Options in Affordable Dental Insurance

Whether you are looking for dental insurance plans for yourself or for your family it is a great idea to completely explore all of your options. Today, people can opt for traditional dental insurance, or they can investigate dental care coverage through a membership with a dental care program.

The two options are fairly different from one another, with one imposing limitations, documentation requirements, waiting periods and a hefty premium, and the other asking for a single, small annual membership fee and little else.

Both family and individual dental insurance plans can be accessed through most health insurance companies, and though they may seem reasonable the average price tag can reach a thousand dollars or more. This does not pay for dental services in their entirety however, and a customer is usually asked to pickup between thirty and fifty percent of the cost of their dental care in addition to the premium.

With a discount dental plan membership a family pays their small annual fee and then receives immediate access to the entire network of pre-approved dentists and specialists. This means they can visit an orthodontist, pediatric dentist or oral surgeon on the same day they pay for their plan. It also means that there are no maximum amounts of visits that can be made to their dental professionals of choice and no denials for any treatments desired. This is because the discount dental plans do not interfere with the patients or the dentists, but simply guarantee their customers a set price for every possible service they need.

Another benefit to the discount dental plans is their portability. Many dental and health insurance plans make it very difficult to find care outside of the customer’s traditional residential area, and even more difficult when outside of the state. With a discount dental plan however coverage is available in almost any community in the country, and there are no penalties for accessing a network provider who is in another state or out of the traditional service area.

Why do insurance companies impose such punitive limitations and restrictions? They ask for waiting periods in order to avoid paying for a costly procedure right away, thus losing income if the customer cancels their policy immediately after receiving the care. They create the opportunities to deny patients with any pre-existing conditions because this implies a chronic issue which can reduce their profits. Finally, they set maximum coverage amounts in order to ensure that they do not lose profits on their policy with a customer.

Clearly, any affordable dental insurance policy is not going to give the same level of service and coverage as a discount dental plan membership. If you need an illustration, just consider: a customer of a Florida dental insurance plan goes for their two annual cleaning that cost them $35 each. They also pay a one thousand dollar premium each year. During a cleaning it is discovered they need a filling, which costs a total of $100 to the policy holder. Total for the year $1,170. If that person had membership in a discount dental plan they would have paid a grand total of $305 for the same services. Which is the affordable dental coverage?