Discount dental health plans, unlike dental insurance, do not have a set amount of coverage, and typically do not have deductibles or maximum limits. They merely offer, as their name implies, discounts on dental services. These discounts, though, may be substantial. They typically range from 20-60 percent, depending on the service, occasionally going as high as 80 percent; and some discounted dental plans may even offer basic services like a free annual checkup and teeth cleaning.
Discount dental service plans are much less expensive than typical dental insurance. They usually require very low fees, which are most often less than $10 per month. With these lowered costs, though, come a few stipulations. You not only get less coverage, you also have to visit one of their selected dentists in order to get your discount. Fortunately, though, most inexpensive health plans include thousands of dentists around the country. Discounted dental may even include as many as 60,000 dentists that you can visit to get your discount. Before you sign up for a plan, make sure that your family dentist is included on their list of discount dentists.
For families, affordable dental coverage can be especially inexpensive. To put an entire family on dental coverage, it costs only about 1.5 times the amount it would to put an individual on the plan. If you're signed up for an individual reasonably priced plan, you can get a reduced rate by signing up for group discounted dental plans with some of your friends. Special discount dental health plans are also available to those who have served in the United States military. These dental plans offer more coverage for their price.
The convenience of cheaper dental plans is another bonus not found in most insurance plans. You don't have to deal with claims, you don't have to try to get reimbursed for money you have already spent on services, and you don't need to worry about whether your plan will cover a certain dental service. With discount dental coverage, everything is fairly straightforward. Your provider will give you a list of services, and what the discount is, and you get the discount right away when you go to the dentists. No more waiting to get your money back.
This is not to say, though, that discounted health plans don't have their drawbacks as well. With the low prices, they're not able to give you as much coverage, and if your dental costs go beyond the basic services of cleanings and x-rays, it may be more cost effective for you to get a full-fledged dental insurance plan. If you have one or more children who may need braces, discount plans might not give you the level of coverage you need.
Discount dental health plans are not for everyone, nor were they designed to be. Although their benefits such as low cost and increased convenience are considerable, some people simply need more coverage than they can get through discount plans. If you're seriously considering a discount dental plan, do some comparison shopping to get an idea of the amount of cost and coverage you will be looking at for your cheaper dental plan coverage.
By Riannon Cutler