FIH, it’s not the healthcare industry’s fault that new patients come to them with serious problems who may have not seen a doctor in years. This is what happened in 2014, when millions of people were “insured” for the first time in many years (or even in their entire lives). The providers can only do so much. At the end of the day, the patient has to go home and endeavor to stop smoking, vastly improve their diets and exercise much more than they are if they really want to improve their health.
Yes, dental insurance is almost worthless. In many cases, it’s cheaper to be a cash-paying patient. A typical dental PPO plan would cost me $456 to $504 year and would cover 2 cleanings and exams and one x-ray per year. Plus 80% of fillings and extractions with a $50 deductible. And 50% of the allowable cost of “restorations.” That is ….. IF your dentist will accept your plan’s “allowable cost” of the procedure. Dentists who have recently spent well over $100K on a machine to make in-house restorations and underwent the extensive training necessary to competently operate it typically will not cuz they can’t afford to. In the past 20+ years, I haven’t needed any fillings or extractions and in the past 2 years have needed “deep cleanings” every 3 months (like scaredy). In the past 5 years, I have needed several expensive restorations of multiple old fillings and old-school crowns which all turned out perfect with a CAD/CAM-like machine with makes “CEREC” restorations in under one hour!