Oh, I absolutely agree, especially for routine stuff. If you have kids that need orthodontia work, or if you expect oral surgery in your future, insurance is probably worth it. With decent teeth though, paying out of pocket isn't so bad.
This is my dental Sob Story

Back in the late 80's when my time in the US Army was coming to a close , due to injuries sustained I was under going jaw reconstruction to be followed by some oral surgeries and dental work. Well the jaw reconstruction was completed but the the oral surgeries and dental work could not be completed by my scheduled ETS date. I was given the options of being a medical holdover and the Army could complete the work or go with my scheduled ETS date and the VA could finish up. I opted for the VA route.
The EL Paso branch of the VA was very expedient in taking on my case. Due to a back log of work they had my case farmed out to a civilian Orthodontist. He was a good Ole boy and we got along fine. He performed the needed surgeries and capped my remaining teeth and built both upper and lower partials. We talked on many subjects but one was the cost to Uncle Sam for the work done to me. He said about $5000. I then asked what it would cost if I was just Joe Smoe off the street and paying cash, he didn't hesitate before replying "About half that".
I was quite pleased with the work done and never had any problems. Now fast forward 20 yrs
Eventually the caps started to deteriorate and the partials were falling apart. Off I was sent to VA Dentist in temple, TX.
Instead of replacing the caps and building new partials they wanted to pull my teeth and give me full dentures. I asked why the y didn't want to replace the caps and go with new partials. They claimed the caps would only last a couple yrs and the VA didn't want to spend the money on continuously recapping the teeth. I explained that the current caps lasted 20 yrs. They said that was some excellent work and subsequent recapping becomes more & more difficult if not impossible and they couldn't match the quality given established parameters set by the VA.
So now I got me a full set of choppers that have been nothing but trouble and am currently battling the VA for another jaw and gum line reconstruction that is said to very likely alleviate said problems.
Was a group of us while in the Army had a saying 'I love the ****ing Army & The Army loves ****ing me". I think Army should be replaced with VA now
