Updated: 2/24/2020
We want to help you get the most out of your discount dental plan and experience the highest possible savings at each dental visit. Check out this guide so you know how to use a discount dental plan.
Our goal is to make sure all of our members have great stories to tell like these:
Read more great savings stories from our members. And if you don’t already have a discount dental plan and would like to find out more about them, see how they compare to typical out-of-pocket prices at the dental office. Want to try it for yourself? You can cancel the plan in 30 days for a full refund, less your processing fee, if you aren’t satisfied with your plan after that first dental visit.
Using Your Discount Dental Plan
Step 1: Find a Dentist Who Accepts Your Plan
As you’re looking for a dentist, remember to choose a provider that’s in your plan’s network — just like you would with any health coverage or traditional insurance plan.
Think of discount dental plans like a Costco membership. To receive the benefits of that membership, you have to go to a Costco store to buy the products. With the Careington 500 plan, you have to go to a provider in the Careington 500 network. With the Dental Access plan, you have to go to a provider in the Aetna Dental Access network. That’s how you get the network discounts!
Dentists on each network have agreed to offer discounts on treatment for anyone who has one of our plans. Therefore, going to one of these dentists is vital for receiving the discounts promised.
How to Find a Dentist Near You
- Know what type of dentist you need to see – like a general dentist or a specialist. For dental work like regular teeth cleanings, tooth fillings, root canals and more, a general dentist will be your best bet and the one you’ll be able to save the most with. For more specialized work like dental implants, wisdom teeth removal and some root canals, you’ll want to visit a specialist.
- Use our provider search page to find a dentist near you.
You can search for a dentist by zip code or name.
If you are searching only by zip code, you can adjust the mile radius based on how far you’re willing to drive to see a dentist. With our network of over 100,000 dental access points in the U.S., there’s usually one close by!
Once you’ve pulled up a list of dentists, jot down a few of their names. You can then search them specifically to see hours of operation, reviews, etc., to help you make the choice that’s right for you and your family.
Step 2: Schedule an Appointment Using this Script
Once you’ve found a dentist you’d like to visit, the next step is to call and schedule an appointment. When using a 1Dental discount dental plan, make sure you refer to the plan by its name (for instance, the Careington Care 500 plan or the Dental Access Plan powered by the Aetna Dental Network).
Here’s a sample script you can use when you call [acting as Sally]:
DENTAL ADMIN: Hello, thank you for calling our dental office!
SALLY: Hi, my name is Sally and I was calling to schedule a new patient appointment at your office. Can I verify that you accept the Careington Care 500 Discount Dental Plan?
DENTAL ADMIN: We do! Looks like we have this Friday or the following Tuesday available at 3:00. Would either of those days work for you?
SALLY: Next Tuesday at 3:00 would work!
DENTAL ADMIN: Great. Can I get your full name and phone number?
SALLY: Yes. It’s Sally Smith. My number is 888-888-8888.
DENTAL ADMIN: And what is your Member ID number for your dental plan?
SALLY: 12345678
DENTAL ADMIN: And the Group ID number on the card?
SALLY: CIDV14
DENTAL ADMIN: Thank you. I’ve got this entered into our system and we will see you next Tuesday at 3:00. Are there any other questions I can help answer?
SALLY: Yes. About how much will this visit cost with my dental plan?
DENTAL ADMIN: We like to do a series of bitewing x-rays on a first-time dental visit and an initial cleaning. You’ll also have an oral evaluation by the dentist. With your dental plan… let me see… that should be $92. Assuming there aren’t any other problems that arise that the dentist believes needs to be addressed immediately. But we will discuss that with you at your visit if anything else comes up.
SALLY: Great. Thank you very much!
Referring to your discount plan by its name is so important! Most dental offices will not recognize the plan if you only refer to it as the “1Dental plan.” 1Dental is our company name. We sell the plans the dental offices have agreed to accept. The name of your plan should appear in the top right corner of your membership card.
Step 3: Print/Download Your Discounted Prices to Take to Your Visit
We have a list of pre-approved discounted prices for our Careington Care 500 plan on our website that members can refer to when they go to the dentist. We recommend printing or downloading our fee schedule to take with you to the dental office. This ensures you receive the correct discounts that our participating dentists have agreed to provide to our members.
While we don’t have a fee schedule for the Dental Access Plan powered by the Aetna dental network, members can speak to their dentist about pricing for this plan and expect to save at least 15%.
We’ve also created a Dental Plan Savings Resource for our members. This resource breaks out some of our fee schedule prices by treatment visits in easier-to-understand terminology. For instance, if you need to go to a general dentist for a root canal, here’s what you might expect to see included on your bill:
These sample schedules are based on national averages with the Careington Care 500 plan. Your dentist may or may not choose these exact procedures for your particular visit, but, overall, it helps you see what kind of things to expect.
See Our Dental Plan Savings Guide for Estimated Treatment Costs
Step 4: Visit the Dentist and Ask Questions
Once you’ve chosen a dentist in our provider network, have done some research on their office and called to schedule an appointment, it’s time to make the visit!
