Do babies need dental and vision insurance?

stephnews · November 2009

I feel really stupid asking this, but do babies need vision plans or dental insurance? If there's a problem with baby's teeth, would that be a pediatrician's area of care or a dentist's?

We're supposed to sign up for our new health insurance plans at work and there's separate signups for dental and vision plans.

I can ask the HR guy on Monday, but wondered if anyone knew offhand.

realisticdreams · November 2009

I have known babies under 12 months of age, 6 for that matter that had to go in for their eyes. One of the babies ended up being blind and the other was cross eyed. The vision was very necessary for them.

As for dental, I'm not sure..

t_banned · November 2009

I'm enrolling my child in both. If he happens to have jaw, gum, or even teeth issues, most of those cannot be treated by a pedi.

As for vision... you never know what could happen. You may need to take your child to a opto for appointments. Like, if he has optic nerve issues or something like that.

I'd say yup. Do it.

kelmchick · November 2009

This is a good question. I planned on adding baby to vision right away but waiting for dental until next year.

hterry85 · November 2009

Do they NEED them? I doubt it. But I know with my employer anyone I include on the health coverage also hasto be included on dental/vision if I carry them. Which I think is dumb, LO and SS don't need them, at least not yet. But this way they can change me for family coverage rather than just for DH and I.

MrsC17 · November 2009

I work in HR (dealing with benefits specifically) and whenever we added babies to plans we added them to medical/vision (but our medical/vision were tied, if you signed up for med you automatically got vision) but not dental (as babies typically don't grow teeth for 7-12 mos and there is usually an open enrollment period somewhere in there). Hope that helps!

kcjessieb · November 2009

I've seen some recommendations that infants see a dentists as soon as their first tooth erupts or by the age of one, whichever happens first. For that reason, I think I'd sign up for both vision and dental.

jkfranklin · November 2009

stephnews:

I feel really stupid asking this, but do babies need vision plans or dental insurance? If there's a problem with baby's teeth, would that be a pediatrician's area of care or a dentist's?

We're supposed to sign up for our new health insurance plans at work and there's separate signups for dental and vision plans.

I can ask the HR guy on Monday, but wondered if anyone knew offhand.

I'm not planning on signing LO up with my dental or vision until at least next year open enrollment.

You do know that you don't sign LO up during your open enrollment, you sign them up when they are born, right?

teeah22 · November 2009

As a dentist I can tell you the youngest I've seen a child in my office has been around 3. The pedi may recommend you bring them in when they get their first tooth but IMO it's pretty uneccessary. And if there were any sort of oral surgery problems (cysts, jaw issues, etc) this would be covered under medical.

Isn't vision more for glasses/contacts? I would think any major eye problems would fall under the care of an opthamologist, which is medical.

SLHurst11 · November 2009

My friend's little girl needed glasses around 6 months old, so I would recommend the vision insurance if you can afford it. Not sure on dental though... I would do it as a precaution because teeth should be coming in during baby's first year.

stephnews · November 2009

I'm not planning on signing LO up with my dental or vision until at least next year open enrollment.
You do know that you don't sign LO up during your open enrollment, you sign them up when they are born, right?

Yes, I know. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can before making a decision for the next year because we can't switch entire plans, we can only add a baby to an existing plan.

My baby's due after the open enrollment deadline but before Jan. 1 when the new benefits kick in, ( which adds another layer of confusion I have to ask HR about) so I'm just trying to figure out which plan to go with that I can add him to later.

madhatter2003 · November 2009

remember all babies under 1 get a free exam through infantsee.org as well for vision. Most vision problems that they'd have would be medical (ie nerve issues) so check that you might not need vision and medical both, but just medical.

Dental - we will add DD this year, our dentist starts seeing them 'officially' at 3. He's done annual checks since the first tooth came in for free, but she's never had xrays, etc.

nealbl · November 2009

I asked my BIL this question he works for humana. He said no to dental i didn't ask about vision.

ScissorTailedFlycatcher · November 2009

I will probably not worry about dental, but I grew up with SEVERE vision problems that will probably pass down to LO. I'll probably figure something out. If they both go hand in hand, then yes, my kid will have both.

Mrs. jk3a · November 2009

I don't know about vision but I work for a pediatric dentist. We only see children infants to about 13 years old. We see a lot of children around age one, some have decay and some because they have fallen. The doctor I work for recommends 6 months after their first tooth erupts. They are not cooperative by any means but if they have problems he can let the parents know what to do. We actually go to the hospital every week for dental rehabs, we put the child to sleep and do all their work at once.

SeaStar430 · November 2009

My pedi said no dental until 3, 2 if we want to be really progressive.

NiniJ55 · November 2009

teeah22:

As a dentist I can tell you the youngest I've seen a child in my office has been around 3. The pedi may recommend you bring them in when they get their first tooth but IMO it's pretty uneccessary. And if there were any sort of oral surgery problems (cysts, jaw issues, etc) this would be covered under medical.

Isn't vision more for glasses/contacts? I would think any major eye problems would fall under the care of an opthamologist, which is medical.

Smart and cute - I like it.

