Dental Insurance - What They Aren’t Telling You

We saw a post recently from another dentist (Sarah Parsons, DDS) that has gone viral in the industry. What she had to say about Dental Insurance was very concerning and we thought it worth reposting for our patients, so that they too could learn a little more about the Dental Insurance Business and how we feel, they have let their customers down.

“Delta Dental had 9.9 Billion in revenue in 2024. That’s more than Spotify, Snapchat and Twitter. It was more than Netflix a couple of years ago. The CEO of Delta Dental of California has an annual salary of $15 million. Other states are close to $4-$5 milion. As a “non-profit” they have some special tax benefits.

In 2008, without notice, Delta Dental cut reimbursement rates 30% and they have not had a meaningful raise in their reimbursement rates since. That’s like taking a 30% pay cut in 2008 and never getting a raise for almost 20 years now.

Most dental insruance sets a yearly maximum of $1500. Did you know that fee was set in the 1950’s as that was the cost to pull ALL your teeth and get dentures. Since 1950, there has been no meanigful increase in reimbursement from dental insurance companies - with inflation, that reimbursement number should be around $19,904.50 in today’s dollars.

So, when your dentist drops Delta Dental and refuses to play these games anymore, you can understand why. The more you know”

We post this for our patients because the leading issue we face on a daily basis is the shortcomings of dental insurance. The industry is in dire need of an overhaul, and that won’t come unless their members demand change.

Thank you for reading and we look forward to seeing you in our office soon.