Anyone used dental discount cards/plans, are they a rip off?

I DONT RECOMMEND THEM BECAUSE THEY SUPPOSEDLY ALLOW SO MUCH DISCOUNT HOWEVER, IF YOU CHECK WITH A DENTIST THE COST IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY SAY ON THEIR BROCHURE. AS FOR DENTAL IF YOU GET YOUR TEETH DONE AND SUBSEQUENTLY KEEP YOUR TEETH BRUSHED EACH DAYETC. THEN WHY BOTHER TO HAVE THE PLAN IF YOUR GOING THERE ONLY ONCE A YEAR LIKE I DO. REMEMBER THEY ARE BILLING YOU EACH MONTH WHETHER YOU USE IT OR NOT. IT ISNT AN INSURANCE, ITS SIMPLY HONORED BY CERTAIN DENTISTS. I DONT CARE FOR IT EVEN IF IT INCLUDES CHIROPRACTIC AND WHATEVER. IF YOUR CAREFUL WITH YOUR MONEY YOULL HAVE ENOUGH READY TO GET YOUR TEETH DONE ANNUALLY OR SO. BRUSH YOUR TEETH EVERY DAY AND RINSE WELL. AND USE DENTAL FLOSS.REMEMBER THEY BILL YOU EACH MONTH WHETHER YOU GO TO THE DENTIST OR NOT. WHAT YOU CAN DO IS SIGN UP THEN GET YOUR TEETH DONE THEN CANCEL THE THING. BUT FIGURE YOUR DOLLARS TO JOIN WHICH I THINK IS ABOUT $30.00 . THEN ONCE YOU GET THE LIST OF DOCTORS PARTICIPATING CHOOSE ONE AND IF YOU LIKE THEM YOU CAN STILL GO TO THEM WITHOUT THE PLAN AND EACH OF THE DENTISTS MOST LIKELY WILL GIVE YOU $ 50.00 OFF EACH NEW PATIENT YOU REFER TO THEM ANYWAY. SO ACTUALLY YOU CAN PAY FOR YOUR TEETH AHEAD OF TIME AT THE CLIP OF $50.00 PER NEW PATIENT YOU REFER TO THEM . I DONT KNOW IF ALL THE DENTISTS HAVE THAT $50.00 NEW PATIENT REFERRAL OR NOT BUT THE DENTIST I WENT TO DID. DO WELL !

Anyone used dental discount cards/plans, are they a rip off?
1. Very few dentists accept discounts, simply because they can't make a profit if they accept a fraction of their normal fees.





2. Because they are not insurance, they are completely unregulated.





3. You will have to give personal information to an internet-based home business. You have no control over what they do with that information.





4. Their so-called guarantee is only as good as the company behind it.





5. You'd do much better by asking if a dentist offers a cash discount - at least that way you'd have a choice of dental offices.
Reply:I sell these dental discount cards (i.e. discount clubs, discount savings programs) going on seven years now and if they were a rip-off, not only would I not sell such a product but it wouldn't be able to make any money at it if I did!





With that said, it's important to understand that there are good and bad companies that sell these types of cards. The best way to check up on the company is to call your state insurance commissioner's office and ask about a particular company because the fact of the matter is is that companies that sell these types of cards are regulated.





I have a web site (http://www.DiscountDental4u.net ) about discount dental plans which might be of interest to you. In addition here are some other links from sites I know to be quite informative about these types of plans.





http://www.oag.state.ny.us/consumer/disc...


http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/...