Low Cost Individual Dental Plans

With drug costs now (mostly) covered by Medicare, dental care is the largest out-of-pocket medical expense for many a retiree. Count on spending some significant bucks if you like the idea of using your own teeth. Whereas a cheap set of dentures costs $395, saving a single diseased molar can run $2,000 ($1,000 for a root canal plus $1,000 for a crown).

Insurers see an opportunity here. Only 30% of old people are now covered by a dental plan, compared with 54% of working age adults and 80% of children. "Aging boomers are accustomed to having coverage," points out Evelyn Ireland, executive director of the National Association of "Dental Plans".Should you buy individual dental insurance? Probably not, unless you need insurance as a spur to get yourself to the dentist for regular checkups and cleanings.

Instead, consider a   "Low Cost Individual Dental Plans"  , if you can find a good one in your area. For about $100 a year you get access to a network of dentists who have agreed to work for the sort of reduced fees they accept when they sign up for an insurance plan's preferred provider network. Cigna says 82% of the dentists in its group dental network also participate in its dental discount plans and accept the same rate for both. In its Miami plan an exam might be $36 instead of $69; a crown $535 instead of $981.

Discount plans may not be an option if you live in the boondocks. You can find out the story in your state by searching at INeedDentalBenefits.com, maintained by the  "Low Cost Individual Dental Plans"    trade association. Searching Florida, we found 19 discount plans serving Miami, including Aetna and Cigna plans offered through Dentalplans.com. The plans cost $80 to $140 a year for a single person. Picking one can be tricky, since each has different providers and discounts. But you can switch plans every year if the discounts don't add up as advertised or your otherwise pricey periodontist switches plans.