Is dental insurance going the way of the company pension plan?

Are we about to become a toothless nation?

Once upon a pre-recessionary time, dental insurance -- along with matching 401k's and other now long-forgotten benefits -- was a pot-sweetener among American corporations trying to lure the best and the brightest to come work for them. Now, it seems that dental insurance may fall the way of the company pension -- just one more thing employers used to provide but are increasingly sacrificing because of cost-cutting and bottom-line greed.

The pity is that history shows that dental insurance is the only thing standing between healthy teeth and a nation of folks dining through a straw.

According to a recent Gallup-Healthways poll, almost 35% of Americans haven't seen a dentist in the past 12 months. And that may be because 45% of the population doesn't have any type of dental coverage, says the National Association of Dental Plans. More than 33% of employers aren't providing dental coverage and those that do offer limited benefits. In some places, like South Dakota, only 19% of all employers offer dental insurance.

The state with highest percent of companies offering both health and dental insurance was Alaska -- 80.8%. The lowest was Vermont at 43%.

Once you leave the corporately employed arena, the picture worsens quickly. Many corporate retiree plans provide medical benefits until a retiree turns 65 and is eligible for Medicare. But not many have dental insurance as part of the package. The same is true for vision care. These services aren't covered at a time when many need them most -- as we age, our teeth and vision weaken.

For the millions who were laid off from jobs, COBRA provides a dental and vision care continuation (assuming you already had those benefits while working). It lasts, with extensions, for up to 18 months in most states. Then, assuming you haven't found another job to provide dental insurance, you are out on the limb alone hoping the tooth fairy stops by. Insurers do write dental policies for individuals and family but, as a rule, they cost a lot and limit what they cover.

An example: Delta Dental in California writes an individual family policy that maxs out what they'll pay for at either $1,000 or $1,500 per year depending on the plan. These policies cost about $2,000 a year and won't cover any major procedures for the first 12 months. So basically you can get your teeth cleaned and treat the errant cavity (at 50%) but don't even think about a root canal, bridgework or braces for the kids.

There are also dental plans -- not insurance -- which negotiate what they consider "deep discounts" starting at 10% with dentists who agree to cut you a break. The deal is you have to go to those dentists. Some of these plans are capped at $2,200 per family as well.

Dan Callahan, the former public relations director for Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota and editor of Health Care Issues, says that dental insurance has always been regarded as "nice to have, but not essential." It's an attitude that leads many to simply not go for routine checkups and cleanings and only head for the dentist in emergency situations.

Dental insurance, he says, is more of a prepayment system. You have a combination of deductibles and co-pays and premiums that really require you to follow through on all your preventative care and maintenance visits to even get your money's worth.

The best advice may be the simplest. Talk to your dentist and explain the situation. Ask him for a discount and buy yourself a good toothbrush.

Vision and Dental Insurance Premiums To Continue Rising In 2011

In 2011, federal employees will see an increase in the vision and dental coverage costs on top of a drastic jump in their health insurance premiums. The Office of Personnel Management has indicated that premiums for dental insurance are going to rise by 3.8 % and will reach an average of $15.33 per pay period for every individual, $43.85 for family plans, and $30.06 for self plus one arrangement.

Vision insurance is expected to go up by 3%, thereby costing an individual $4.78 for each pay period, family users $14..11, and self plus one enrollees a total of $9.55 . Dental premiums, on the other hand, increased by 4.2% whereas vision increased by 2.4% in 2010.

OPM indicated that there are no any significant changes in all the plans that are offered through the aegis of the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). All enrollees have the freedom to choose from seven different dental insurance plans as well as three vision plans.

Although the changes to the FEDVIP appear minimal, all federal employees are going to see, for the third straight year, a rise in health insurance costs by more than 7%. On October 1, OPM announced that there would be an increase by 7.2% in premiums for all enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits

On Monday, John Berry, OPM Director said that he would rather not increase dental insurance premiums, but costs of healthcare are increasing nationwide. For the first time, FEHBP will cover cessation incentives on tobacco, provide preventative screening free of charge to all enrollees, and extend medical coverage to age 26.

