Possibly Switching Dental Insurance to Aetna DMO

I am a dental hygienst and have temped at offices that accept those kind of insurances. The quality of care is completely different. You are usually considered just a number to them....how much can they get from your insurance company. Offices that are on these insurance plans have to write off a portion of what they charge out so the DMO offices that do this have to see a high number of people to really meet their "quota" and make any money. So they tend to cut corners somewhere. The materials they use and technology isn't quality as well compared some offices that may accept PPOs or aren't in network. Another thing I have found with patients on DMOs, that lets say you have a toothache and need to get in asap. The DMO offices will only see a certain number of emergency type patients in a day or month so you may have to be bumped out for a month or longer. That is hard to swallow if you are in PAIN!! So I would suggest not switching and just finding a dentist you and your family are comfortable seeing.....don't let your insurance dictate who you see or what treatment you have done.

I wouldn't recommend Apple Orthodontics. My daughter went there for braces. They said they need to do her treatment in two phases. When they took off her braces after the first phase, they didn't give her a retainer and her teeth moved back to near their original positions. Waste of money and time.

N.,
I have a DMO, not with Aetna, I found a really good dentist that takes it, her name is Dr. Moisa Sapozhnikov, the name is called Dental Attraction Center, www.dentalattraction.com - she's great if your insurance does take it. After reading the responses, it explains why I've had such a hard time in the past. I've moved from San Antonio, and had major problems finding a good dentist on DMO plan with my company I work for. I really can't afford to pay the higher rates, the cover probably is better, but I have to live too.

I would not change to any DMO plans. I am an dental ins. specialist and your premium will go down tremendously but so will your coverage. You will only be able to use dentist from a list and the quality will not be up to your standards.

Hi N. I'm another hygienist & my husband is a dentist. to be on a DMO Plan basically the insurance works with an office that agrees to charge there fees which are low for the customer but end up costing the dentist alot more so most private offices can not afford to accept DMO's or charge their fees, also if you ever had a problem & needed to see a specialist (root canal, extraction)it's very rare they accept DMO. So then you get the corperation type dental offices that try to get as many people in that they can & then find as much "treatment" to do as possible, which sometimes can be very questionable if it is even really needed. When I first graduated I worked with an office that has several locations & I had to quit b/c I was dealing with ethical delimas every day, I would just say try to go to non chain office if you do decide to go with a DMO. Good luck.