2007 March : Top Dental Plans

Dental Plans Vs Dental Insurance – Finally. a Detailed Explanation

Choosing a Dental Plan these days can be just like pulling teeth. Pardon the humor, but for anyone who has tried to figure out the difference between dental plans, dental insurance, dental discount plans, dental health plans, ect., it can be an extremely frustrating and confusing experience.

First off, there are only two different things that we need to look at. Those are dental insurance and dental plans. Somehow there’s become a lot of different terminology for these two, but they’re the only ones that you need to worry about.

When most people think of dental care they think of insurance, which, twenty years ago was pretty much the only thing available to consumers. Many people could get coverage through their work either automatically, as an employee group benefit, or for a small fee. Things have changed a lot in the past two decades. Recent studies show that seven out of ten people in the United States have no type of dental coverage at all.

Dental insurance, unless provided by your employer, isn’t as “cost effective” these days. Some of the drawbacks are annual deductibles, annual spending limits, non-coverage for pre-existing conditions or a very long (usually 6-12 month) waiting period, and limitations and exclusions on certain types of care. You must also pay a monthly or annual premium which can be in the $25-$50.00 per month range for an individual person and even as much as $100.00 monthly for entire family coverage. At these rates it’s no wonder that there are such a high number of people who aren’t covered. They simply cannot afford it.

Dental discount plans were introduced several years ago as an insurance “alternative”.

Let’s define a discount plan – it’s really very simple. A dental discount plan allows you to visit a dentist at a reduced rate. You join the plan, which is usually very inexpensive and you may then visit any dentist in that plans “network”. This network is a group of dentist’s that have agreed to accept a reduced payment for services performed. They do this under the condition that the work be paid for at the time of the visit.

You see, it costs dentist’s money and time to fill out forms for insurance payments or to finance someone’s dental work. Besides the paperwork, it usually takes anywhere from 45-90 days for them to be paid by the insurance company after they’ve completed the work. In some cases, claims can even be rejected after they’ve already performed the work. The insurance company can claim that the person treated was no longer covered for whatever reason or that the procedure performed was excluded from being covered, in which case, the dentist is left “holding the bag”.

With dental discount plans you’ll pay a discounted fee for services rendered at the time of your visit. For example, let’s say that you need your teeth cleaned. The normal price for this may be $80.00, but you’ll get a discount card stating that you get a 50% (example) discount, so, in this case, you’d only pay $40.00.

Let’s do another example – let’s say that you need a root canal done and the price for a root canal is $800.00. Well, you’ve got a discount card that saves you 50% so you you’d only have to pay $400.00 out of pocket at the time of your visit to the dentist. Are you beginning to understand how this works?

This can be very cost effective for a family.

Is this beginning to make sense now? It’s really very simple isn’t it?

The 50% savings used was only an example. Many plans offer even higher discounts on certain procedures. Some even include discounts on procedures such as cosmetic dentistry, professional teeth whitening, orthodontics and more.

Also, pre-existing conditions are covered, there are no exclusions, no deductibles and no waiting periods to be treated. You can also see any dentist in the network. If for some reason you’re not happy with the first dentist that you see, you can simply start seeing a different one.

That pretty much sums it up. I hope that this was helpful so that you may make an informed decision when you decide to buy dental coverage.

Which are the Best Dental Plans?

So who claims to have the best dental plans anyway? That’s a good question. There’s been a lot of debate about this issue. Do I buy traditional dental insurance or do I go with one of these new dental discount plans? We’ll take a look at both of these plans and you determine for yourself which was the best. Fair enough?

Dental insurance is probably the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of getting some kind of dental plan. This is because you’ve been trained to think that way. This is what our parents had, probably through their employer, however, you’re fortunate if you can get discount covers to your employer nowadays because most small businesses have had to drop dental plans from their list of benefits. It just became too expensive.

Dental insurance is basically designed for preventive maintenance, things such as cleanings, x-rays, fluoride treatments, check ups, etc. and they do not cover pre-existing conditions. This means that if you have a problem with your teeth right now, and it’s causing you pain or something that obviously needs to be worked on, buying a dental insurance plan today won’t do your bit of good. The reason behind this is because dental insurance providers require waiting period of normally six to 12 months before they’ll cover any pre-existing condition. This is really pretty normal for the insurance industry. Think about it. If you go to get your vehicle covered and you have a large dent on the passenger side door, eating the insurance company is going to pay for that? Of course not! It was already there before you about the policy. Dental insurance works the same way.

Dental discount plans are much easier to explain. A group of dentists have joined together to form a network. This network has buying power which benefits the dentists on purchases that they must make on a regular basis in order to run their practice. This makes offering discounts worthwhile for them. Also, it works out very well for them because they don’t have to hassle with insurance paperwork or waiting to get paid for up to 45 days. This is how it works; you pay a small fee to become a member of the plan and within one to three business days you’ll have all of the information that you need to be able to visit a dentist. You then find a participating dentist in your area and make an appointment. You go and get a complete exam and then determine what you’d like to have taken care of at that time. The Dentist takes care of your procedures and you pay them the discounted cost in full at the time of your visit. You’re finished.

The advantage of dental discount plans, and since they are not insurance, there aren’t any exclusions, waiting periods, age limitations, very little paperwork involved, etc. it’s a win-win for both you and the participating dentist. You save anywhere from 10% to 60% on your dental costs and the dentist gets their money right away. At this time I suggest you get a little bit more information on both, after which, you can decide which is the best dental plan. Fair enough?

Top Dental Plans

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Dental Discount Plans

The Affordable Option To Dental Insurance

The right plan for your budget

Find Plans In Your Area

Dental Plans Vs Dental Insurance – Finally. a Detailed Explanation

Dental Discount Plans

The Affordable Option To Dental Insurance

The right plan for your budget

Find Plans In Your Area

Which are the Best Dental Plans?