Insurance

Why Your Dental Insurance Should NOT Be Your Deciding Factor

Let’s talk about how dental insurance has changed over the last 55 years.

A history lesson: Dental insurance was brought into the market place in the late 1960s. At that time the amount of money a dental insurance company would pay to an individual to have their mouth fixed was approximately $1,500. At the same time, you could by a Chevy Corvette for about $4,000 . $1500 was a lot of money in 1970. Well, things have changed. A comparable Corvette today would cost somewhere around $80,000. Interestingly enough, the amount that a dental insurance company will pay per year is $1000 (Blue Cross Blue Shield) to $3,000—in other words, for approximately 55 years, the amount a dental insurance company will pay in a year has hardly changed at all.

Inflation has not spared the rest of the world. The cost of that Corvette has gone up twenty times. Stamps are 73 cents (they only sell "forever" stamps so you won't notice the hike). Your dental insurance policy is only worth one twentieth of what it was in 1970. This is the central reason why dental insurance policies are frustrating for everybody: they’re worth much less than people are led to believe they’re worth, because for over 55 years the cost of dental care & medicine have increased significantly. Inflation in medicine and dentistry run in the five to ten percent range per year. We can see that in our medical insurance premiums as they go up ten percent or more each year.

Costs have been contained by insurance companies by raising premiums and by keeping reimbursements low. HOW LOW? Delta Dental pays dentists ~$130 for a cleaning and exam. That's what a woman's haircut costs in Cambridge today. Delta refuses to negotiate. This fee hasn't gone up in two decades. After overhead expenses, the office loses money. This is why you'll sometimes hear about dental offices where the teeth are polished by a dental assistant or the cleaning is rushed into a 30 minute slot. In fact, these practices are touted by leading industry magazines. At my practice, I treat my patients as I would like to be treated. Hygiene visits are typically scheduled for 75 minutes, to give plenty of time for discussion and cleaning.

That’s why dental insurance is frustrating for everybody. They’re frustrating for us as dentists, and they’re frustrating for you as the patient. The main takeaway I would like to leave you with today is this: don’t let your dental insurance coverage drive your decision-making. Nearly all dental insurance coverage tends to be pretty minimal. Don’t let that determine your dental health fate. Planning, strategically staging treatment to fit your budget, is the key—not what your insurance plan covers.