Has anyone used Careington Dental plan, or something comparable?

May 17, 2008 8:01 AM

Has anyone used Careington Dental plan, or something comparable?

My girlfriend and I are looking to get some basic work done on our teeth. We don't have insurance, so are looking at using a dental plan of some sort. Does anyone have any experience with Careington?

They offer a $6.95 per month plan that gets you great rates on lots of procedures. Too good to be true?

It doesn't seem like full dental insurance would make sense for us, since we rarely have work done.

This is in the United States.

posted by nitsuj to health & fitness (7 comments total)

So, you'd spend $84/year. Are the "great rates" likely to save you that much on "basic work"?
posted by mpls2 at 8:15 AM on May 17, 2008

Yes.
posted by nitsuj at 8:20 AM on May 17, 2008

Then go for it.
posted by mpls2 at 9:24 AM on May 17, 2008

I've already determined that it would be beneficial, financially-speaking ("Too good to be true?"). What I'm looking for is some anecdotal evidence ("Has anyone used Careington Dental plan?").

But thanks.
posted by nitsuj at 9:47 AM on May 17, 2008

I'm enrolled in Careington through my university, and the discounts were only applicable at a specific list of dentists, most (all?) of which were part of a national chain. I went in for a free evaluation, and they were fairly pushy about my needing getting all kinds of work done (to the tune of $1300, after the discount), none of which my previous dentists had mentioned. When I can afford to do so, I'm going back to a local practice for a $60 cleaning and a second opinion. If you are certain about which procedures you need, and it's clear that you can use Careington to get a better rate, it's probably worth it, but I didn't trust the recommendations I was getting from the office that was willing to accept the discount.
It may be different where you are, though.
posted by pullayup at 9:51 AM on May 17, 2008

I have a scheduled plan provider (Safeguard) and I'm really happy so far. I signed up at the beginning of March, and since then have had four thousand dollars worth of work done while paying one quarter of that. You have to use their dentists, but the dentist I had been seeing through crappy DeltaCare took Safeguard (I called to check first). Expect to pay extra for certain things, like noble metals in crowns and stuff like that. I do have to pay the entire amount due on that day, though I'm not sure if that's my dentist, or the insurance.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:20 AM on May 18, 2008

Oh, and the work I had done was definitely needed- a root canal and a crown lengthening. I'm pretty nosy about what's going on and why things need to be done, so my dentist hasn't tried to push anything unnecessary at me.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:23 AM on May 18, 2008