individual dental insurance and dentist recommendation

[phpanda.livejournal.com]

My current strategy of ignoring my multiple dental needs is not working and I do not have the option of getting at work. Does anyone have positive or negative experiences with dental insurance you can buy as an individual?  The two I have found are Delta Dental for $55 a month and Altus for $38.

Once I have insurance, anyone have a dentist you recommend in Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown area?  Thanks!  NOt the most fun to spend money but necessary.

Comments

[ron_newman]

For the second question, I've added the 'dentist' tag; take a look through recent posts for recommendations.

[eustaciavye.livejournal.com]

Dentist: Smiles By Rosie in Somerville. She specializes in helping people who haven't had dental care in a while.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

I'm a huge fan of Geoffrey Davis' practice in Copley Square (yes, all the way across the river, but still). Appointments online, confirmations by email, super friendly practice. Once a friend of mine was having tooth problems, and she called his office. Even though she was a new patient, he stayed open late on a holiday to see her, then stayed even later to perform what turned out to be an emergency root canal. As root canals go, she said it was great.

http://www.drgeoffreydavis.com/

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Depending on to what extent money is an issue, you could also forget dental insurance and just go to one of the dental schools -- I've been to Harvard Dental School (a long time ago) and to BU Dental School (the last five years). It's an option if your time is worth less to you than your money (appointments can be 3 hours long) and you are willing to risk the occasional minor mistake (I've heard other people's horror stories, yet in 5 years never had anything more serious than a filling that needed to be redone a mere 2 years later). But seriously it is VERY cheap and the students are well-supervised so mistakes are rare (and even regular dentists make mistakes sometimes, anyway). *shrug* I really hate having 3-hour appointments but there just aren't a lot of good options for people with no money to spare for dental care.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Tufts offers this too.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

I work for delta dental, but not in the department that offers the individual plans, so I'm afraid I can't give you any useful advice there.

But if you're -in- Davis, I was extremely happy with Dr. Pierce in Dr. Lally's office. :)

[smilesbyrosie.livejournal.com]

Hello! Thanks to eustaciavye for the recommendation to my office! I'd be very happy to see you as a new patient and discuss the various options. I'm also happy to answer any initial questions here and describe my office in more detail. As for insurance plans, I'm contracted with both Delta and Altus and the main difference is that Delta is a large company, so there are usually different plans offered. The two most important things to check are the annual maximum and whether tooth-colored fillings in back teeth (posterior composites) are "downgraded" to silver fillings. This can affect the copays for fillings a good amount. A representative for either company will be happy to let you know if there is a composite downgrade, but you'll probably have to get a human on the phone to ask. Let me know if I can help answer any other questions!

Dr. Rosie Wagner

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I also recommend Rosie! She really cares about your comfort. Plus, you get to choose what Pandora station you want to listen to while you're getting your work done. :)

[zenala.livejournal.com]

Another thing to look at is if you happen to have an HSA or FSA, you should be able to use that money for dental work--it can be useful as a back-up in combination with a cheaper dental plan with a lower annual maximum. (but probably better to look for the best dental coverage first--if you go half a decade or more between dentist visits, there's a good chance of needing a lot of things done. I've been there.)

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

We had an individual Delta plan, and it ended up being pretty useless. Fillings and crowns were not covered until we were on the plan for 12 months, and then only covered at 50%. There was also a max they would pay in a 12 mo period, which was less than my needing two crowns replaced. Read the coverage very carefully before you sign up.

[audioboy.livejournal.com]

I third Rosie and the Pandora station of your choice! (Oh, and the awesome dentistry!)

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

Central Sq. area I'd highly recommend Dr. Maurice Zylber at Prospect St Dental. It's a block from Mass Ave by the Post Office. I've been going to him for a long time and he's great. Pricewise, I can't say as I haven't done comparisons (how do dentists set their fees?)

About dental insurance, I've only had that through work a few times and the maximum was @ $1500. Nice to have but it won't cover very much if you need any work done.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I looked into purchasing individual dental insurance a couple of years ago and ended up determining that it wasn't cost-effective. You just don't save enough to make it worthwhile vs. just paying the dentist directly (and, as someone else said, using your FSA/cafeteria plan/etc. to pay for it with pre-tax money). Mind you, this was for myself and two kids with no major dental work needed -- just regular cleanings/checkups. The story might be different if you needed a large amount of expensive dental work and if you could find a reasonably-priced plan that would cover that work. That latter "if" is a big one though.

As far as a dentist recommendation, I like Dr. Karen Bright of Bright Dental, not particularly close to Davis Square but not too far either.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Restorative Dental Group of Cambridge (at Concord and Huron; totally walkable from Davis) is wonderful. I've had fillings and whitening done there as well as regular cleanings since 2006. I love my hygienist, and the dentists are great. They are a very well run and professional practice, and as a bonus, they have a nice waiting area with free wifi (although I should say that I've never waited AT ALL there, not counting my tendency to arrive early).

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

I'll fourth Rosie! She is incredibly patient-oriented, with the aforementioned choice of pandora station. I love that she is willing to explain what she's doing (without expecting a response while you've eight things crammed in your mouth) or she's just as happy to be silent as she works and let you zen out or whatever.

And let's face it, I have redefined my necessary dental care to include the warm cloth at the end to wipe the face. Sooo much better than paper towels and the sink.

-Sor

[smilesbyrosie.livejournal.com]

aww.....shucks, everyone!! :) Thanks so much for your support!!