1A: Open a PayDent account here and enter your information. The site will prompt you to commit to a monthly contribution plan for your dental care. Choose any contribution amount (the recommended minimum is $20 a month), and it will automatically be deducted from your debit or credit card every month. Please note that our app uses Amazon Web Services and is completely secure.
You can add additional money to your balance at any time by using a credit or debit card, or via ACH transfer (by providing your bank account information).
You also can contribute by sending checks to PayDent at 444 Kingswood Court, Willowbrook, Illinois 60527. A future update of our app will enable you to link directly to your bank so you can make your regular monthly payments automatically from your checking or savings account.
When you need treatment, schedule an appointment directly with your PayDent participating dental care provider. To find a participating dental care provider near you, click the “Find a Provider” button in the app and search by state, city or ZIP code. Once you have found one, contact their office directly to make an appointment.
At your appointment, the dental care provider will recommend treatment(s) for you. The app will automatically check your account balance to make sure that it is sufficient for the planned treatment.
When treatment is complete, your dental care provider requests payment be transfered from your PayDent account to their bank account.
2A: PayDent makes dental care attainable, affordable and hassle free for you, your spouse, your children and your parents by providing the structure to passively build a monetary reserve to pay for your dental care and eliminating the need for a low-value dental insurance plan. With PayDent:
You get dental treatments from participating dental care professionals at 15% less than American Dental Association national average rates, so you know you’re getting a fair price for dental treatment.
All dental procedures are covered.
Your funds are never lost at the end of the year, as they often are with many health savings programs.
There are no sign-up or fees .
All dental care providers are screened to ensure they meet the highest standards.
Your funds can be shared with a spouse, children or parents.
Dental care becomes affordable for retirees on fixed incomes, since Medicare generally does not cover dentistry.
3A: With PayDent:
You don’t deal with insurance companies, so there are no dental care service restrictions, no annual deductibles, no surprise premium increases and no guessing if, or how much, insurance will pay for a procedure.
You and your participating PayDent dental care provider decide on your treatment plan without a third party needing to approve your decisions.
You don’t pay monthly insurance premiums. You decide how much to put in your PayDent account each month, and you can increase or decrease it at any time.
PayDent covers everything, including exams, fillings, crowns, root canals, oral surgery, braces, implants and even things that insurance won’t cover, like teeth whitening.
There are no annual limits to dental services, including cosmetic and specialty care.
In addition, with dental insurance:
You have no control over when insurance premiums will increase.
Company-sponsored insurance plans end if you lose your job, or you can pay the entire premium through COBRA.
Benefits on private insurance end if you stop paying premiums; you can’t temporarily halt making payments.
See a full comparison here.
4A: If you already have dental insurance, you can use PayDent and enjoy all of its benefits, including using your PayDent funds to pay for treatments (or portions of a bill) that insurance doesn’t cover, copays and deductibles. If you receive treatment under an insurance plan, you are not guaranteed the PayDent price of 15% less than American Dental Association national average rates for that service. So when you use dental insurance, you will have to request a direct payment from PayDent to your dental care provider for the portion of the bill that is not covered by your insurance. That payment must be made from funds in your PayDent account, and PayDent will charge you a 5% fee for such transactions.
5A: Currently the endorsed AARP plan costs about $35 per month. On a crown that costs $1,000, you will have a $700 copay. So your cost at the end of year is $1,120 for a $1,000 crown. And if you put that $700 on a credit card, you will be paying interest (if you don’t pay it off in-full in your next billing cycle) in addition to the insurance premiums. PayDent pays for any service your dental care provider can do and never charges interest.
6A: If you have internet access on your phone, tablet or computer, and a credit or debit card or a bank account with ACH access, you qualify to use PayDent. All you have to do is create a PayDent account and start making contributions to it.
7A: All participating dental care providers are listed on the PayDent app. You can also ask your dentist if they are a PayDent provider. If they’re not, they should be — send them to paydent.com! There are many benefits for dental offices that are a part of the PayDent network.
8A: No, there is no sign-up fee to use PayDent.
9A: No, there is no annual fee to use PayDent.
10A: The recommended minimum monthly contribution is $20, which at the end of one year, should be enough for two cleanings and checkups. If you contribute $100 a month, you will have $1,200 per year to cover all dental services. You can always adjust your contribution amount up or down at any time depending on how much treatment you will need and what you can afford. If you know you will need to pay for additional dental care services, you can make larger contributions at any time. Any unused funds always carry over to the next year and are not lost.
11A: There is no maximum monthly contribution. If you know that a significant dental treatment is coming, such as a child needing braces or you needing a new crown, you can increase your monthly contribution or make a one-time additional contribution of any amount through your debit or credit card or ACH transfer from your bank.
