Are cosmetic dental grants a scam? There is a site called….?

It is actually a referring site - which directs you to "participating" dentists. The site organizers get a commission for directing you.

Once you get to a "participating" dentist, the dentist decides what you may need. I do not see any assurance there is any kind of grant.

So, this is a simple advertising gimmick, designed to get you to go to a dentist who will try to sell his services to you. All very legal.

To stay within the law, they likely do pick one "winner" every so often and pay for it out of the fees they collect for referring people to various dentist. So, lets say the dentist gives them $10 for each referral, they might put say 50 cents into their giveaway pool. So to give away a grant of $5,000 they would have to refer 10,000 people. That might take several years.

Yes

I had gotten a free consultation and free 360 degree x rays from a non-grant participating dentist with more than 20 years of implant experience. I wouldn't have even looked into this cosmetic dentistry program if I had the funds to easily pay for the implant and other procedures.

I took the grant bait and paid $79 for the same x rays I had done the week previously for free.

The estimate with the implant grant program dentist not including any grant funds was 45% higher than the regular dentist with 20+ years of experience. With the subtraction provided by the GRANT fund the price was still $550 more than the quote from the very experienced NON-GRANT Dentist.

I will choose a NON-GRANT dentist... but we can add $79 to our final cost as a result of the x ray costs.

A person not getting a second or third quote and comparing the quality of materials used ,etc., may mistakenly think they are getting a good deal

1) Always get a second opinion.

2) If it sounds too good to be true ...it probably is.

RE:

Are cosmetic dental grants a scam? There is a site called....?

www.cosmeticdentistrygrants.org. Now I have like 5 teeth missing and was looking for implants. THey said that I can go to a no cost evaluation and then be placed into their pool and winners are picked at random. The girl on the phone said, if any work needs to be done before implants, like a...

I had a bridge replaced several years ago the dentist who performed the work inadvertently put the bridge on wrong, which allowed bacteria to get under the gum line and cause decay to set into the tooth. I changed dentists twice and each time was told that the bridge needed to be replaced immediately to save the tooth. I was given a price of over $10,000 on an estimate to have the bridge replaced and root canal work done. However, I read online about the Cosmetic Dentistry Grants program and contacted them right away I was referred to a participating dentist in my area; I went in and was informed how the program worked, and was given the price of $1,000 less for dental implants than my own personal dentist’s estimated price for another bridge plus I was given a $2,200 grant by the CDG’s program. I did however have to pay the difference in the price that quoted which was $7400 but I still came out $3,600 less than what my dentist quoted me. I don’t have to tell you I went with the grant program I accepted the $2,200 and have already had my dental work performed! Dentistry in this country is a high priced industry and most health insurance companies don’t have dental coverage without adding additional monies and even then cosmetic dentistry is almost never covered under those insurance policies, my personal take on this program is that it works for those who are able to cover the balance.

I read on the CDG site that you can use the grant at the dentist of your choice. I m going to look into that. I have to have 4 implants and am shopping around for the best price and for the surgeon I m most comfortable with. I ll take any savings I can get as its a very pricey process. I have 2 quotes already so I won t be scammed into paying more by accepting the grant. Hooefully it will help save me some! I would definitely reccomend checking cost at a few different places as I ve already found them to vary significantly before even looking into the CDG grant.

I was approved for a grant from CDG. Usually pays less than 50% of the total cost. But here is the kicker... the places they will refer you to are way too expensive and not competitive at all.

My example: I was quoted by another dentist that I needed $9000 worth of work done for 3 implants, bone graft, sinus lift, and a root canal. The one that CDG referred me to charges $5000-$6000 for "ONE" dental implant! Do the math!

So the grant, which probably only covers 1/3 of the total cost at the most, is a total waste of time!

I promptly cancelled my appointment with them and then they called me right back to try to sell me their services with other options like bridges and partials. And lke another poster mentioned, they work on commissions. Absolutely disgusting!

If it sounds too good to be true, then guess what?

They promote Care Credit usage to cover the costs above the grant amount. (care Credit pays the dentist 90% of the financed cost) . If the grant is for 10%, which is paid to the Dentist....what does that tell you?

Could it be this is really a marketing program for Care Credit (Syncrony Financial which is a recent IPO spin-off from GE Capital who holds 80% of the stock, and stands to reap enormous profits from as increases in sales volume drive up the price of the stock. GE has stated their intention to sell off their 80%). So the remaining question is: Who is The Oral Aesthetic Advocacy Group for a Cosmetic Dentistry Grant?

Yes!!!! Absolute scam!!!! It's run by one person and she's rude, demanding and petty!!!! All she's doing is referring you to dentists in your area abs reviving a kickback for the referral!!!! She's crazy too!!!! I told her is have to call her back because I couldn't schedule since I was driving. She said if I didn't call in an hour she'd close my file. I told her I was just getting off work and it would take that long to get through traffic and pick up my daughter. She got mad and sent THREE emails saying my file was closed, THREE!!! WHO does that??? I was going to contact her supervisor and then realized that ALL correspondence had been from her! That's why she could do that, she's the only one there!!! It's a scam and the lady is named Jessica. She's a scammer

Same experience here! They build you up to think that you will finally get the cosmetic work done that you cannot afford, only to find out that they will only give you a very small percentage (in my case 10%) toward the needed work. It may be 10% that I don't have to pay, but if I could afford the 90% in the first place, I wouldn't need the grant!!!

It is complete SCAM. There is no discount or free dentistry or grants. They lie to unsuspecting people to convince them to show up at a dental office for their free exam. As soon as that happens they charge the poor dentist for a patient that has no money for treatment and the doctor does not find out for weeks.

Think about it, who pays for advertising to give out FREE anything!!!