Patients flying abroad for dental work

The price of dental care can be pretty costly. Even if you have insurance, you can be stuck paying thousands of dollars out of pocket -- which is prompting some people to actually leave the country to save money. The practice is called "dental tourism."

In the case of Shelia Liner, she'd had broken, damaged front teeth for years. Even with dental insurance she was quoted around $14,000 to fix them. She couldn't come near to affording that price: "I just thought I'll never be able to have it done," said Liner.

Her alternative was to book a trip through a dental tourism company, which found her a dentist to do the work in Costa Rica. So, on her next vacation, she also took a trip to the dentist for the surgery. Cost for the dental work: $3,600.

"I was just so excited to be able to smile again," said Shelia. "It had been a long time!"

The concept of dental tourism is growing -- with experts citing more cases of people venturing outside the country to get dental work done for much less, in locales like Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, and Korea. Recent statistics show more than 40% of U.S. residents don't have dental insurance, and many who are actually covered complain about high out-of-pocket costs.

The American Dental Association defends those costs with a pledge of safety -- and high standards of training to get a license, all rigorously maintained by the government. "Our fees here reflect a very robust system of safety," said Dr. Edmond Hewlett of the ADA. He says you get what you pay for; in other countries, dentists may not have the same level of training or safety standards.

David Boucher, the president of Companion Global Healthcare, the dental tourism company Shelia used, says it thoroughly checks out all its dentists: "All our dental clinics have been fully vetted. Somebody from our company has visited all the dentists in our network."

The company says many of its dentists were actually trained in the U.S., but by operating outside the country they can charge less due to less overhead -- equipment, rent and labor costs are cheaper.

Nevertheless, the American Dental Association urges people to carefully consider all options before going to a foreign country for care.

"In these difficult economic times when everybody's looking to save money, and 'What can I cut out?' my own personal opinion, your body shouldn't be the first place to look to start making cuts," said Dr. Hewlett.

More food for thought: Some U.S. insurance companies will indeed pay for dental work performed out of the country.

However, industry experts also raise a good point you should ask your dental tourism company. Who pays to fix it if something goes wrong with your dental work?

Dental Insurance Coverage for Orthodontics

It is important to know if your dental insurance policy covers care for orthodontic services like braces.

There are many people who have dental insurance may think that they have orthodontic care coverage when that may not be true.

If you have children may soon need braces you should start the search now for a good dental insurance policy that will help to offset the costs of orthodontic care.

The first thing to do when you start your search for orthodontic insurance is to know what you currently have.

You should look at your employer sponsored or individual dental insurance policy to determine what coverage you have for orthodontic care such as braces.

If you determine that you have no or little coverage you need to research other dental insurance policies.

It isn’t too difficult to research dental insurance policies. You first need to determine if you want a dental discount plan or a dental insurance plan.

With a dental discount plan you usually have to go to specific dentists who accept the discount plan. With a dental insurance plan you will receive a percentage off of your orthodontic care and dental visits. Dental insurance plans work the same way as health insurance.

You might have to pay a co payment for some services and maybe a deductible prior to getting some dental services.

Once you have determined whether you want a dental discount plan or a dental insurance plan, you then need to determine what orthodontic care is covered.

You also need to research the coverage of the orthodontic care and you should research four areas of the dental plan which are Exclusions, Co Payments, Deductibles, and Premiums. Everybody’s situation is different so if you happen to find a dental plan that has an inexpensive premium, that doesn’t mean that it will meet all of your needs.

When you are research dental insurance plans, you should check with your employer to see what dental coverage they offer.

Large Companies More Likely to Offer Dental Insurance

Larger companies and those in more populated areas of the United States are more likely to offer dental insurance to workers, finds the first comprehensive study on the issue.

