance.

You potentially could save a bit of money by not having it.

BUT - if, all of a sudden, something did go wrong, could you lay your hands on enough money to fix it?

If, tomorrow morning, you slipped on your drive and went face first into the boot lid of your car (That was the last dental accident I had to send a claim into Denplan for 2 weeks ago) would you have the £1500 needed to fix everything to hand? What if you did £10,000 worth of damage?

If you have, it's probably worth the gamble - as chances are this won't happen to you. But if you haven't.......

Plus - if you're at a practice where you think you might not trust their professional advice - it might be time to start looking for another practice?

brook2jack

The level you pay for denplan is determined by how much work you have already had done. At £25 I would guess you have already had a fair bit of work done already.

When you budget for saving it's not just the scale and polish you need to budget for but also maintance and replacement of existing work.

In general the people who gain on denplan are those who regularly need work doing. Those who "lose" are those who have had extensive work in the past over many years but who have changed their dental habits and are now stable and need little work. Of course very long term even these folk may even out as no dental work can be expected to last forever.

However on a non monetary note if you are not paying regularly into a plan research has shown you are much less likely to continue with routine dental care as it's much more tempting to put things off for another month. If you are having gum problems now this can prove disatrous!

jessicamb

might be worth looking at a health cash plan and see if that is of any use - the limits are lower but it would cover the day to day costs possibly and optical too if you wear glasses/contact lenses.

brook2jack

Denplan do have a dentist finder service on their website which will show dentists nearby but there are also other mantainance plans such as practice plan, isoplan, etc where you pay a smaller amount typically £11 ish a month to cover check ups scale and polish and an insurance component but you then pay a discounted rate for fillings etc.

However the important thing is to trust the dentist you are with and change if you are not happy. The advantage of all the private schemes is you will have a wide choice of dentists one of whom will suit you. It's not like nhs where you are lucky to find a practice with spare capacity.

mandi

Sorry to hijack the thread, but why does it cost £21.00 for a 4 min check up ??

SparkyG

mandi wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but why does it cost £21.00 for a 4 min check up ??

If your private dentist charges £21 for a 4 minute check up then you are not getting very good vfm!

I'm guessing you are basing your question on your own experience of an NHS dental check up?

My private dentist (who only charges £18) spends at least 15 - 20 minutes looking carefully at all aspects of my teeth, mouth and gums, and discussing the condition of my teeth in detail, explaining any areas of concern, any treatment needed, and any treatment that may be necessary in the future.

To me that is very good vfm, and I always come away reassured that my mouth is in good hands!

Whiteknight

Thanks for the advice all - Toothsmith one of the main reasons I have been with Denplan for so long is because of the "what if" scenario but have spoke to Denplan and they do provide accidental cover (am waiting for them to send me some more details about that) which they "said" would cover accidents.

I've been with the current dentist about 15 years and in all that time have never had a filling (touch wood) or any work other then a scale and polish when I've visited - the reason I pay £25 (category b price band) is because the dentist wants to make a good living and has a large staff to pay

Have looked at other dental/medical plans as I could get a discount via work but the amount they would cost compared to the level of cover it would be cheaper for me to put aside the money and hope that nothing major needs to be done. Got my next appointment with the dentist at the end of January so will remain on Denplan until that time and ask the dentist for an assesment on my oral health (something Denplan has told me he should be doing as standard)