Plans to sink your teeth into
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Your support makes all the difference.TOOTHACHE can be expensive as well as painful. According to a recent Harris poll commissioned by the British Dental Association (BDA) one in three people claim it is difficult to find a dentist who will carry out treatment on NHS rates in their area.
Even when NHS treatment is available the costs can be considerable. Most adult NHS patients pay 80 per cent of their own dental costs up to a maximum of pounds 300. Only children, pregnant and nursing mothers and low-income groups such as students receive free treatment.
The future does not look any rosier. Another recent BDA survey has shown that two-thirds of MPs believe that NHS dental treatment will only be available to children and those on low incomes in 10 years' time.
As a result, plans to help cover the costs of private dental treatment have been growing in appeal. Around 800,000 have already been sold directly to individuals, with more provided by employers.
These "capitation schemes" enable patients to receive continuous care from their dentist in return for a fixed regular sum. The idea is that there is no incentive to give unnecessary treatment, and the dentist is encouraged to emphasise preventative care. General medical insurance policies do not normally cover you for any work done by a dentist.
Specialised dental plans cost between pounds 5 and pounds 15 a month, depending on the state of your dental health. Patients are usually required to undergo an initial consultation with their dentist who will slot them into an appropriate payment band.
Market leader Denplan (now part of PPP) has five different payment bands for Denplan Care, its main plan. The average person - perhaps with a number of existing fillings and the odd crown or two - is likely to be placed in band B or C and be charged around pounds 10 a month. An initial joining fee equal to a month's premium is also charged.
Denplan Care provides cover for all routine dental work such as check- ups, fillings, X-rays and preventative care, together with a 24-hour help- line for emergencies outside normal hours. Emergency treatment worldwide, treatment resulting from external dental injury and cash towards hospitalisation costs are also covered, subject to modest limits. However, wisdom teeth extractions in hospital and laboratory fees are excluded.
The cost effectiveness of such a package will depend on the treatment you require. Sharon Fenwick, a 45-year-old housewife from Eastleigh, took out a Denplan Care programme in April 1995. Her dentist placed her in band B, involving an annual payment of pounds 112 (including joining fee). Sharon has already had one filling and three hygienist sessions. Because her teeth are very slightly crooked her dentist felt the latter to be necessary every three months. A single hygienist visit would cost her pounds 25 if she was not on cover. She has already more than recouped her annual fee.
"I had never been that good at going to the dentist but now I go far more often than I used to," she admits.
Denplan, which commands around 90 per cent of the market, now faces competition from a handful of other companies. Prices and cover may seem broadly equivalent but there are distinguishing features.
BUPA, for example, includes wisdom teeth extractions in hospital. CDC and Norwich Union Healthcare have no initial joining fee and differ over initial check-up procedures. The former leaves the dentist to decide whether a check-up is actually necessary and the latter does not require one at all for entry to its most basic level.
Most plans are not available through insurance brokers. Patients can take one out if the dentist treating them is registered with the plan provider concerned. It is common for dentists to be registered with more than one provider.
WPA, the only other significant player selling cover to individuals, provides a markedly different low-cost option. For a premium of pounds 6.18 a month, its PROVIdental plan pays up to pounds 28 a year for routine dental treatment, including emergency treatment during normal surgery hours. Up to certain specified limits it also covers 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance, serious dental problems, hospitalisation and dental injuries.
Patients should make a point of establishing at outset exactly what their own particular programme does and does not cover. Particular attention should be paid to payment limits on non-routine treatment. Discovering an unexpected hole in your tooth is bad enough. Don't let it be accompanied by an unexpected hole in your pocket.
Dental policies
Company Principal plan No of dentists
registered
Denplan (PPP) 0800 401 402 Denplan Care 5,000 (PPP)
BUPA 0800 230230 DentalCover 2,900
Norwich Union 0800 142142 Dental Care 1,600
CDC 0181 848 1028 Cost Care 800
WPA 0500 439323 PROVIdental Registration not required.
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