{"id":1000,"date":"2019-08-06T12:06:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T12:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=1000"},"modified":"2019-08-06T12:06:27","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T12:06:27","slug":"the-state-of-dental-insurance-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/the-state-of-dental-insurance-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"THE STATE OF DENTAL INSURANCE: PART 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Last week I explained how dental insurance works in general, and why\nthere is no \u201cgood\u201d dental insurance. This week I will break down the general\ndifferences between dental insurances, offer some things to consider when using\nyour dental insurance, and when it makes sense to consider purchasing insurance\nif you don\u2019t have it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We get asked just about daily by patients who are either self-employed or\nare not offered insurance through their employer, \u201cShould I consider getting\ndental insurance?\u201d In most cases, it does not make sense to purchase dental\ninsurance on your own. This goes back to last week\u2019s column as to how dental\n\u201cinsurance\u201d is set up to begin with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I discussed last week, all dental insurance companies set a limit as\nto how much they will \u201cpay-out\u201d on an annual basis. The industry average is\n$1000 per year, which has not changed since the inception of dental insurance\nback in the 1970\u2019s. The premiums for individual dental insurance run around the\n$700 range. This leaves the patient with a net gain of $300 from the insurance\ncompany. This especially does not make sense if you typically only have your\nteeth cleaned a couple of times a year. The only way purchasing your own\ninsurance may make sense is if you are looking to cover your entire family. You\nshould discuss these factors with your dental office prior to making the\ndecision. Key: You should be the one to make the decision who you pick as a\ndental office, not an insurance company\u2026..that company may change next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dentistry, there are a few types of dental insurance available. There are\n\u201copen\u201d insurance plans, where patients can go to whoever they want and a certain\npercentage of the fee will be covered depending on the procedure. The other\ntypes of insurance are PPO\u2019s, HMO\u2019s and discount plans or \u201cclubs\u201d. With these\ntypes of insurance, the dentist has to sign a contract with the insurance\ncompany and abide by a pre-set limit they can charge for all procedures. While\nthis may sound good from a patient perspective, there are other things to\nconsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many private dental offices are being bought-up by larger corporations\nacross the country. In general, the business model of these practices is to see\na higher volume of patients. There will be less and less privately-owned dental\npractices as time goes on. However, in our area right now, most dental offices\nare small businesses. The decision for the dentist to sign-up for a particular\nplan depends on many factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a consumer, and patient, you have to be the one to decide what is\nimportant to you. Keep in mind that dentistry is not a commodity. Dentistry\nshould be relationship based. Approaching it this way will give you the best opportunity\nto get the level of care that is right for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please keep in mind: Insurance does not equal health. Health requires investment\nand personal responsibility. Better access to care across the general population\nis a topic for another time. Right now, you have full control in managing your\ndental health care. You should talk to your dental office about any concerns\nyou have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next week I will discuss the costs of dental care for those with or\nwithout dental insurance and ways to get what you want with regards to your\ndental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair\nmaintains a private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to\nhealth-centered family dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to\nsee written about or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I explained how dental insurance works in general, and why there is no \u201cgood\u201d dental insurance. This week I will break down the general differences between dental insurances, offer some things to consider when using your dental insurance, and when it makes sense to consider purchasing insurance if you don\u2019t have it. We get asked just about daily by patients who are either self-employed or are not offered insurance through their employer, \u201cShould […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1011,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000\/revisions\/1011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}