Dental Plans For Self-Employed People: Here's information you can sink your teeth into

By Bonnie Boots

If you live in the U.S. you may have noticed that dental care is taking an increasingly bigger bite out of your budget. I hadn't paid much attention to the phenomena until recently when a crown started giving me trouble. At the dental office, I learned the crown hadn't been made properly and might have to be replaced. Three years ago, I paid $1000 to have it installed. A new one, if it's needed, will cost more than double that amount--$2,200.

I was doubly shocked, both by the current price, and the fact that the office, which installed what they now called “an improperly made cap”, wasn't going to help me with the cost.

Many Americans have long taken good dental care for granted. Even now, if you believe the flood of print and television advertising, everyone in American is getting their teeth whitened or veneered. The facts, however, tell a different story. Studies show that with prices rising far faster than inflation, more and more of us are unable to afford even basic dental care.

The Center For Disease Control and Prevention says that in 2003 and 2004, the most recent data available, 27 percent of children and 29 percent of adults have cavities going untreated. This is the highest level of untreated tooth decay since the late 1980's.

In part, this is due to the fact that most dentists only treat people who have dental insurance or can pay cash. This puts adequate care out of the reach of many families who find their only recourse is to learn to live with decaying teeth and gums.

Like most self-employed people, I do not have dental insurance. And when I found out the dental care I needed was going to cause pain in my wallet as well as my mouth, I held out little hope for financial help. But a fast search on the web surprised me by turning up resources I didn't know existed.

If you're struggling to pay for dental care, you'll want to check out  “dental membership plans.” Membership plans differ from insurance in that they provide discounts at certain health care providers. They do not make payments directly to the providers of health care service, as insurance plans do.

But if you've found the cost of dental insurance beyond your reach, you'll be happily surprised to see the comparatively low cost of a membership plan. 

One of the plans I investigated is Ameriplan. The Ameriplan Corporation advertises savings from 25% to 65% on restorative and cosmetic dental work including crows and braces. It saves up to 80% on preventative work such as exams, cleaning and x-rays. Specialist fees are discounted 25%. 

With AmeriPlan, you can go to the dentist the same you receive your membership package in the mail, usually 10 to14 days after you join. In addition, the membership includes discounts on prescriptions, vision care and chiropractic care through 50,000 pharmacies and a network of 12,000 vision care centers and 7,500 chiropractors. Savings on prescriptions run up to 25% on most name-brand drugs and 50% on most generic, maintenance-type drugs.

The cost of the AmericPlan is $11.95 per month for individuals and $19.95 per month for families.

The membership plan I chose for myself is the Careington International Plan. It offered many advantages I appreciated including unlimited visits for tooth cleaning at no cost whatever. And overall, I found the prices I'd pay using the Careington Plan were lower than other plans I investigated and more procedures were covered, even cosmetic procedures like bleaching, binding and veneers.

In addition, there is no waiting period, not even waiting for the mail to arrive. I joined the Careington Plan online, paid by credit card and was able to print out an authorization, which I used at the dental office that very day.

While the Careington Plan offers yearly membership plans, you can also choose coverage for as little as one month. That means, for instance, you can pay for one month of membership and immediately go to the dentist.  If, six months later, you need another dental visit, you can pay for another month of membership. If a tight budget is keeping you from proper dental care, this is a real advantage.

The Careington Plan costs $11.95 per month, or $108 per year. Once you're in their system, you will not pay this fee again whether you choose to join by the year or by the month. The Careington Plan also includes vision care with discounts of 15% to 45% on exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses.

Another pleasant surprise with dental discount plans--you are not penalized for pre-existing conditions. All ongoing dental problems are accepted, even if you have had a dental problem for a long time. I was surprised to learn, for example, that even though I had a preexisting condition–a crown that will probably need replacement–the dentist I've been referred to will perform the work for $445. That's a huge savings over the $2,200 I was quoted at the first dental office.

The only exclusion is dental or orthodontic care that is already in progress. If, for instance, you're in the middle of orthodontic treatment, a membership plan is not going to help you with the cost.

To get information on dental membership plans, Google “dental care plans” or “dental membership plans.” You can learn about AmericPlan by calling their consumer information center at 1-800-647-8421.

And you can get information on the Careington Plan by visiting their web site here: http://www.careington.com/members.aspx

 
About the Author

Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine and the companion The Internet Wizards Blog to teach self-employed people and small businesses owners how to leverage the internet for advertising, marketing and promoting their business. To stay in touch with her, type your name and email into the subscriber box in the left column of this page. You'll be glad you did!