At your dental visit, don’t be afraid to ask your dentist questions about his practice, the work that you need to have done and even the cost. If an exam determines that you need additional dental work, ask the dentist how you can get the work done while benefiting from your plan discounts.
Step 5: Review Your Treatment Plan Against Your List of Discounted Prices
You’ve gone to your dentist; you’ve gotten dental x-rays, a teeth cleaning and an oral evaluation and then your dentist hands you your treatment plan and you see the gut-wrenching number at the bottom of the sheet — $1,500!
The dentist has done an oral evaluation and come up with a diagnosis. You need several fillings and a root canal— an amount of work that can be pricey even with a discount dental plan or dental insurance. But DO NOT PANIC.
Treatment plans may take months to complete. You will not be expected to get everything done at once! It’s something that will be broken up over time.
You can talk to your dentist about his proposed treatment plan and how to break up the payments for you. This will allow you time to plan your budget for the work you need. Don’t be afraid to ask! The dentist is there to help you.
If you have CareCredit, an HSA account, FlexSpend or other means of payment, you can use it with your discount plan to pay for your treatment.
What If I’m Not Getting the Discounts?
Not seeing the correct pricing or treatment name between your bill and our fee schedule? Ask your dentist for the ADA codes for the procedures he/she is recommending. These codes specify which procedure is needed so you can quickly compare the code to the codes we list on our fee schedule.
If anything seems off with the prices listed on the website, ask the dentist for clarification on that. And feel free to call our friendly representatives at 833-692-5966 if you have questions about your bill.
Sometimes a dental crown that particular dental office uses may not be listed on the schedule. However, there are highly comparable crowns on our fee schedule. You may just need to ask about getting one of those instead so you can receive a more affordable price on the work you need.
Step 6: Continue Using Your Plan as Often as You Need
One of the great things about our plans is that there are no annual maximums. You and your family can use your plan again and again, as often as you need. This is not only great for those routine dental visits each year, but any additional work you need, as well.
What Questions Do You Have About Using Your Dental Plan?
We hope that gave you some helpful information for how to use your discount dental plan. Please subscribe to our blog for more tips and helpful info about how to use your plan and care for your dental health.
Do you have any other questions for us? Leave them in the comments below! We’d love to help answer them for you.
I’ve asked to be changed over to the Aetna access plan from the carreington plan as the local dental group doesn’t honor the later..
Your phone rep said my membership number is the same.. the dentist say that’s not true.. please hel pool asap
Hi Craig, I’m sorry for the confusion here. Can you give our customer care department another call at 855-329-6305 and explain the problem you’re having? I’ve notified them about the issue you’ve been having so they should be able to help straighten this out for you!
never got a new card for me and my wife gloria
Hi James! I’m sorry you haven’t received your cards. I just contacted our Customer Care department and they reordered cards to be sent to you! Please let us know if you still do not receive them.
Is the dental cost different by zip code?
Yes, it does vary! The biggest variance is by state, but we always recommend using our fee schedule to enter in your zip code and see pricing in your area: https://www.1dental.com/fee-schedule/.
How can I change my email address, this newsletter is going to an old account I am giving up.I am signing below with my new email.
Hi Dawn! Yes. Sign up with the new email. What’s the old email address? I can go in and delete it from our subscriber list, or you can look in your email inbox for the email you want to get rid of and select Unsubscribe at the bottom of one of our emails. That should remove it from the list.
Yes, thank you so much! I did sign up with this new email and got your reply today at it. Now I’ll go unsubscribe from the old one. I was wondering so thank you again!
My name is Darrell C. Crummett. I have not received my card. Please respond.
Hi Darrell. We just put in the order for a new card for you! You should be getting an email soon that will let you know when it should arrive.
I would like to get a cleaning pnly, not x-rays or assessments. What would be the cost of a simple cleaning?
Pricing varies by location – you can look at exact pricing in your area on our fee schedule – but in the state of Texas, an adult cleaning is $31. You’ll also want to check with the dentist you visit to see if you can only get a cleaning. X-rays are usually only done every other year or at new patient visits, but it may be routine for them to do an oral exam at their visits, which is $15 for an established patient or $19 for a new patient. You’ll just want to check to see if you can only do a cleaning!
Does the plan apply to extractions performed by a dental surgeon?
If you go to an oral surgeon in our network of providers, you should receive a 15-20% discount on the work that you need. On the link I shared with you, enter you zip code, select the plan type you have and change dentist type to “Oral Surgeon” and you should see a list of providers come up for you!
I’m not able to unsubscribe. You link to do so is broken.. as a result I get you conversation. With everyone…
Please unsubscribe my email.. thanks
Is this the email you subscribed with: craigshorton@yahoo.com? I’m not seeing that one on our list of contacts.
Maybe I don’t know the code, but does the plan pay for deep cleaning?