The analysis of state-by-state and nationwide dental insurance coverage offered by 6.4 million employers was conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore and the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

They found that 56 percent of U.S. companies offered health insurance, 35 percent offered dental insurance, and 63 percent of those that offered health insurance also offered dental insurance.

Alaska had the highest percentage of firms offering both health and dental coverage (80.8 percent), while the lowest was Vermont, at 42.8 percent.

Businesses that offer dental insurance are more likely to employ a greater number of people, have more than one location and be older, more established companies.

Dental Insurance – For the health of Your Teeth

Dental insurance is needed nowadays since dentistry could be costly. Regardless of what, adults, children and senior citizens need this since getting great dental well being is important. When somebody does not look after the teeth, the teeth and gum suffer for example getting dentistry issues with cavities or root canal. And each procedures are extra money that most people can’t afford so having dental insurance is essential.

Some major well being insurance providers will also offer dental insurance. And there are other businesses that solely supply dental insurance. If you know that you’ll be needing some main dentistry work carried out, you ought to have dental insurance protection. Otherwise, you’ll have to spend out-of-pocket its your methods, and that can get very pricey. For instance, a root canal on a front teeth can range from $300.00 to $700.00, and on a molar can price as much as $900.00. And to get a porcelain crown, you are able to spend up to $900.00. If you prefer a gold crown, be prepared to spend more, sometimes over $1,000.00. That happens to be a big amount of cash to spend previously. And even if your dentist will accept payments, it is still a hardship to make these funds on the monthly foundation, along with all of your other month-to-month expenditures.

In some instances, there’s also deductibles which is the amount you should pay as a dental member of yearly dental expenditures. In that scenario, the plan was not in effect yet so the member need to wait in order for the dental business every single child spend for the future expenses. And in addition, you have the co-payment and co-insurance. The meaning in between the two are exactly where for co-payment, it’s ether a fixed dollar amount or a proportion for every dentistry visits while for co-insurance are percentage of the fee being charged for every visits.

Importance of dental care insurance to the basic health

Dental insurance is an option that many people have at work but don't always take advantage of. Getting dental insurance can mean the difference between getting good dental care and letting your teeth suffer the consequences. The problem with that is that when you don't take care of your teeth, your body begins to suffer the consequences. This has been proven in cases such as the

young man that died because he didn't have dental care. There are hundreds of similar cases where people just couldn't afford to go to the dentist.

If you don't go to the dentist on a regular basis, you will likely end up feeling ill in one of several ways. It could be in the form of a toothache, but the reality is, it can go much deeper than that. When you have a tooth that is rotting, there is a possibility of infection setting into your gums. You can also get such diseases as gingivitis, a gum disease that destroys your teeth. From there, other areas of your body can be affected.

If you lack dental care, you may want to consider that as a possible cause of stomach upset and symptoms of very serious health issues. The heart can be affected. Lack of dental care can also rush the onset of diabetes, stroke or heart disease. These are very serious health issues that could be prevented simply by having dental insurance available. Some companies don't even offer dental insurance. It makes no sense to offer health insurance and not include dental as part of the plan.

Your overall health is at risk when you don't have dental insurance. Not having dental insurance runs in direct correlation to inability to get good dental care. That, in turn, correlates with many serious health issues that might seem unrelated to teeth problems. Regular dental check ups make a big difference in the health of your teeth and gums. When you have problems chewing, you might be more inclined to have stomach problems. That is a minor result to what can happen if you don't take good care of your teeth. The results of not getting your teeth taken care of in a reasonable amount of time are things that we don't like to think about. It isn't to say that you will die if you don't go to the dentist. However, why would anyone risk it. Where there is even the slightest possibility that it could happen, you should make every effort to go to the dentist. That usually means that you should get dental insurance because it is necessary to your dental health and thus your physical health overall.

