Dental Insurance for 3 yr olds?

Please give us your opinions! The boys will be turning 3 next week and I've got to make decisions about my upcoming health insurance benefits in the next week. Up till now we have not had them covered for dental visits/insurance. Should I sign them up now or wait one more year and have them visit the dentist when they turn 4?

Thanks! /Joel

 

How much does a checkup cost, vs how much does the insurance cost? Is there any reason to think they will have problems with their teeth (family history, etc.)?

DH and I don't even have dental insurance for ourselves. We've never had dental problems and we figured out that the insurance (that was available to us) was more expensive than the cost of two checkups a year. Unless your insurance is really cheap or you expect to be incurring lots of expenses, the same might be true for you.

 

I take my children to the dentist without insurance. Like Minette mentioned, the cost of two visits a year is less than what I would pay yearly for the insurance. Obviously if there were any potential issues then I would rethink the need for insurance but right now it is just as beneficial to pay out of pocket. We just went last week and it was $117 a child for cleaning/flouride treatment.

My children did not go to the dentist until they were 1 month shy of 6, I know not the norm but it worked out for us. They have no dental issues and were old enough to not 'freak out' (yes, I know not all children 'freak out' but some do).

I would evaluate the cost and go from there.

 

My Dh didn't sign the twins up for dental at that age and we regret it! That was the year Connor fell and knocked out a tooth. We had to pay over $1000 in dental bills. Let's just say we all have dental now.

 

Are the twins the only children you have? DH's insurance policies are based on employee, or employee+spouse or empl+children or whole family...so 1 child is the same cost as 10 children...we put the babies on as soon as they were born...same with vision and health.

 

Hey, this is really useful information! Thanks for your inputs. Well, at $117 apiece and twice a year, I think that is a pretty compelling argument alone to go for it.

Looking at my costs (not the company's cost), but rather my cost for the insurance, I would only have about $10 extra per pay check taken out on top of what I already pay for myself and my wife for dental. Considering I only get 26 pay checks a year, I guess that works out pretty good!

It's also good to note that you do bring your 3 yr olds (and younger) to the dentist. Our boys haven't been yet so it's something to look forward too. Thanks!

 

Do it. Even if you break even with the cost of biannual visits/cleaning, you never know when an emergency will come up. Jacob needs an orthodontist consult because he has an underbite. But orthodontics isn't covered for the first 2 years of the policy, so we still have to wait another year to take him.

 

QUOTE(cwinslow7 @ Apr 8 2008, 10:58 AM) [snapback]711304[/snapback]
Are the twins the only children you have? DH's insurance policies are based on employee, or employee+spouse or empl+children or whole family...so 1 child is the same cost as 10 children...we put the babies on as soon as they were born...same with vision and health.


Same here. I actually need to schedule their appt, but have been putting it off because I dread it!

 

I'd get it. I spaced and didn't remember to enroll them this December, so we paid out of pocket. I'm considering waiting for our return visit until next January as they had no problems, and we are good with the brushing. If I had it to do again, I definitely would have enrolled them.

 

Oh! Yes, the twins are our only children. And my insurance is similar with the options for employee, employee plus spouse, and employee plus family. I think it is a good idea now! Of course, my company was just bought and I have no idea if I'll still have a job for much longer, but that is a different issue altogether!

 

We put them on this year and took them for the first time when they turned 3. It was much more cost effective to get the insurance and the peace of mind is great. I was not looking forward to taking them, but we chose a pediatric dentist we heard good things about and the girls actually had a great time. They didn't want to leave and are looking forward to going back this summer.

 

I added my girls when they were 2.5, and started taking them right away then. I have horrible problems with my teeth, not matter how much I take care of them, so I wanted to make sure they were covered. It only cost me and extra $10 or so a month, so it was worth it for us.

 

I would get them covered. Our dentist recommended the first visit at age 3. Plus you never know when they are going to get hurt.

 

Mine turned 2 in March, and back in December I signed them up for dental insurance. Not because I plan on taking them to the dentist yet, but in case of an accident involving teeth, I wanted some coverage.

I will be taking them to start getting used to the dentist office this year, then their first official visit right after they turn 3.

 

We added ours at age 3 & went to the dentist shortly afterwards. Luckily we had it because Eli fell & knocked one of his front top teeth loose. It turned gray. It was/is on the borderline of needing a root canal.