Yes, you can get a discount on a deep cleaning! I’d recommend asking your dentist for the ADA code of the treatment they’ll be doing. I believe there are two kinds of deep cleanings that we show on our fee schedule: “Periodontal Scaling and Root Planing” and “Periodontal Maintenance.” I believe the second is more common and the first is for follow-up treatment. If you visit our fee schedule and enter your zip code, you can see pricing for your area for that treatment. Just do a Ctrl + F for “Deep Cleaning” and you’ll find it. If you do need Periodontal Scaling and Root Planing, just keep in mind that the pricing shown is for one quadrant. I don’t think they typically do all four though.
no dentist leaves in my zip code area 32425 ** may I mail a dental claim form for reimbursement?????? if so please provide a mailing address or a fax number???????? thank you
Hi Sandra, please email us at customercare@1dental.com so we may better assist you!
Do I pay the dentist the discounted amount or do I pay the full amount and you senf me a check for the difference beteeen the full amount and the discounted amount?
You pay the discounted amount at the dental office at the time of your visit. You’ll give the dental office your Member ID number before or when you go to their office and they will give you the discounts promised to our members.
If you want to see the discounts using the Careington Care 500 plan before your visit so you’re prepared, you can see those on our fee schedule page here: https://www.1dental.com/fee-schedule/ Just enter your zip code at the top of the page and search for the treatment(s) you need to get.
I had a deep cleaning done. I only have six bottom front teeth. The dental office charged me for 2 quadrants to be cleaned (3 and 3). They explained they count quadrants starting from center. Is that correct. Doesn’t seem quite fair. If I had all six to the left or right side, I would have only paid for 1 quadrant
Unfortunately, yes. There are 4 quadrants in the mouth. Two at the top and two on the bottom. Here’s some more info about teeth names and quadrants in the mouth: https://trustdentalcare.com/teeth-names-and-numbers/
I had to join the Aetna plan because my dentist of 30 years honors that plan; however, the Careington plan is so much more reasonable for a patient. How could my dentist become a member of the Careington plan? Could he be a member of both plans? Do you send out information to the dentists, or do they have to contact you?
Your dentist can contact Provider Relations at 800-441-0380 #8 to find out how to become a participating dentist for the Careington plan in addition to the Aetna plan. Dentists can be members of both! We have a lot who are.
We really like your blog, it has engaging articles, Thanks!
Does the care 500 cover veneers or whatever called for to cover central lateral and next 2 teeth that have been fractured uneven and cause bad tmj? If so what wd I expect to pay?
If they have an ADA code associated with the treatment, you’ll be able to save at least 20% – maybe more. Please give us a call if you’d like to discuss this more at 800-372-7615
My husband and I would like to sign up to your dental plan.
Paula Steinmetz
Hi Paula, you can sign up on our website here https://www.1dental.com/careington-dental-plan/ or give us a call at 800-372-7615!
I need a partial and my dentist is not a provider. I believe it would be considered as cosmetic needs. However, I would like to know if I could file a claim to retrieve some money paid for the procedure.
Partial Dentures? Those are not considered cosmetic dental work. We do not handle claims since we are not dental insurance. You can think of our plans more like a Costco or Sam’s club membership. You pay for the membership plan and then receive access to significant discounts at our dentists.
If you have more questions about how to use our plan and find a dentist near you, please give us a call at 800-372-7615 and we’d be happy to help!
So after 5 years of invisaligns I was told that I needed to start my implant treatment but when I went I was told that I needed braces due to my teeth still having a gap in between them and I also need several implants because I had baby teeth removed. By any chance will this dental insurance help out with the payments? I need to have braces and implants and I payed for my invisaligns out of pocket but I can’t afford to pay all these thing on my own. TIA!
You can see our full list of dental treatments and their discounts here: https://www.1dental.com/fee-schedule/ Dental work like what you are getting is often discounted 20% when visiting a dentist in our network. It doesn’t seem like much, but it would be something and does take a significant amount off the total cost since this work is rather expensive.
Is there a charge for obtaining this discount dental card ????
Yes! We have pricing on our website here: https://www.1dental.com/careington-dental-plan/
I just joined and was wondering when I would receive my card and when can I schedule an appointment with my dentist?
I’m so sorry for the delay on this! You can email us at customercare@1dental.com and someone will get back to you quickly with your temporary ID number so you can schedule an appointment right away!
Does the Careington 500 plan cover post and implants
It discounts both posts and dental implants! You can find the discounts listed on our fee schedule here: https://www.1dental.com/fee-schedule/
Hello!
Can we use the discount on every single visit, as many times as we want? For example, if we need 3 crowns and 4 bridges, would the discount apply to all crowns and all bridges or is it limited to a certain amount for the discount?
Also, the discount applies to small fees as well, correct? Something as simple as a cleaning?
That’s right! You can use it on every visit on all procedures included on our Fee Schedule, which can be found here: https://www.1dental.com/fee-schedule/ Crowns, bridges and cleanings are all included on there. The dentist will be able to give you an itemized copy of your bill so you can see the discounts applied to each treatment.
Can I submit the claim after I pay the Care500 fee to my employer paid Humana plan?
You won’t be able to use your Care500 plan and the Humana plan on the same procedure. You can, however, use your Care500 plan once you have reached your maximum with your Humana plan. If you have more questions, please reach out to us at 800-372-7615 and we’ll be happy to walk through that with you.
Is there any waiting periods once I sign up ? Do you have to wait 6/12 months ?
There are no waiting periods! You can use the plan immediately!