PiPhiRN · November 2009

No, they dont. Don't waste your money. It is very rare that something will happen that you will need it when your child is an infant. I never had dental or vision, its cheaper to pay for exams out of pocket, personally I'd never buy either for any child or adult unless there is an extreme need. I wear glasses and I get cavities often (1 or 2 every other year) and its still cheaper to just pay the bill when I go.

kristalovesjared · November 2009

I also work at a dental office and I agree with the dentist who posted on this page... people ask a lot if they should bring their one year old in because they have read that they should, but the dentist I work for says unless it looks like something is wrong in their mouth wait until they are 3. Even when they are 3 and come in most of the time they are too squirmy and not patient enough for a cleaning, so she does a quick exam and where I live an exam is 65 dollars (she usually doesn't even charge for kids who are under 4). Knowing that, I wouldn't enroll for dental until my LO is 3.

Vision... I'm really not sure about. I will probably just wait to see if she has any eye problems and then enroll is she did.

SeaStar430 · November 2009

PiPhiRN:
I wear glasses and I get cavities often (1 or 2 every other year) and its still cheaper to just pay the bill when I go.

I don't get vision insurance, but this is just bad advice for dental. Last year I needed emergency wisdom tooth removal, people get teeth infections, my husband got a crown that he wasn't expecting and will need another this year, and just recently my friend passed out in a store, hit her face on the ground and broke 7 of her teeth, requiring over $20,000 worth of work done to them. Teeth are very expensive and really need to be taken care of.

I remember when I was a kid, my class went to the nursing home and asked a big group of people what they would go back and change if they could---and ALL of them agreed, they would have taken better care of their teeth.

soontobecapek · November 2009

Our Dentist won't see them until 3, and with my medical all exams are covered through medical... only thing our actual vision covers is glasses/contacts... with that said... if you need anything other than prescription glasses (my sister is blind and needs them for protection so has a regular glass lens) that's also covered through my medical (mom and I work together) so neither DS nor DD have either coverage

stephnews · November 2009

Some really good points here to consider. Thanks everyone!

BeesKnees181 · November 2013

I am only allowed to add to my plan during open enrollment. So thanks for this question! I was opting not to sign LO's up for dental and vision. Maternity care is covered regardless. However, things like complications with newborns, circumcisions, etc. are all a separate matter. In many cases, the baby must be covered under self and family plan in order to get benefits for any services rendered after birth (that are not essential/normal delivery room practice).

Reagan1010 · November 2013

Between the ages of 18 months and 2, DS had 8 dentist visits to a pediatric specialist dentist for trauma. He fell while running and knocked 3 teeth out and damaged others. It was horrible. You have the initial emergency appointment which cost a ton because this happened after hours and we had to see the after hour emergency dentist. It was right around $400. Then you have multiple follow ups and X-rays to make sure not only his teeth have healed properly in his gums, but to check the mouth areas you can't see.

Luckily, DS was on our dental insurance policy. Some babies have 2 teeth by the time they are 1 while others have a mouthful. Do what you are comfortable with, but know that the insurance would be for a possible accident not cleanings.

Reagan1010 · November 2013

Mrs. jk3a said:
I don't know about vision but I work for a pediatric dentist. We only see children infants to about 13 years old. We see a lot of children around age one, some have decay and some because they have fallen. The doctor I work for recommends 6 months after their first tooth erupts. They are not cooperative by any means but if they have problems he can let the parents know what to do. We actually go to the hospital every week for dental rehabs, we put the child to sleep and do all their work at once.

This!!! I think many of you are looking at dental insurance as covering cleanings only. Teeth and mouth trauma happen so easily in young children. They are learning to walk and wobbly. You can baby proof perfectly and accidents will happen. When your child trips and hits their mouth, hitting it at the right angle can cause so much damage!! My child knocked multiple teeth out by this happening. It would have cost us $1000s when it's all said and done if not for our dental insurance.

Getting insurance is a personal choice, please just realize that you are considering more than just cleanings.

Reagan1010 · November 2013

teeah22 said:
As a dentist I can tell you the youngest I've seen a child in my office has been around 3. The pedi may recommend you bring them in when they get their first tooth but IMO it's pretty uneccessary. And if there were any sort of oral surgery problems (cysts, jaw issues, etc) this would be covered under medical.

Isn't vision more for glasses/contacts? I would think any major eye problems would fall under the care of an opthamologist, which is medical.

What about mouth trauma!!! Get dental insurance!!!

hjweber · November 2013

No. Dentists in my area don't take children until age 3 (unless there is a real issue before that-which they say isn't likely). I found this out when I went to make DD her first appointment at a year old. She's almost 2 1/2 and hasn't needed a dentist. I understand SOME infants/toddlers do but MOST don't. And it also isn't likely that LO will need vision before school age and less likely that they will need it before age 1. I'd say skip it for now and reevaluate at next years open enrollment. Just my opinion and what I would do.

MrsJG3 · November 2013

We will be adding the baby to our dental plan. My first daughter fell before 12 months and chipped her front tooth that required a repair - it started to turn brown. I want to be covered in case of another accident.

Do babies need dental and vision insurance?

Re: Do babies need dental and vision insurance?

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