YOu have seen the dentalplan.com ad on this site - have any of you signed up for it, and are you satisfied? They had given examples of what would be covered and how much - is that the tru case?? Thanks

Do you have a website? Not sure what dental plan you are looking at.

dentalplans.com

I went there and it simply brought up a variety of plans available in my zip code. I checked on a few of the plans, and they were all "savings" plans instead of insurance. So, basically you would contribute $150/year to the savings plan and in return get discounts of 25% to 50% on specific services.

I would expect that quality depends greatly on which plan you choose and which participating dentist you choose. I have found that dentists vary *wildly* in quality. For me, the specific dentist is a much bigger factor in determining what plan I might want than is the cost of the plan.

In the plans I looked at, there were no specifics provided about exactly which services got which discount, yet the user is expected to sign up online without knowing that information. That is not something I would do.

Another thing I wonder about is cost of services. This can vary from one dentist or clinic to another. So I can't help but wonder if a participating dentist might have a base charge higher than normal to compensate for any discounts he has to give to plan members.

For me, something like this just wouldn't fly unless I already knew a good dentist who participated in one of the plans. There are too many mediocre dentists out there......

Exactly - we live in the boonies, and what I was asking is that after cross referencing the plans and the dentist what is exactly available to ME. The estimates that are given, are they, infact, legitamate(sp) charges...say for instance - "normal" price for a procedure could be listed for $453 and it would actually cost me $70. I don't want to have any surprises, say that THEIR cost would be $902 and I would have to pay $250.
Again, I am asking if anyone on the board has experienced this first hand so I could be aware of what if offered. Thanks

I'd rather pay myself monthly into a savings, earn & keep the interest myself.
Most important for me got to the dentist I know & like.

I'll tell you what I told my sister to do when she was thinking of going to a new insurance plan...go to more than one doctor and talk to their office managers and lay it out to them. THEY know what pays off and what does not, what company is slow to pay and argues about procedures, etc.

Take a big purse and when you get up from a chair or are thanking them for their help, pull out a box of candy for them.
THEY WILL REMEMBER YOU...especially should you ever be, or are a patient there.

When DH was laid off we had COBRA. When that timed out I looked at an individual plan with the same company. Basically we were better off without. We had a 2 year waiting period before they would pay anything on crowns, root canals and other procedures and then the % coverage wasn't that great. There was a waiting period on basic things too. With his former work place the coverage was greatand the same insurance co. Call some dentits in your area and ask what they charge for various procedures and ask friends for the name of a good place. Good luck in your findings.

piney

Hi Nancy, I've been a member for several years and I am quite satisfied. I live in Florida, so with the Solstice plan that my dentist accepts I get 2 free cleanings a year. Definitely worth the price of the plan and then some. Depending on the work you need, you can save a lot. I suggest calling the dentist office before to confirm.

Thanks Dawn - I still need to cross reference the plan options with the dentists available here!