Dental Discount Plans: Is AmeriPlan A Legit Alternative to Dental and Health Care Coverage?

Before my career shift to online marketing, I was laid off from my job with an Internet start-up company and found myself with no health insurance and no dental coverage. The irony to this is I had neglected a tooth that had been bothering me for quite awhile when I actually did have dental coverage. So while I had insurance, I simply didn’t use it because… well, I absolutely hate going to the dentist! I also wasn’t going in for my regular cleanings and checkups.

As (un)luck may have it, once I was without dental insurance for the first time in years, the intensity and frequency of the toothaches picked up. I would often find myself awake at night sometimes to the point of tears. I was even fighting with my wife since planned date nights and socializing typically turned into me being agitated and crabby because of the pain. Not to mention the frustration that I felt over having no health care and no dental coverage to do anything to help my situation.

Unable to take it anymore, I made an appointment with my dentist and made arrangements to use a high interest credit card to pay for whatever necessary dental examination, treatment and care was needed to stop the pain. A routine examination confirmed that I needed about $3000 worth of dental work.

As I was walking out of the dentist office, I noticed a bundle of AmeriPlan pamphlets that were placed in the office’s magazine rack. The receptionist didn’t know very much about AmeriPlan when I inquired about the brochures. She knew that it was a healthcare, prescription, and dental discount plan that was accepted at the office. She advised me to research the web for program specifics since she wasn’t permitted to really advocate or promote the discount program.

Some Say AmeriPlan’s Dental Savings Are a Scam – Are They?

A Google search showed me various online forums where those posting made statements that AmeriPlan is a scam. This alarmed me initially but I had read the brochure thoroughly and understood that the company wasn’t promoting themselves as a healthcare provider or substitute to health insurance. I fully understood that I wasn’t just paying a small co-pay amount with each visit to the dentist, as I did with health coverage; however, I’d still benefit from savings at the dentist for each individual procedure and treatment.

It seemed as if those applying the scam tag to AmeriPlan failed to accept that the program is a supplement or alternative to dental and health care coverage in the form of a discount program. Others posting about the AmeriPlan scam seemed to take offense to the fact that there are brokers selling the program online and in their neighborhood. I on the other hand became intrigued by the business model and wondered if I should ask my broker about joining the business since I was out of work and we were struggling. Obviously that eventually happened as I am here today marketing AmeriPlan.

There were also some comments suggesting that the dentists accepting AmeriPlan were the bottom feeders in the dentistry world and weren’t very good. Pay no attention to this nonsense since my dentist accepts AmeriPlan’s dental savings card and he’s been voted Best Dentist in Pittsburgh, PA countless times in various polls by local newspapers and magazines. My advice is to just scan the list of dentists in your area who accept the program before signing in. That way you know for sure that there are participating providers within a reasonable distance to your home and you can research their reputations online before seeing someone you’re unfamiliar with.

AmeriPlan Dental Plus isn’t full health care coverage but it’s a beneficial alternative to dental and health care coverage that may be your best chance for savings at the dentist, eye doctor and chiropractor, in addition to the pharmacy savings. I ended up saving very close to $1000 from the original price quote for nothing more than a $20 a month AmeriPlan package covering not just me but my wife as well.

I was able to distribute that $1000 savings elsewhere on things undoubtedly better than a root canal and I didn’t have to acquire more debt and max out my credit card. I was comfortable signing up because there were no hidden fees and I could cancel at anytime. I wasn’t signing into any kind of contract term. The pharmacy savings I obtained with my AmeriPlan pharmacy discount card for my antibiotics and pain meds and my wife’s acid reflux medication further impressed me. We later expanded our plan to the AmeriPlan Healthcare package – offering medical discounts in addition to the savings at the dentist and pharmacy savings of Dental Plus.

Visit and click LOCATE PROVIDERS in the left navigation bar under My Benefits Plus to locate doctors, dentists and pharmacies in your area currently accepting Ameriplan.