Baby on Dental/Vision Insurance?

b&kmakebabies

Just wondering when everyone puts baby in dental and vision insurance. At my work these are separate policies... I hear a first dental appointment should be around 1 year, so it seems silly to add a baby right after birth unless I'm missing something? Our dental is an extra $30 a month to add a child and odds are he won't use the benefits anyway (twice yearly cleaning) until after a year... am I missing something? When did you add you babies to these plans? Vision I'm not as hesitant about since it's literally $4 extra a month to add him, but even still I wonder if it's something people do in the first year...

New-mama?

For what it's worth. I would personally wait. Some dentist offer free first dental visit. Otherwise if it's just one or two visits a year you might be better paying out of pocket vs paying $360 yr for coverage. Same with vision. Like you said they are unlikely to use the benefits. Another idea is contact a dentist and see when they feel it is the most beneficial to add them.

Patienceisavirtue

We are adding our 18-month-old next month (he will be 19 months).

He didn't get any teeth until he was 11 months old! So, For us, it seemed pointless to add him unless we needed to and we were comfortable paying out of pocket if needed. Plus, Dentists around here won't see little ones until 2 years old.

SPJ&E

We start taking ours to the dentist at 3 years old (and go for cleanings every 6 months after). Before then, we just brush daily and keep an eye out for any issues, which we have yet to have (knock on wood).

Eye doctor, we tend to wait until about age 4. If we noticed any issues, we would obviously go sooner. 4 has worked well for us so far.

Heather&Megan

I work for a union so mine is probably a bit different then most of you. I pay either $8/week for individual coverage (which includes medical, dental, and vision) or $17/week for family coverage. Since my wife is already on my policy, it won't cost anything to add baby. I do have to add within 30 days of birth OR I'll have to wait until open enrollment. If you have a benefits coordinator, I would talk to them to see if they have any rules or limitations to when you can add baby.

RedHeather

As the mom of a 9 month old who still has no teeth, I would definitely recommend you hold off on the dental. Vision is also likely to be unneeded for the first year. Even kids with severe myopia usually aren't diagnosed until they are over a year old.

hopeful2014

My dental and vision are also separate plans, though my health insurance covers basic eye exams every other year for adults and every year for kids. My daughter's pediatrician recommends a dentist visit by age 1. I ended up just paying out of pocket and probably will for a few years. The premiums would be more than what 2 visits cost out of pocket. My own dental is free because my employer pays for employee coverage so I'd be going from $0 to several hundred dollars a year.

b&kmakebabies

Thanks everyone! My suspicion was we should wait, so that is nice to confirm! I do have 30 days to add and open enrollment is in January, so we will likely add him when he's over a year to those plans.

gprime11

Most dentists in my area do the first visit free, if its before 3yrs old. Mine is 2.5yrs, and i plan to add him this open enrollment. Our dentist said they really can't do anything to a kid less than 2 or 3 unless its an emergency. They just don't cooperate to sit in a chair well.

hoping4number2

My son had his first dental visit at age 4. We were told anything before that is just to establish rapport.

palegreen

You may want to check out http://www.infantsee.org/ to see if there is an eye doctor in your area that participates in the program. They do a free eye exam for kiddos under 1 year old.

b&kmakebabies

Thanks! That is very helpful!