It can be a bit overwhelming at times, considering the costs for your dental care, with different treatment options, different costs and different payment options, especially if you've just joined a new practice. For the lucky few, money may not be a big concern when it comes to paying for dental treatment, for the rest of us, we need to figure out the best way to get great care, at a price we can afford.
I can tell you for sure, having to talk money with patients is one of your dentist's least favourite aspects of their job. Most dentists got into the line of healthcare because they wanted to help people, nobody ever taught them how to talk about money and the thought of "selling" their treatments seems repulsive when it comes to helping people with their dental health.
But, in an era where NHS treatment is becoming less and less available and the quality of independent dental care is evolving far beyond what can be provided on the National Health, talk about money, we must (sorry for the Yoda-ism).
Of course, it's a perfectly reasonable option to pay as you go for your dental care, but is it the best option for you? Or is it a good idea to join a dental plan?
The short answer: yes, unless you can claim the costs of your dental treatment back through a health plan
Dental plans are a different way of paying for your dental treatment, being on a plan shouldn't affect the treatment provided or the level of care you receive. They help you budget and spread the costs of high quality dental care out throughout the year and help you avoid unexpected expenses.
There are generally two types of plan available.
Basics plan - the one we offer is called Denplan Essentials. This covers your dental health reviews and standard hygiene maintenance appointments, one, two or four of each per year, depending on your needs. As a plan member at our practice you also get 10% discount of any additional treatment you need.
Full plan - ours is called Denplan Care. This costs a little more each month but in addition to the basics above, any treatment you need is covered as well, with the exception of laboratory fees (the cost a laboratory charge us for making a crown or a denture, for instance). The amount you pay is based on the amount of treatment you're likely to need going forward, so if you're not likely to need much, you're going to pay less each month.
With both plans you can also add worldwide dental emergency insurance for just 60p per month.
Families who join up together can also get a group discount of up to 15%.
We also offer a kids plan which works very much like the full plan above but significantly cheaper and includes extra oral health education visits to make sure we get our little ones off to the best possible start.
Sounds great, right? So what's the catch?
Well it really depends on what you need from your dental care, and what you want from a plan. The basics plan (Denplan Essentials) is kind of a no brainer in my opinion. We set the price of the plan to be a few pounds cheaper annually, than if you were to pay for your regular appointments individually, plus, you get discounted treatment on top of this, and a further discount if you join up with another family member. So it's always going to work out a bit cheaper to be on the plan than not.
The full plan (Denplan Care) is a little more nuanced. Most people love it, because if you need a filling (a medium sized filling is £186*) or a root canal treatment (up to £650*), it's covered by the plan. Even if you needed 10 fillings and 5 root treatments, heaven forbid, it's covered. You don't pay anything extra for us to do the treatment. We may have to have a frank and lengthy conversation about toothbrushing technique and your diet, but guess what, that's included too!
*prices correct at the time of writing
The drawback of the full plan is that you may (hopefully) go for a few years without needing any treatment at all, in which case, you'll likely have paid a little more overall for your dental care than you would have as a pay as you go patient. That said, it only takes one or two fillings to need replacing to suddenly swing the balance back the other way. We do also regularly review your risk, if you're likely to need less treatment going forward, your monthly price can come down, though this works both ways, and if you did suddenly need a lot of treatment, your future risk goes up, and your plan fee may need to go up accordingly.
For further details about plans and a full price list, please see our Membership Plans & Fees page here.
The only time I can say that it's definitely not worth joining a plan is if you're going to be claiming the costs of your treatment back through a health plan either through work, or that you're already paying for. Most health plans won't cover the monthly cost of Denplan and so it doesn't make a lot of sense to double cover yourself for your dental care.
The aim of any care we provide is not to fill the holes when they arise, but to prevent you from needing treatment in the first place and that's where Denplan really shines. By covering any necessary treatment with a single monthly fee, we can always do what's best for you in the long term, not just looking for quick, affordable fixes. If you're on Denplan Care and you need some extra visits with the hygienist to stamp out some early signs of gum disease, they're included. A couple of crowns? Instead of £1300, it's just the fee to get the crowns made that you need to pay.
Now, I have to admit my biases, I like our dental plans. They provide stability for you, our patients, and me running the practice, and they mean I don't have to talk about money all the time when I'm recommending the best treatments for you. I've tried to write this article as impartially as I can, however, it's bound to have my own bias in it, no matter how balanced I try to be.
That said, I honestly believe the patients who are on a dental plan, generally have better levels of dental care, than those who simply pay as they go. There may be many reasons for this, to name a few:
They feel more invested in maintaining their oral health and so pay more attention at home and when they pay us a visit
They don't have to worry about large unexpected dental bills so can always choose to have the best treatment option, regardless of cost
They have a monthly reminder to look after their teeth when the direct debit goes out
You don't have to join a dental plan, but we think it's a great idea.
As always, if you have any questions that I've not covered here, please call or email us. Who knows, maybe i'll write my next blog based on your question.
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