Buy a Dental Plan Online Tips
Read these 9 Buy a Dental Plan Online Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Dental Plans tips and hundreds of other topics.
Do Your Dental Insurance Homework
If you need to buy dental insurance, be forewarned that there is no dental best buy or one-size-fits-all dental plan for everyone, but rather an enormous variety of plans that can be catered to your individual needs. For example, if your teeth and the other teeth in your family are perfectly straight, you might not want to shell out for a better dental plan that covers orthodontic treatments.
For each dental plan you consider, make sure that the coverage it provides is what you and your family really need. Does the dentist you see accept the plan you want to buy? Are there exemptions that overlap with your needs? Does the plan have a large deductible? Does it cover a significant percentage of the most expensive procedures such as root canals? If there are large monthly premiums and your family doesn't typically require much dental work, you might want to consider enrolling in a discount dental plan instead of purchasing traditional insurance.
Don't just jump into purchasing a dental plan that is highly recommended or that looks like a good value, do the research to make sure that it's the right fit for you and your family.
Dental Loan Agencies
Your kid's teeth are crooked as a politician in an election year, with a gap between the front ones large enough to drive a Volkswagen through. He clearly needs braces, but your dental insurance doesn't cover the treatment! Before giving up or rushing out to buy a second, supplemental insurance policy for him, talk to orthodontists about the financing options available.
Many orthodontists are now accepting payment via Dental Fee Plan and CareCredit loans, which offer no interest plans for the first year and plans up to five years long. Spread over that period of time, taking a loan from those agencies to pay for your kid's braces might actually save you money, compared to a supplemental dental insurance policy, and using them has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Before rushing out to buy dental insurance just for braces, consult these dental loan agencies, do the math, and see what makes the most sense for your financial situation.
Online Quotes
Trying to figure out how to buy dental plan online? You'll quickly find that there are a plethora of choices, and sorting through them all can be a daunting task.
To reduce the variety of choices to only those in your price range, you can start by using one of the many sites that offer free insurance quotes online, such as eHealthInsurance.com.
These sites do not require you to commit to buying any dental plan from them, but help give you an idea of what certain plans cost, no strings attached.
Write Down What You Need from Your Dental Plan
Feeling overwhelmed by the number of hits Google gives you for “buy dental plan online?” There is a seemingly endless variety of dental plans available online these days, which offer everything from premium, five-star coverage for the rock star that just can't stay away from his gummy snacks to cheap, discount coverage for the conscientious elementary school nurse who practices what she preaches and has perfect, low maintenance teeth. This variety, though intimidating, is actually a good thing as it allows you to buy a dental plan hand-tailored to your needs.
To avoid becoming completely overwhelmed during the process, you should write down a list of features you would like from your dental plan. This list should include: types of treatments you and your family are likely to receive, how often you would like to see your dentist, how extensively emergency care is covered, and whether you're likely to rely on the plan heavily for a large amount of work.
For each individual's or family's situation, there is a dental plan that fits. If you know what you want when you start your search, you're more likely to have those need fulfilled.
Dental Sealants
Looking for a fool-proof way to prevent cavities? Then sealants are a clear dental best buy!
Despite how vigorously you brush your molars or how often you rinse with fluoride treatment, it is almost inevitable that plaque will build up in the deep grooves on the top of your large molars, leading to dental decay.
A dental sealant is a thin plastic layer that is painted on the top of your tooth and prevents plaque from building up and eating away at the tooth's enamel. A sealant is pretty inexpensive and any dentist can apply it, but, despite their obvious benefits, only 20% of Americans currently use sealants!
If you want a fool-proof way to prevent most cavities from forming, ask your dentist about dental sealants the next time you visit for a cleaning.
“E” Dental Insurance
Electronic banks, such as E*Trade and ING Direct, can give much better interest rates than traditional brick and mortar organizations because of the tremendous amount of money they save by not having to maintain actual branches. So shouldn't you be able to buy dental plans online from an electronic insurance provider that offers analogously cheap policies?
Unfortunately, that is not the case. While electronic banks have a significantly smaller overhead as compared to traditional brick and mortar organizations, most insurance companies don't have very many brick and mortar branch offices to begin with, having already done most of their communication with plan members over the phone and via mail for years.
Thus if you're looking to buy dental insurance, there is no new fangled, fancy “e” insurance provider that offers much better, cheaper coverage. In fact, in the world of dental health plans, the opposite holds true; you're probably better off going with an older, reputable, established provider than with a younger, smaller upstart.
Get a Dental Health Plan!
So you say you would buy dental insurance but can't afford it? Then you really won't be able to afford to fix your teeth when things do eventually go wrong.
Unlike regular health care, a dental health plan works in a primarily preventative fashion. A dentist can find a problem with your teeth very early and do relatively minor things to correct it before it becomes a major problem. Without such screenings, serious conditions can seem to develop spontaneously, causing you a great deal of suffering and costing you a great deal of money.
If you don't have dental coverage, then you probably never see a dentist and are therefore missing out on this critical early detection. Chances are you won't even see a dentist until you have developed a somewhat serious problem that will certainly be very expensive to fix. Even though the insurance payments might look steep to you now, it will probably save money in the long run.
So do your mouth and your wallet a favor and enroll in a dental health plan. It wil save you money and suffering in the long run.
Nerves and Online Purchasing
Identity theft! Credit card fraud! Viruses!Oh, my!
Many of us are nervous about purchasing even small commodities, like books, online because of the fear of having our identities or credit card numbers stolen and used by someone for nefarious purposes.
Therefore, buying a dental plan online seems like a really big risk that's not worth taking, especially with local insurance salesmen around with whom you can talk more safely over the phone.
Even if you are nervous about giving your credit card number or social security number out online, you can still benefit from looking at a dental plan via the Internet. There are many sites that offer free quotes and resources, along with insightful comparisons of dental plan types, that you can utilize without having to give out any of this vital information. Moreover, if you do find a plan that you really like online, any reputable provider will have a toll free phone number that you can use to talk to an actual person, allowing you to never have to enter a single personal detail over the Internet.
Regardless of whether or not you intend to enroll in your dental plan online, you can still benefit from the wealth of information and free quotes offered by the many specialized, free websites available.
Newton's Tooth
After his death, one of the great Sir Isaac Newton's teeth was sold in London for the equivalent of over $35,000 in today's dollars, but even though your teeth might not have quite that market value, this goes to show just how important teeth are!
Unfortunately, most people don't seem to realize that, as is evident by the more than 50% of Americans who do not receive regular, oral care, with devastating results. Over 75% of adults over age 35 have gum disease, 78% of Americans have a cavity by age 17, 33% have current, untreated tooth decay, and only 28% floss daily.
If you are one of the many who have been neglecting your teeth, you should make the turn around today. Dental coverage is very affordable and there are an endless variety of policies and plans available so that you can definitely buy dental insurance or a discount dental plan in your price range. There are many that offer at least the very basics (and as dental care is a preventative game, the basics are by far the most important part). To prove this to yourself, visit one of the many free dental plan quoting services online and see how much a simple plan would cost you.
Don't sit idly by while your teeth rot slowly away like most other Americans; take care of yourself and your teeth lest your neglect leads to real, serious tooth problems that require immediate and very expensive treatment.
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| Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D. |
