Dental Insurance Disscusion

timbo-74

Hi,

I am recently experiencing the english NHS after being covered in Holland with private and business plan health + dental insurance's from eurocross/ zilveren kruis the last amount I paid in april 2011 was my premium, 76 euro's a month which included all treatment none cosmetic and 1200 euro's for crowns and veneers...the waiting time is also something we can learn from.. basically I could book an appointment the same week i needed something doing..The hospitals were perfect, I had a private room special menus room service tv dvd and phone with wifi.. also my partner could stay in my room on an extra matress supplied by the nurses when my condition was touch and go.. Why do we not have anything like this over here...Bupa i was told was the answer but I was told by Bupa appointments i had to pay for consultations, blood tests, scans and anything else which required employees to do work... thank god I didnt order coffee.. could u imagine the bill? It would of been cheaper to cgo Starfuxks for a caramel frappaccino grande with cream. vote for me in the next election I am thinking of standing for mp with goal as prime minister.. the first dsylexic with terrible grammar and is severly fekked if there is no spell check... but at least we would have better gnashers and have better hospitals.

Tooth_Helper

sensibly_insane wrote: »

Hi All,

I have had medical insurance with a company where I needed to get the authorisation of the insurance company before going for any medical treatement. This was an added peace of mind as it saved me from any hefty unexpected medical bills in case the treatement was not covered.

I am looking for similar dental policy where one needs to get the authorisation from the insurer before the treatement is carried out. I have looked hard but could not find any such company.

On a different note, is it usually possible with comapnies like denplan, tesco etc. to comfirm before the treatment that it is covered under the policy?

I wonder if some forum members could shed some light on these queries, I will highly appreciate any positive comments.

Many thanks

Most insurers allow for routine treatment for you to just fill out a form and just claim it back. Imagine going to a dentist with toothache or another emergency and having to again call your insurers and having to wait for a response to decide on treatment. For complex care such as crowns and bridges etc you can check with your policy. Most will cover all routine treatment and that which is not you would have to come back for (and could thus check).

Hope this helps

Best Wishes

AJenner

Can anyone recommend any insurers that take on existing work that needs doing? Thanks.

TheToothDoctor

Like Toothsmith I am a dentist, however I work at both NHS and private practices.

I would agree that the best way to save money is look after your teeth and have regular checks and cleaning. Any tooth that hurts is going to be expensive to fix!

Although I don't fully agree with the NHS fee system it is generally excellent value for money. It was designed by civil servants, NOT dentists. The fee paid by the patient is only a fraction of the actual cost of the treatment, especially if several fillings, root fillings or crowns are needed. Each course of treatment has a fixed income (where i work this is about £252 for band 3) so often the dentist actually makes a loss on lots of treatment. It will not provide an expensive treatment if a cheaper one will do the job. Also do not expect top quality materials as these are expensive. Expect a functional result that is pain free.

Private dentists usually calculate an hourly rate for their costs and time and then add on materials and/or lab bills. This is why prices can vary significantly. If you want choice and have high expectations this is the choice for you. Most dentists do not earn any more than solicitors or similarly qualified professionals. It also costs me about £3500 per year for registration and indemnity (more for dentists who own practices!) and 50% of all my earnings go to the practice I work for to pay their costs.

I am not rich by dentist terms but I love my job and try to do the best for people. This is the value of a good dentist. I can give a logical explanation for all the treatment I recommend and I always make sure patients know what they are paying for and why.

I know this forum is about saving money but sometimes the saying is true "you pay peanuts, you get monkeys".

Mikhail

I am not sure what to choose - a dental insurance or denplan. Frankly speaking I don't see much difference, however, demplan seems more interesting but less transparent. Can you trust your doctor to set a plan for you, I am sure, they are all lovely people, but they do have financial interest in you. Any opinions?

wozearly

Its a good question to ask.

I used to work for a company that provided dental insurance, so in the spirit of avoiding potential concerns about bias I won't offer a personal opinion or recommendation, but I'm happy to help add some background to Denplan and dental insurance if it helps you understand your options more clearly...

What Denplan does is let the dental practice tailor an insurance policy (Denplan then prices it for them) rather than just offering a standard direct insurance policy. Comparing Denplan to a direct insurance policy should be as straightforward as comparing two direct insurance policies with each other.

The practice's version of Denplan might be more expensive than direct insurance if the practice's cover is more comprehensive. It tends to be, as this helps patients avoid unexpected shocks, and it ensures dentists have the freedom to do the treatment that's "right" for the patient rather than tailoring the treatment to what the insurance covers (bearing in mind that insurers have a financial interest in restricted cover, as lower prices make it easier to attract/retain their customers).

TheToothDoctor's post before yours describes why the NHS fixed costs approach has potential problems with pushing dentists to tailor to cost, not to what they believe is best for the patient.

Which is better value for money? There is no right or wrong answer.

Ultimately, it depends on whether you need any extra cover you're paying for (got a crystal ball handy?), or whether peace of mind is worth the higher price - if you need treatment that's not covered, your dentist should be happy to talk through what the options and costs are if you're paying straight out of your own pocket.

Either way, its worth shopping around to see if you can get similar cover to the practice's Denplan cheaper direct from a dental insurance company (of which there are several, including Denplan themselves).

Pauladavis

I hope someone can help me, where can I get insurance to help with the cost of my dental care. I have an ongoing problem and its costing a fortune.

peewhyeff

Clearly, there are a lot of folk out there who are irritated with their dentist and/or dental treatment. There is so much confusion and conflicting advice. I know that MSE are working on an update to their Dental Insurance guide, the last update was 2007! Come on MSE....we await this update. Current systems are hitting us where it hurts most, the 'paying' is even worse than the pain!!!

Victoriajane

Hi.

My boyfriends front two teeth cracked in half a few years ago after a football accident. He had new moulds attached but since then they have fallen out a few times and its costing us a fortune!!! Can anyone recommend a plan or a good company?

Thanks!