Comments on: We Dropped our Dental Insurance

By: Hilary

Hilary — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 15:28:15 +0000

Andrea, it’s so true. I hope to someday get dental coverage again — but I will be more cautious about buying. If it’s useless, I might as well save the money for out of pocket expenses. 🙁

By: Andrea Rivers

Andrea Rivers — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 18:59:01 +0000

I definitely think insurance has complicated EVERYTHING… It’s kinda like metric and imperial measurements. It’s better to just learn them both separately to see which one works best, than trying to use one and convert it to the other or use together. lol I know that’s a weird comparison. I envy those who know the metric system by heart. lol lol Unfortunately I have bad teeth… but thankfully have good dental insurance. But I totally get how paying out of pocket could save more than paying insurance, pending no issues. . I get that with my chiropractor. I think the cash paying patients definitely pay less in the long run. . And probably less or no surprises due to insurance billing mistakes.. I still comb over all my EOBs like a crazy woman, regardless.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 19:51:49 +0000

In reply to Jan. Yeah, I haven't even looked into dental schools! We have a low cost dental place here where cleanings are less than 50 (I think they're 40 for kids, including x-rays). That's a great idea though!

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 11:21:27 +0000

We are lucky enough to live near three dental schools. Our family goes to one of the schools for all of our dental work including cleanings, fillings, root canals, and even implants. It certainly takes longer for a visit with a student dentist since they need to get their professor’s approval on each step of the procedure, but I feel confident knowing that an expert instructor is supervising my care. Oh, and the price is at least 1/2 of what a regular dentist would charge–without insurance. It might be worth finding the nearest dental school (even if it is a few hours away) to see what kind of savings is available. If you only get check ups every year, traveling a bit might be worth it. In addition to dental schools, there are dental hygiene schools which would do cleanings for a very discounted price. In general, I love using the services of students, whether it is having my car fixed by our local vocational high school or getting a manicure, haircut, updo, etc. at our nearby beauty school. You can save a ton of money this way.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 16:51:51 +0000

In reply to Anne Meyer. Yeah, there is lots to consider. I was so worried to go without it, but it has been good for us (probably, mainly, because our dental insurance was horrible)

By: Anne Meyer

Anne Meyer — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:13:35 +0000

Oh,this is great information, especially for families where you have to cover someone without any major dental issues (the employee) in order to get coverage for insurance for someone else in the family with teeth problems who hasn’t had insurance for a while and needs work done
Also keep in mind your specific situation – if you’re a family with growing kids who don’t brush their teeth, you may have more ongoing issues than a couple without kids whose costs are fairly predicatble. If you have teeth that need work because you haven’t had insurance for years, you could get good but expensive coverage, get everything fixed in one year, and then droop it or go with something cheaper.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 03:04:39 +0000

In reply to Judith W.. I agree... Ithink it made sense for us because our insurance was SO bad! :(

By: Judith W.

Judith W. — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 19:44:40 +0000

The wisdom of this depends upon your age and your dental hygiene/health. In my mid-30s I suddenly needed many more root canal procedures, crowns and other more extensive treatments. Now I am 60, and though I enjoy general good health and dental hygiene, there is still laser cleaning, gum treatments and crowns to pay for.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 03:18:34 +0000

In reply to adrienne @ whole new mom. Huh... I checked it out. I'm not sure I'm brave enough for a powder! I bet there is something horrible in my toothpaste though. It sounds nasty. I need to mull over my options! Thanks for posting your link!

By: adrienne @ whole new mom

adrienne @ whole new mom — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 04:31:14 +0000

In reply to Hilary.

Hi Hilary. Thought I’d jump in here about other options. I personally am trying out several natural brands that I like and one uber expensive one that a company sent me to try. But this post on my site shares a recipe that might interest you if you’re into DIY stuff. If not happy to tell you about the kinds I’ve tried. Pinned your post, by the way.

http://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/why-i-stopped-using-toothpaste/ (this post is by a lady who used to contribute to my site. She has a very interesting story.)