Dental Insurance Rates without the premiums

[bmjohnson35]

Not sure if this qualifies as badass, but I thought I would pass it along for other FIRE people to try.  We have been using the same dentist for years.   I notified my dentist that I would be unemployed at the end of the month and will be researching our best options for affordable dental services and may be finding another dentist.  I asked about the protocol for having dental records transferred to another dentist.  Since we have been long-term patients, they said that they will simply continue to offer the insurance rates to us if we want to continue to use their services.  Our employer sponsored insurance is better than average, so I was pleasantly surprised by their offer. Of course, we will continue to use this dentist.

BJ

[lexde]

Nice! Big win!

I haven’t needed any major dental work thankfully, so I typically just use a groupon once per year for a cleaning and x-rays. Total dental cost for me annually is less than $60.

[ohsnap]

Good for you!

I was disappointed when we tried something similar with our dentist.  We've been with them for 14 years.  When my young-adult son came off our dental insurance plan, I called the office and asked about discounts.  They offered 10%.  (our insurance discount is more like 25-30%).  I wish I'd thought to flat out ask them to honor the insurance price for my son. 

[EngagedToFIRE]

This is because, in general, dental "insurance" isn't really insurance.  It's a discount program.  Most dentists will give you these types of rates if you are cash pay, it's actually pretty normal.  It's why companies like AmeriPlan exist.