Brand new dental plan now accepting members

There is a new dental plan in the CNMI, and they are now open for business.

Modeled after a very popular type of dental plan in the United States, the Island Smiles Dental Plan is the least expensive dental plan in the CNMI.

The plan is administered by Friends First Marketing Inc. and we got to sit down with company owner, Donna Krum, who goes by the nickname “Dental Donna.”

Donna explained that members of the plan pay a low annual fee to join. The annual fee is $104 for an individual plan, $130 for a couple or two-party plan, or $156 for a family plan. There is a one-time administration fee of $15 to become a member of the plan. Benefits under the plan are available immediately upon enrollment. There are no waiting periods and the annual cost of the plan will never increase for existing members.

For a limited time, new members can receive 13 months of the plan for the price of 12!

Members will receive at least a 20 to 50 percent discount on every dental service offered by the plan provider, including cosmetic dentistry.They will never pay full fees for any dental treatment available from the plan provider. In addition, there is never a charge for office visits, digital X-rays, examinations, full periodontal exams, consultations, second opinions, and oral cancer screenings. These are all free services as a member of the plan.

The plan provider for the new Island Smiles Dental Plan is Paradise Dental Center. They are a brand new state-of-the-art dental clinic located on Middle Road in Gualo Rai, next to EZ Mart, in the old CDA Building. They are a full service general and cosmetic dental vlinic and the first brand new dental clinic on the island in over a decade. In building the clinic, no expense was spared in bringing the best that dentistry has to offer in the U.S. here to our island home. They are the big orange building on Middle Road, you can’t miss them! Their telephone number is 234-4040.

Donna explained that when Island Smiles Dental Plan members visit Paradise Dental Center, they would always be shown full fees along with the discounted fees. That way plan members can really see how much money they are saving on their dental treatment as members of the plan.

Insurance plans are typically very confusing, says Donna, who has worked with dental plans in the U.S. for more than 20 years. For example, when a plan says that crowns are covered at 50 percent, what does that really mean to your wallet? Fifty percent of what number? The fees on the Island Smiles Dental plan are truly transparent and list the actual out-of-pocket expense to the patient. It is a very simple plan that patients understand right away. There is even a complete listing of all of the discounted fees on the dental plan website, www.islandsmilesdentalplan.com.

The plan is also very flexible and can be used along with traditional insurance plans, such as Take Care, StayWell, and Hawaii Dental Service. The Paradise Dental Center team are experts in helping patients maximize their dental plans and minimize their out-of-pocket costs. A great example is with cosmetic dentistry. There was a recent patient that wanted fancy cosmetic dental work on all of his front teeth, but cosmetic dentistry was excluded on his dental plan, and he was looking at having to pay full fees for his cosmetic treatment. Instead, he was able to purchase the Island Smiles Dental Plan, which provides discounted fees for cosmetic work, and he saved over $4,000! Another example is when a patient uses up their yearly maximum on their dental plan. They can then use the Island Smiles Dental Plan to be able to continue additional treatment at the discounted fees.

Enrollment packets for the plan are available at Paradise Dental center, online at www.islandsmilesdentalplan.com or via email request to dentaldonna@islandsmilesdentalplan.com

The plan is also available to government and employer groups via payroll deduction.

For more information on the Island Smiles Dental Plan, contact the plan administrator, Friends First Marketing, Inc. at 783-1900 or email: dentaldonna@islandsmilesdentalplan.com.