EMPLOYERS MULL DENTAL SCHEMES

A third of companies are considering adding a dental benefit in 2010, suggests a new survey from Denplan. The dental plan provider’s survey of 6,000 employers also found that 65% take broker advice before purchasing benefits and 32% base their decisions on broker recommendations.

Three-quarters of respondents said they believed that plans enhance employee wellbeing while 53% of the 1,500 employees surveyed said they regarded them as a “tangible, useful benefit”.

Dental cover

Access to NHS dentistry appears to be returning to its pre-2006 dental contract levels, but the so-called efficiency savings demanded by the new coalition government could see this hard work undone.

There is growing concern that Chancellor George Osborne’s emergency budget will result in NHS finances coming under increasing strain over the next four to five years. The Chancellor said he would honour an earlier pledge to ring fence increases in health service funding in real terms, but the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS employers, believes cuts to other areas, such as local authorities, may have an indirect impact on health expenditure.

NHS Confederation chief executive Nigel Edwards recently says: “Although health spending will continue to rise year on year, all NHS trusts will find they are challenged to do more for the money they have.”

If this is the case, it seems almost inevitable that NHS dentistry will suffer. Morag Peterson, dental product manager at health insurer CIGNA, points out that the money for dentistry will be in the whole healthcare budget and the primary care trust (PCT) will be free to allocate these funds as they wish to.

“So, although NHS funding as a whole has been ring fenced, because money is limited it is highly possible that dentistry will take lower priority when it comes to how and where PCTs allocate their cash. The new coalition government is committed to exercising limited central control over how NHS money is spent locally so the outcome is likely to vary by locality,” she says.

Although it is still unclear what changes the government will introduce, it has committed to undertake a review of NHS dentistry as a whole. At the beginning of June, Earl Howe, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for health with responsibility for dentistry, said the government’s proposed reforms will be announced once they have consulted with the profession and patient groups. The Steele Review of NHS dentistry, published in June 2009, made a number of recommendations to improve quality and access to NHS dental services and some of these have begun to be piloted by the Department of Health. However, there is no indication that the new government is seeking to put any further investment into this.

Bupa announces enhanced dental plan

Bupa has unveiled its enhanced dental plan that will be available from April.

It will offer up to £15,000 for oral cancer, full reimbursement for NHS treatment, routine treatment overseas, anaesthetist benefit and up to £1,000 a year for hospital stays.

The policy is available in five budget levels, does not require pre-enrolment dental checks or underwriting and can be paid for by employers or offered as an employees-paid voluntary benefit.

Ivan Kennedy, head of Bupa Dental, said: "We have listened to employers, employees and intermediaries and designed our plan to include a range of benefits they say they value the most.

"Dental insurance is a highly-valued employee benefit because it is one that most employees can use at least twice a year."

Pet Dental Health Month

No one really likes to go to the dentist, but a sore tooth is one of the worst kinds of pain. And it`s the same for your pets. February is pet dental health month and veterinarians say it`s best to be pro-active about your dog or cat`s smile.

Fourteen-week-old Mocha was in for a checkup today. Her owners say they would do anything for the newest member of their family.

"We would, yep, we would. She`s just part of the family, like one of our boys or one of our girls," said Mocha`s owner Mariah Dodds.

Veterinarians say regular checkups are just as important for pets as they are for humans, so doctors can find problems early on, especially with their teeth. Vets say about 80 percent of adult dogs and cats have periodontal diseases like tartar and gingivitis.

"Left untreated that can lead to bone loss, infection, and discomfort," said veterinarian Hollee Clement of the Bismarck Animal Clinic. "So we`re trying to address these things in a pro-active nature and take care of things that may be uncomfortable for them."

The Bismarck Animal Clinic now has the tools to catch periodontal problems early on. Clement charts each tooth and if she comes across an abnormality, she runs an X-Ray. She says having the animal sedated also helps them do a thorough check.

