It’s A Confusing World Out There. Here’s Some Advice For Dental Care For Adults Without Insurance
A recent study showed that an alarming 37 million people in the US do not have dental insurance. This leaves a dramatic amount of the population vulnerable to financial ruin for simply needing to see a dentist. Many Americans are in need of better dental care but have no easy, affordable access to it.
Dental Insurance Obamacare
Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does, have plans that offer dental insurance. However, the mandate is only for children and, unfortunately, does not have much available for adults (1).
There are very few plans that include dental coverage and the option is often not clearly lifted (1).
The Entire Process is Known to be Very Confusing.
Even if someone finds a plan with dental insurance included, the medical section of the plan may not workfor them (1).
Many people end up with an unfitting or incomplete plan.
There is also no option to add ACA dental coverage to an existing insurance plan from an employer (in nearly every state). So most people with existing medical insurance are disqualified from receiving any dental coverage from the government through Obamacare.
Dental Care With No Insurance
When seeking dental care for adults without insurance, there are a few options that each have drawbacks:
Dental Schools
If there is a dental school in your area, some offer dental procedures that offer more affordable dental care for adults without insurance.
Pros
- Procedures are much cheaper than dental offices
- Students performing the procedures are supervised
Cons
- Students may not be as skilled
- Procedures can take up to three times longer due to the students’ inexperience (2)
Sliding Scale Dentist Offices
Some dentist offices and some affordable dentists offer dental services based on your income level rather than a fixed price.
Pros
- More affordable for lower income patients
Cons
- Not available everywhere
Charitable Medical Clinics
Some charities like United Way offer free or very cheap dental services throughout the country.
Pros
- Affordable dental care
- Charitable dentists and staff
Cons
- Difficult to qualify for
- Typically very long approval process and wait time (2)
- Not available everywhere
None of these options seem ideal. Many people are caught in the middle. They’re employed and make enough so they do not qualify for these services, but still struggle to pay for the dental care that they need. Procedures, especially ones that are cosmetic, can be tens of thousands of dollars!
Emergency Dental Care Without Insurance
Most emergency rooms can help minimally with dental care for adults without insurance. But in most cases, emergency room doctors will simply temporarily stop the problem and prescribe medication for the patient’s pain. Emergency room doctors will then send patients to a dentist for reconstructive procedures that emergency rooms are simply not set up to do.
What You Can Do Before You Have A Problem
Experts suggest a few things to maintain dental health without dental insurance.
First, you can practice exceptional dental hygiene. Brush your teeth and floss every morning and evening. You can even go to more extreme teeth cleaning measures like this Brighter Image Lab tooth polisher that cleans your teeth more thoroughly like hygienists do in dentist offices.
Secondly you can set aside money each month to save up for expensive dental check-ups or dental emergencies.
Finally, you can make use of discounted options, like the dental schools, or the dental offices and affordable dentists that offer sliding scale fees (that we discussed above). Another great option for a discounted option is Brighter Image Lab!
Brighter Image Lab
At Brighter Image Lab we offer professional-grade cosmetic dental solutions that are significantly cheaper than what even affordable dentists charge.
You don’t have to qualify and it’s not done by a dental school student.
We have created a unique and innovative way to distribute and design dental veneers. Our business ships our customized products through the mail. You make your teeth’s impression and simply mail it to us at our lab. Then our talented team of smile designers creates a dental veneer that is perfected for your teeth! We create a variety of teeth veneers styles, including our PressOn Veneers. Our veneers can completely transform your smile and possibly your life!
We’ll ship back your new set of veneers and you have a new smile without ever having to go to a dentist’s office. Our prices are much lower and we even offer payment plans where you can pay only $149 down to receive your veneers! Click here to see our life-changing products or here to see some of our many success stories!
Our products are not meant to replace necessary dental work. We simply want to provide an option for dental care for everyone (especially dental care for adults without insurance). We want you to be able to save your hard-earned money and possibly put your savings toward frequent check-ups you would not otherwise have had the funds for.
