The Pain of Dental Bills
The ever rising cost of dental procedures is the biggest obstacle that Americans face when making a decision on whether or not to visit a dentist. With wages not keeping up with current inflation we have to make decisions based upon which needs comes first and often visiting the dentist to care for your teeth falls near the bottom of the list. The majority of Americans put off going to the dentist for routine checkups for years. It isn’t until you start feeling pain in your mouth that you bite the bullet and go for a dental check up. By the time this happens it usually leads to either having very expensive procedures done or have the tooth taken out altogether. A lot of people end up visiting the emergency rooms of hospitals to have the pain treated because they can’t afford the fee
s for the dental visit. This means it’s the taxpayers that will end up footing the bill in the form of taxes.
The cost of dental visits is not only a concern to people of lower income, it has also affected middle income families as well. Many people were hoping that with the launch of the Affordable Care Act also known as “Obamacare,” the ones who need dental coverage will be able to get some relief. The health care law has extended some benefits to children but it falls short for the adults. Dental coverage for adults is not automatically included in the health plan they buy into, but they can certainly purchase it separately in the exchange and coverage varies depending in which state you reside in and your income level.
It might be surprising to learn that the few people that do have dental coverage through their work are also finding it hard to visit the dentist. The ones that are covered usually pay nothing or little for the preventive procedures. There are strict guidelines for major dental works and there is usually a cap on how much the insurance will pay which means the rest will be an out of pocket expense to the patient.
These problems are the reason companies such as DentalSave exists. People who are not qualified for the government health programs or dental insurances have the option of purchasing a discount dental plan. The premise is that the member is able to go to any participating provider and is charged a lower fee that is agreed upon by the dentist and the discount plan carrier. It saves the member 25% – 50% off the regular dental bills. It is definitely worthwhile to look into these kinds of programs to help maintain your oral health to prevent dental problems and expensive dental costs in the future.
