Spodak Dental Group: Is Your Dental Insurance Doing You More Harm Than Good?

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Is your dental insurance doing you more harm than good? That is the opinion of a growing number (more than 70%) of dental professionals who express concern that dental insurance plans may limit more than just the amount of annual benefit afforded plan participants—it may actually limit a patient's openness and/or opportunity to get the quality dental care they both need and deserve.  

That's because dental insurance is significantly different from most other kinds of insurance.  Home, fire, auto, and even health insurance are all designed to protect the insured from big ticket, catastrophic occurrences.  You pay out a premium and deductible up front, and then all major expenses are covered.  Sadly, the opposite is true with most dental insurance plans, which generally cover the most basic of care, but greatly limit or deny more costly restorative or specialty care.

And while benefits for auto, home or health insurance have, for the most part, increased in pace with the rising costs of replacing your car or home, or with the rising cost of an appendectomy or bypass surgery, dental insurance benefits have not increased in nearly five decades!  In the late 1960s, a typical dental plan paid up to $1,000 a year—the same amount a typical plan pays today in 2013!

Think of it this way. The average cost of a car in 1960 was $2600. If that car were totaled in an accident, your insurance (after the deductable) would have paid the full replacement cost of your car. The average cost of a mid-size car today has increased to about $25,000, yet auto insurance would still pay the full replacement value of your vehicle.  Now consider your dental insurance. The same $1000 dental plan which in 1960 would have covered all your basic care, plus a couple of cavities and a crown or two, today in 2013 won't even cover the cost of your basic care and a single porcelain crown. Then add to this disparity the rising cost of dental insurance premiums, which have increased more than ten-fold, and the typical patient is being squeezed out of both dollars and care.

Yet even with these greatly diminished returns, patients fall prey to the misguided impression that they are "covered" and "protected." They mistakenly believe that their insurance will cover any and all necessary care, and that the capped fees insurance companies impose will help to shield them from greedy dental professionals who want to "sell" them all kinds of unnecessary treatment.

The reality is, however, that these plans rarely cover any and all necessary treatment. What's more, they serve to undermine the patient-dentist relationship by breeding a mistrust of the dentist's counsel and a fear of exorbitant or unnecessary fees.  "I only want you to do the treatment my insurance will cover" has become the anthem of the inured. "The second crown will have to wait until next year when my annual benefit renews."

The problem, however, with waiting until "next year" is that the decay or fracture in the tooth that necessitated the crown this year, may require not just a crown, but a root canal next year. Not only will the deferred treatment be MUCH more costly, but the delay may give rise to pain, infection, or other complications which may greatly jeopardize the patient's overall health.

It is true that the dental insurance movement has been successful in motivating some to visit a dentist who would otherwise have been resistant to seek dental care, but getting them into a dental office is only the first step in helping them attain optimal dental health. "Insurance brings people into the office," said one concerned dentist, "but the difference between expectations and reality makes them [the dentist and patient] instant foes."  "Insurance companies are an unnatural intrusion into the purest relationship between two unrelated humans: care giver and receiver," said another.  

To be sure you are getting the quality care you require, never let an impersonal insurance company, whose primary goal is to make a profit on your premiums, dictate your personal dental care. Do the necessary research to find a dedicated, trusted and highly qualified dental provider who will partner with you to protect your health, comfort, appearance, and peace of mind.   

Spodak Dental Group, located in Delray Beach, Florida, is a comprehensive dental practice providing all general and specialty services in one convenient facility. Their team of General and Restorative Dentists, Endodontist, Periodontist, Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and Anesthesiologists are uniquely equipped to evaluate and treat all your dental health needs. Call 561-498-0050 or visit them at http://www.SpodakDental.com to schedule an appointment and inquire how Spodak Dental Group can help you attain the healthy smile you deserve.

Media Contact:

Michael Greene 
[email protected]

SOURCE Spodak Dental Group