Dental Plans to Save Money

Dentists have it good. In fact, better than they have ever had it. However, it comes at the cost of Americans' teeth.

Dental fees have been rising far faster than inflation and so has the number of people lacking dental insurance. Even the percentage of Americans with untreated cavities has been on the rise. Unfortunately, this is a reversal of a trend for the last half-century in dental care.

With the new release of figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data shows that more adults and children have cavities that are going untreated and is the highest since the late 80's.

Many poor and lower-middle-class families are not receiving adequate dental care because dentists are becoming particular about their patients ability to pay. Dentists prefer customer how can pay with cash/credit or have private insurance and avoid accepting Medicaid patients. These service denials have led to month-long waiting for patients trying to use public dental clinics for major dental surgery on decayed teeth. Possibly even long enough to cause death as was the case in Mississippi and Maryland this year for two children.

Even in states that have raised Medicaid payments, most dentists still do not accept Medicaid patients. For example, Virginia overhauled it's Medicaid program in 2005 and raised rates 30 percent but still only 25 percent of Virginia dentists accept Medicaid patients which was an increase of 10 percent from prior to the overhaul yet not a significant increase as was hoped for.



A primary criticism of the dental industry is their focus on the business of dentistry instead of the practice of dentistry. That would appear to be true based on the rapidly rising cost of dental services.

Not only are dentists making more money, they are working shorter hours, on average. Recent numbers suggest that about 100 million Americans are without access to dental care. Compounding the issue is the number of dentists enter the profession are declining or remaining steady yet the population has increased 22 percent since 1996.

In real dollars, the average dental procedure cost has risen 25 percent between 1996 to 2004 and is likely to be even higher today. An average American adult spends about $600 per year on dental care with insurance (when available) pick up half that cost.

Recent 2004 averages for Dentists.

$185,000 for normal dentists
$300,000 for dental surgeons and orthodontists

Many dentists are now making more than doctors due to the caps on rising costs of healthcare while the dental industry has not been effective at capping their pricing.

What can you do if you don't have dental insurance coverage?

One of the most cost effective options is to purchase membership in a dental plan. Note that a dental plan is not dental insurance but a plan that has negotiated discount pricing for plan members at participating dentists.

Whether you are an individual, family or group, there is a dental plan out there that can meet your needs. One of the best locations for finding a plan is Dental Plans.

As a plan member, you simply show your card at your visit and your bill will be discounted according to that dentists negotiated pricing. It's similar to purchasing a membership to Sam's Club or another discount shopping warehouse and then purchasing goods at a discount.

How much easier could it get!