Start by asking your dentist what insurance she/he accepts. It’s confusing, good luck.

I agree, don't get Advantage. Our regular medicare supplemental for both RX and medical is from Humana with low deductibles and good coverage. I checked their website and they only offer dental supplemental to those on Advantage. I think insurance companies are losing money from us oldies who have supplemental plans.

Medicare will pay for dental if your health is threatened and in the hospital.

Because Humana is super popular and won't give us supplemental dental on our A and B plans, I'm positive no other dental insurance will either. Don't get some podunk dental insurance from an obscure company.

Dental is outrageously expensive. I'm pretty sure you would need to do search on dental insurance unrelated to medicare and go from there.

I need vision insurance and it's so expensive.

We are not eligible for medicare yet, and still carry insurance through my former employer. I worked for the State, and our insurance is top-notch. We will transfer to a supplemental through my former employer when we get to medicare age. BUT, just wondering. We have insurance through Farm Bureau (not health). They do have dental insurance. I'm wondering if AARP might?

We do not have dental insurance. I might need to check that out for our older years LOL.

Sorry, maybe I wasn’t clear. I am considering purchasing a separate supplemental dental plan. I was wondering if anyone in this group has purchased a dental plan and could comment on their coverage. Currently, I do not have an Advantage plan and do not plan to change.

Following this closely. We're in the same boat.

I was given info on a few different policies for dental insurance. What it boiled down to was that you were essentially paying for your cleanings with the policy premium. They usually had a waiting period for a year or two to cover a larger repair. We decided to self insure as we are both pretty much crowned out.

We were told that some dentist have plans in office for seniors where they will do cleanings for a reduced rate for cash payment and give a discount for larger items. Ours will give a discount for cash on larger repairs.

@Oakley I have a vision plan thru United Healthcare that cost $10/month. That isn't much different from my employer coverage and covers pretty much the same things. I don't think that is unreasonable in cost.

I would suggest contacting a senior insurance broker and see what they can come up with for you.

I think your best bet is to ask your dental office what their experience is with individual dental plans. I looked into vision and dental when we went off my employer plans and into retirement. I decided to take my chances and self-insure instead. I just ask for the cash discount. Surprisingly our eye exams were covered by our BCBS supplement and we also got a significant discount on eyewear as well through something called Blue365 that came along with the supplement.

That is the experience we have had with dental insurance @RNmomof2 zone 5. We used to have dental insurance and then my employer changed companies. The office manager at our dental office said it wasn't worth it. We pay cash, I'm not sure if we are getting a discount for that! Our vision insurance is $15 or less a month. IIRC, it covers most of our eye exams and a discount on eyewear (I wear glasses for distance only-mainly when driving and the Mr. doesn't wear them) and is well worth it.

DH said we'd just pay for our dental needs. I'm going to check out vision insurance which is what I need. I wear trifocals, Have double vision at times because of my lazy eye, and bad depth perception.

I'll go to United HC page first.

We have had a Delta Dental plan for the past few years. Every year I debate whether it's worth it. It pays for 2 cleanings a year, X-rays every 3 years and up to $2000. a year max for all services. We were paying $35. a month each. We just moved to CA. I just got our bill yesterday and our premium seems to have gone up to $60. a month each. I'm calling them today to inquire why the big hike. Last year, I didn't have to have any work done, so I lost money on the deal. If it's going to cost us $120. a month, I'm cancelling and self-insuring.

Thanks for all your comments and experiences. It’s frustrating because the ”olds” want to take care of their teeth too 😬 I will call my dentist on Monday to see if he has anything new to add on the dental plan search. Currently, he does offer cleanings at a flat rate which are reasonable. I worry more about needing a crown or root canal.

We have a seperate dental plan through Delta Dental. It costs us $20ea/month. We buy it through a Colorado Portal which gives us half off the regular price. The plan we have covers two FREE cleanings a year. Two full sets of X-rays FREE. One panoramic X-ray FREE. Then it keeps costs for other procedures low...often half. I was quoted $1800 for a crown, but only paid $900 because of my insurance. I highly recommend getting Dental Insurance.

There is a reason Medicare doesn't include dental coverage. Lobbyists!!