"We`re finding lots of things that we wouldn`t be able to see without the X-ray there`s a lot going on in the bone that we can`t see above the gum line," said Clement.

Mocha`s owners says she`s a little young for X-rays, but they are making sure to be pro-active with her dental care.

"We do have a tooth brush that we use and we`ll bring her in for that when she`s a little older," said Dodds.

Vets say because cats and dogs can`t tell us how they`re feeling, it`s important for us to speak for them.

Clement says regular dental checkups are also important because diseases are usually advanced before the animal starts showing signs of discomfort like not eating or drooling.

NHS dental places for 15,000 people

In 2009 NHS Cumbria invested over £2.25million to create 37,500 new NHS dental places in both West Cumbria and Kendal. The majority of these places are being delivered in new purpose designed premises operated by Oasis Dental Care, with an existing dental provider in Kendal also taking on additional capacity.

Five new surgeries have since opened in Egremont, Maryport, Whitehaven, Workington and Kendal.

These all began operating by late summer 2009 and patients on NHS Cumbria’s dental database began being allocated to each surgery.

In order for each new patient to be assessed and follow-up appointments booked, allocation to the new dental places is being done in stages. Letters are being sent out to people who’ve been on the database the longest first, 1,000 at a time.

There are now around 19,000 people on the dental database and those wanting to be allocated in West Cumbria or Kendal are expected to have been offered an available place for NHS dental treatment by the end of this year.

Eric Rooney, consultant in dental public health, said: “It’s great news that we’re on track to allocate the new NHS dental places we announced last year within 18 months. It's a big undertaking to contact and offer places to over 35,000 people and I'd like to thank people currently on NHS Cumbria's dental database for their patience and understanding. Everyone will be contacted and offered a NHS dental place in due time.

“I'd like to reassure people that the hard work to deliver NHS dental care to people who need it has not finished. Another 27,500 NHS dental places will also come into operation in the next two years in other locations across Cumbria.”

Anyone who needs emergency dental treatment or advice should contact: 01228 603900 for North Cumbria; 01539 716822 for South Cumbria.

Free dental care event aims to mitigate gaps in insurance coverage

A group of Minnesota dentists announced this month that it will provide free dental care in February to children whose families cannot afford dental insurance.

The Minnesota Dental Association, which represents 81 percent of all dentists in the state, will visit almost 200 locations across the North Star State on February 5 and 6, InsuranceCorner.com reports.

This event will mark the eighth consecutive year that the MDA has provided free care to the state's children.

"We know that government funded programs for families have been dramatically cut. Volunteer dentists are trying to close the gap for the low income children who are not getting the dental care they need and deserve," Dr Robert Templeton, MDA's president, told the news source.

While free dental care offerings can temporarily serve the health needs of families who don't have dental coverage, such events can't always provide the benefits attained through regular dentist visits.

Families who are searching for ways to save money on dental care may want to consider discount dental plans. These plans, an alternative to dental insurance, provide discounts of 10 to 60 percent on most procedures with participating providers.

Practitioners prepare for National Children's Dental Health Month

In recognition of National Children's Dental Health Month, one California orthodontist is preparing to spend February educating patients and parents about the importance of proper oral hygiene.

Dr Atoosa Nikaeen said she will focus on the role of nutrition in dental care, asserting that a diet that is low in nutrients can result in a mouth less resistant to harmful infections as well as a greater susceptibility to tooth decay and periodontal disease.

National Children's Dental Health Month is sponsored by the American Dental Association.

The National Institutes of Health recommend that dental care begin during a child's infancy and advise that parents use a soft cloth to clean teeth and check them regularly for spots and stains.

By raising awareness about the importance of sound dental health, the ADA has underscored the shortage of dentists and insufficient dental insurance coverage in many areas of the country.

According to a recent report by W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a charitable organization that lends its services to children and families, about 48 million Americans do not have access to routine oral healthcare, and millions more can get to a dentist but cannot afford to pay for their services.