12A: Yes. At any time for any reason, you can adjust your monthly contribution amount, or suspend your contributions until you are in a position to start contributing again.
13A: Yes, you can use whatever money is in your PayDent account at any time for your dental care needs, whether you are currently making contributions or not.
14A: In the app, you can link your PayDent account to your debit or credit card to make regular contributions. You also can make contributions at any time using the ACH feature of your bank account, and you can send checks to PayDent at 444 Kingswood Court, Willowbrook, Illinois 60527. In an update of our app, you will be able to link to your bank so you can seamlessly make your regular monthly deposits directly from your checking or savings account.
15A: PayDent currently accepts ACH transfers, any credit or debit card and checks mailed to PayDent. Please note that a 3% convenience fee will be charged if you use a credit or debit card. This is a standard fee charged by the card processing company that we use. There is no additional charge for ACH transfers.
16A: You can set up your contributions to automatically be deducted from your bank account via ACH transfers, or charge your debit or credit card each month. Please note that a 3% convenience fee will be charged if you use a credit or debit card. This is a standard fee charged by the card processing company that we use. There is no additional charge for ACH transfers.
17A: That's for you to decide, and it depends on your circumstances. The American Dental Association says that the average American spends $384 per year taking care of their teeth. That works out to $32 per month. If you get your teeth cleaned twice a year and you rarely have cavities, contributing $30 per month should take care of your need.
You can always adjust your contribution amount up or down at any time depending on how much treatment you will need and what you can afford. If you know you will need to pay for additional dental care services, you can make larger contributions at any time. Any unused funds always carry over to the next year and are not lost.
One strategy is to contribute as much as you can until you have $1,000 or $2,000 in your account. You will then be self-insured. If your experience an unplanned dental need, such as a tooth breaking, you have a reserve of money to take care of it. Once you have built a reserve, you can adjust the contribution downward to maintain it, but not add to it.
18A: All of the money you put in your PayDent account is used to pay for your dental treatments, except for a 3% convenience fee that is charged if you use a credit or debit card to deposit money into your PayDent account. This is a standard fee charged by the card processing company that we use.
19A: Not at this time, but we are working to make this possible in the future.
20A: PayDent does not require copays. Some specialty dental care providers may require a copay for the difference between their fee and what PayDent pays for your treatment, which is 85% of the American Dental Association’s national average price.
21A: No, there is no annual deductible you have to meet.
22A: You can use PayDent for as many appointments or procedures each year that the funds in your account will cover.
23A: Yes, but if you use insurance, your PayDent payment won’t transmit automatically to the dental care provider performing your treatment. You will need to contact us to arrange for a payment to be made to your dental care provider for the portion of your treatment not covered by insurance.
24A: PayDent will only cover the cost of treatment up to the balance in your account, however, you can add funds to your account at any time to pay for an upcoming treatment.
25A: Your money will remain in your account and will be available to you the following year. Unlike with some health savings accounts, you never lose your PayDent contributions.
26A: Upon your death, any remaining balance in your PayDent account will be transferred to your designated beneficiary’s PayDent account. You will soon be able to designate a beneficiary directly in the PayDent app, but until then, simply contact us at teampaydent@paydent.com and we will record your designated beneficiary.
27A: We work very hard to keep you satisfied. If you have any problems, however, contact customer service at teampaydent@paydent.com and we will do everything we can to ensure your satisfaction.
28A: If you cancel, you will receive 95% of the money in your PayDent account back, which is less a 5% cancellation fee. If you wish to stop using PayDent, it would be a better value to simply discontinue your monthly contributions and use the funds in your account for your dental care. Not only would you get the 15% discount for your dental care, but you would also avoid the 5% fee for canceling your account.
29A: Yes. You can use your PayDent fund to pay for dental work for your spouse, your children and other family members.
30A: No. Anyone with an internet connection, and a credit or debit card or bank account with ACH access can sign up for PayDent.
31A: Yes. PayDent carefully screens its dental providers to ensure they meet the highest standards, and then monitors them by analyzing the data on treatment that they provide. PayDent can remove a dental care provider from the system should that prove necessary.
32A: PayDent carefully screens its dental providers to ensure they meet the highest standards, but dentists are not required by law to offer specific guarantees. If you have a dispute with your dentist, check with your local or state dental society which often have mediation and peer review services to help with dispute resolution. In Chicago, the Chicago Dental Society has both mediation and peer review committees where volunteer dentists will listen to your side of a dispute. Call 312-836-7300 for more information.
33A: You should let your dental care provider know that you have signed up for PayDent when you make your appointment.
34A: If you don't need your PayDent account anymore for any reason, you can transfer the money to a family member 100% with no penalty from PayDent. If you close your account, you can get 95% back.