OT: Dental Insurance for Self_Employed??

Probably the Californicator using your computer to figure the wage reduction of state employees ;-)

...Jim Thompson

I've run the numbers on our "employer sponsored" plan. The dental plan makes *no* economic sense (the vision plan isn't bad, though). Negotiate up front and pay in cash and you can get a much better price without the monthly charge.

That could be a good deal for you. Averaging you in with a bunch of youngsters who still have their baby teeth will lower your premiums.

But you've got to choose the group right. You are still just a kid compared to the Boeing crowd.

I miss my state dental and health. It rocked. I had over $3,000 in dental work done in the space of a year and it was all paid except about $200 of it.

Had my wisdom teeth extracted, a root canal, cap, and a few fillings.

The big ticket items were the wisdom teeth (Oral Surgeon) and the root canel (Endodontist).

Yes a month. That's how long mine took right here in the U.S. of A.

My dentist doesn't negotiate :-(

That's the great thing about capitalism. You get to choose.

That's DREADFUL. They must be asleep most of the time.

Graham

-- due to the hugely increased level of spam please make the obvious adjustment to my email address

Finding a good dentist is no small feat. Ours will retire soon, not looking forward to the "search for a new dentist" phase. I've tried the negotiating thing elsewhere before, no dice ;-)

Dentists have it made. Recession-proof business, not much competition. They all seem to be busy as heck out here.

Extractions are a "big ticket item" in the US?

I don't, but I know many who do haggle. Cash up-front is much more reliable method of collection than bills sent into the ether.

I wouldn't say "have it made". It's certainly not a line of business I'd want to be in and FWIG they have the highest suicide rate of any profession. There seem to be more than enough dentists everywhere I've lived. Doctors, OTOH,...

Same here. Its better to put the money in a savings account. You get interest instead of adding your money to the insurance company's profit. An insurance is meant to cover for costs you can't pay for at once.

$1,900 for 4 impacted wisdom teeth.

Yikes! I had one extraction, clocked in at $195. Not even 10mins work. I wish engineers had that kind of billing rates. Slowly I began to understand how one dentist out here is able to afford a ritzy country club membership, plus an airpark house, plus expensive car, plus a large amphibian aircraft, plus ...

Not around here. The dental school in Gainseville wanted more that a local oral surgeon, with a very good reputation.