I do not have insurance at this time but would like at least dental coverage. I've been seeing high deductables for embedded dental if i get health insurance; i will not go through 2k worth of dental per year for the forseeable future.  Ive heard of these dental plans that give you discounts. Some offer "20 - 80% off most dental procedures", but it looks like there could be some issues. Usually you pay like 130$ per year, then the discounts are taken at the dentist. You have to go in-network, so you have to make sure there is a dentist locally that will honor the programs offered. Has anyone used them, or what other dental plans are you using. Thanks

If you have good teeth, and don't need to have kids on the plan, you'd probably save money just
paying out of pocket. Vision is also a waste.

Yep.  Not worth the money.

I have a wife and a 1 yr old son. The wife and I need 2 cleanings a year, i have a few cavities and i think she does too. We are pretty young, (early 30's) and have a young baby, so looking at 180$ a year for the plan, then save 50$ for each cleaning and 50% off fillings/root canals/caps/ect sounds like i'd get my money back. Just wondering if anyone had any real experience with these dental plan discount companies.

More than likely, and this is just my educated best wild-ass guess......

You are going to hate the offices these plans are contracted with.

I only know one person who has used them. He has to drive a bit farther (30 min instead of like 5), and the posted prices of procedures and the % off that was posted was not totally in line. His new place was 105 for a cleaning, but he only got 20% for that, but he did get 50% on a cavity he got fixed. Some other things he said were odd were that if their price is lower than the listed price on the dental discount companies website, it was an auto 20% off no matter how high it says on the site.

Prevention is a good start. Dietary avoidance of sucrose is good to prevent caries (or at least rinsing after ingesting sucrose…gotta keep lactic acid bacteria from going nuts) and brushing and flossing is good to prevent periodontal inflammation and bone loss. Sometimes, people with "good" teeth don't realize they may have "bad" gums (and lose teeth as a result of periodontal problems).

But… you never know. You may get into an accident, bite on something hard, get into a knock-out game etc. If you have children, they may require orthodontics or exodontics. Dentists can also assist medicine in the diagnosis of other problems that sometime manifest first, in the mouth. Eg., dentists often are the first to detect various immunopathologies, oncological problems, and other systemic disease.

So, even if you think you have "good" teeth, it may still save you money and be beneficial to your health for preventive maintenance alone to have a dental health plan and be able to schedule regular visits as specified by someone who can set-up the best schedule for you, as an individual. As far as which ental health plan, maybe you need to consult an insurance specialist.

Find some local dentists and talk to them about cash discounts.  You might be surprised what you can get done at pretty discounted rates.  It cuts their overhead costs quite a bit when the fee for service can go straight to the bank rather than being another receivable.