Replacing your Insurance Agent with your Dentist?

It may seem strange that there is such a prevalent trend of dental clinics offering in-house savings plans to patients. As someone who was originally unfamiliar with the specifics of insurance plans, I could not understand why a dentist would have any business offering these plans. My rudimentary understanding of insurance was that typical PPO insurance plans would cover any operations which were needed in exchange for paying the monthly fees. My assumption turned out to be pretty far from the true nature of the insurance companies.

I neglected to consider the fact that insurance companies need to make a profit. In order for the insurance provider to be able to maintain their profit margin, the provider creates stipulations which create favorable terms for themselves. Due to the unfavorable conditions of coverage for patients, some individuals find themselves paying significantly for bad coverage which they do not use. Patients who fall into this category have great oral health and few recurring issues. For these individuals, it may be economically beneficial to cancel their existing insurance and adopt a savings plan from your dentist.

The savings created using a dental savings plan instead of a dental insurance plan may reduce your health care costs significantly.

Patients who have significant oral health issues and who are not enrolled in dental insurance are also likely to benefit from a dental savings plan. This sub-group of patients benefits significantly from the favorable terms of a savings plan over the conditions of an insurance plan. These patients may have trouble being approved by dental insurance companies for the treatments they require. In addition, the full costs of necessary treatments may not be covered by insurance companies.


To decide if dental insurance is the best option, consider the following:

Cost: Analyze your monthly premiums and co-pays for the year. Many dental plans have monthly payments which add up to a considerable amount. It may have been substantially cheaper to pay for the procedures with a savings plan rather than paying for dental insurance. This is especially true for those who do not have recurring oral health problems. Add up what you have paid in premiums for a few years and subtract it by the costs which have been covered by the insurance company. A typical dental insurance plan costs approximately $450 per year. This fee covers all preventative and diagnostic procedures while only covering a percentage of basic and major procedures. Thus if there is a serious oral health issue it will still be a significant cost to get the dental care required. If you consistently pay much more in premiums than you use through treatment it may be better to cancel the insurance and pay for a dental savings plan when you require an expensive procedure.

Coverage: Dental plans are notorious for offering low coverage plans to those who purchase their insurance. The reason someone chooses to buy dental insurance is to give them protection from serious and unexpected dental problems. Many discover when emergencies occur that their dental plan is not useful enough and are saddled with unexpected bills they tried to avoid. If your insurance is capped it may not be enough protection to give you peace of mind in case of a dental emergency. If your dental insurance has limited protection you may be forced to pay entirely out of pocket in the event of a serious costly issue. This is in addition to paying about 50% of the cost of a major procedure up to the coverage limit. The capping of coverage reduces the benefit an individual gets from dental insurance. If you have a low coverage plan which does not give you good protection it may be logical to decide to switch.

Flexibility: If you enjoy having the freedom to make your own medical decisions you may want to consider canceling your dental insurance. When you buy into a dental insurance plan you instantly lose a significant amount of independence when making a decision for your oral health. Your insurance company decides what dentists you can see, what procedures are covered, and has the ability to deny treatments even if they are necessary. In addition, dental insurance cannot be easily canceled or purchased. This means that if your oral health improves significantly you cannot easily cancel your insurance plan and are stuck paying for unneeded coverage. Conversely, dental savings plans typically offer month to month coverage which can be easily canceled or bought based on your situation. In addition, dental savings plans are between you and your dentist and do not involve a third party. This means all transactions are much simpler and can be handled at without any of the bureaucracy of an insurance company. If you want the flexibility to choose when you are protected or if you desire the freedom to have a dentist of your choice it may be a good decision to use a savings offered by your individual dental clinic.

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Whether it’s a matter of cost, coverage, or flexibility many decide that dental savings plans are the right decision for their situation. If after analyzing your dental insurance plan you discover that you are unsatisfied, the next step should be finding out about the dental savings plan offered by your dentist. For many individuals switching to the dental savings plan may solve the issues they are concerned about. Dentists have been realizing that dental insurance plans do not benefit all of their patients and have been offering their own saving plans as a replacement. Maybe it’s not so crazy to replace your insurance agent with your dentist after all.
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Seneca Ridge Dental offers a dental savings plan which covers a fixed percentage of about 25% of all procedures and costs $25 per month. The savings plan can be canceled at any time so it provides much more flexibility than typical dental insurance. The savings plan is likely to provide financial relief to those who are overwhelmed by the costs of a procedure and do not have dental insurance. For these patients, it will be much easier to buy into the preferred savings plan than to deal with an insurance company. In addition, any healthy patients who do not typically require dental care besides preventative and diagnostic procedures may benefit from the savings plan. This is especially true if the individual has an expensive dental plan. For more information check out the preferred plan tab on the home page.

Apply for the Seneca Ridge Preferred Plan today!​

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