Dental Insurance Disscusion

Toothsmith

It won't cover any pre-existing problems.

plaidparty

hiya,

I have just been told I need root canal and a crown and cant really afford it, my treatment won't be for 5 - 6 weeks. If I was to take out dental insurance would this cover it as the qualifying period is only a month?

Do they check up to say that the treatment was diagnosed on a certain date or would they just look at the receipt and date I paid it on? it maybe over 2 appointments so I could spread it out a bit.

I was thinking of maybe going for a check up day after plan starts, would this make any difference?

Thanks for your help x

the_lace

plaidparty wrote: »

hiya,

I have just been told I need root canal and a crown and cant really afford it, my treatment won't be for 5 - 6 weeks. If I was to take out dental insurance would this cover it as the qualifying period is only a month?

Do they check up to say that the treatment was diagnosed on a certain date or would they just look at the receipt and date I paid it on? it maybe over 2 appointments so I could spread it out a bit.

I was thinking of maybe going for a check up day after plan starts, would this make any difference?

Thanks for your help x

Let me ask you this:

If you bought a car and, before getting it insured, you smashed it up. Would you then expect any insurance company to say "yes, we will insure your car and pay for the repairs to the damage it had before you came to us" ???

Beggars belief some of the expectations/entitlement of people I am reading here. *eyeroll*

lawsofnature

Are dentists starting to pull away from Denplan?

My friend's dentist no longer uses Denplan, and mine is also going to start their own insurance policy.

There's a big catch - the new policy only covers check-ups and hygienist appointments, and then everything else must be paid for (with a relatively small discount).

I'm rather miffed about this as I've paid Denplan Care for about 8 years, and never had any actual treatment from my dentist, but my dentist watches a number of potential problems (including a crown and inlay that need replacing soon according to him). Now my Denplan will be withdrawn and, I assume, I'll have to pay for all this treatment (at private rates), unless they honour my Denplan cover during my next visit.

On this basis, for those joining Denplan, it might be worth asking your dentist if they intend staying on Denplan for the foreseeable future, or switching to their own policy.

Toothsmith

lawsofnature wrote: »

Are dentists starting to pull away from Denplan?

My friend's dentist no longer uses Denplan, and mine is also going to start their own insurance policy.

There's a big catch - the new policy only covers check-ups and hygienist appointments, and then everything else must be paid for (with a relatively small discount).

I'm rather miffed about this as I've paid Denplan Care for about 8 years, and never had any actual treatment from my dentist, but my dentist watches a number of potential problems (including a crown and inlay that need replacing soon according to him). Now my Denplan will be withdrawn and, I assume, I'll have to pay for all this treatment (at private rates), unless they honour my Denplan cover during my next visit.

On this basis, for those joining Denplan, it might be worth asking your dentist if they intend staying on Denplan for the foreseeable future, or switching to their own policy.

There isn't a big move away from Denplan, but what sometimes happens is that dentists start to look at the administration charges that Denplan charge, and move to something cheaper.

Denplan have very good support for dentists at the time of moving away from the NHS. They also have very good training and practice marketing support as well, but it costs.

If a dentist feels they're not using all the services they're paying for, they look around at the cheaper providers, who just really provide the nuts and bolts of a direct debit collection service, and an accident and emergency insurance.

If a patient has things that are being 'watched' then a number of things could happen.

1. The cost of this new scheme will proably be much lower for the patient, so overall, the lower monthly cost plus the cost of paying to get the crown/inlay replaced when it becomes due will mean that overall, you're probably not out-of-pocket.

2. The dentist may agree to change the inlay whilst you're still on Denplan if you ask him about it.

3. The dentist may come to some arrangement with you that if the inlay fails within a year of the change he will just charge you the lab fee, like he would have done on Denplan. If it's longer than that though, you pay the price on the new scheme.

4. You change dentists to another Denplan dentist. If you do this, the old dentist would have to get you to a level that the new dentist would accept as 'dentally fit'. This may or may not mean changing the inlay, depending on if the new dentist is prepared to still 'watch' it, or if he feels it needs doing now.

Really, I think you need to have a good talk with your dentist about the options and the likely costs. I really wouldn't recommend changing dentists for the sake of a payment system, but it is important for yu both to know what is covered and what isn't during the transition period.

Make sure you write down your questions before your next appt, as you're bound to forget something once in the chair.


As for asking the dentist if they intend to sty with Denplan for the 'forseeable' future, just how forseeable is the future? It's a bit of a meaningles question. I've been very happy with Denplan for 12 years.

They are a company though, and could easily, tomorow, start doing something that I feel isn't in the interests of me, my business or my patients. I really don't think they will - but???

lawsofnature

As always Toothsmith, excellent information.

What I mean by the "foreseeable future" (bad choice of words) is that one should check the dentist is not planning to move off Denplan. My dentist is still listed by Denplan, so a new patient may not know any different unless receptionists are pro-actively informing people. But, if this isn't a common trend with dentists, then there is no need for anyone to be concerned.

My Denplan is under £20. I would hope the new policy is around £10, if not, it's cheaper just to pay for the check-up and hygienist. Denplan, for the most part, has been a waste of money for me if my crown and inlay are not dealt with (but that's the catch with insurance).

atruefaker

Hello everyone

I am currently looking into private health care/ dental plans - and was wondering if it was worth while - mainly due to the fact I received an horrendous service for treatment in hospital.

Current dental costs per year - 2 x check ups (£16) + 2 x hygienists (£45) = £122.

I'm also an NHS patient - could anyone offer me advice as the site doesn't offer any current material.

Many thanks for any feedback.

Newton

Any

Bump...

I have the same question as above.

Also - does replacing of existing fillings count as pre-existing condition (only if they are needed to be changed of course)?

It's just that I have filling in nearly every of my back teeth so if no treatment on these teeth will be covered then there is no point of taking it up.

Thank you

Adapazari

Hi

I wonder if anyone can answer my question? Does a poor credit rating affect ability to be accepted on a scheme such as Denplan? It may seem a silly question, but I'm asking it any way

thanks

The_silver_surfer

Adapazari wrote: »

Hi

I wonder if anyone can answer my question? Does a poor credit rating affect ability to be accepted on a scheme such as Denplan? It may seem a silly question, but I'm asking it any way

thanks

In a word NO.

As long as you pay your premiums (usually preffered by direct debit) a poor credit rating will not matter. They do not perform a credit check. They will simply cancel your policy if you fail to pay your premiums.