What’s the Difference Between Dental Insurance and Dental Discount Plans

What is a Dental Insurance Plan?

The dental insurance plans work in a similar way like health insurance plans. Your employer or you are required to pay a premium after a specific time. Once the deductible is achieved, the insurance company is liable to pay up full or part of the dental expenses incurred. Usually, your insurance provider will pay the dentist directly for all the treatments you’ve had.

Consider the Deductibles and Waiting Time

Make sure to ask your insurance provider about the co-payments, waiting time, policy maximum limit, and deductibles. A typical dental insurance plan will have a deductible around $25 to $100 per person for up to a year. Once the one-year time is complete, the patient will be liable to pay a small portion of the charge whereas other plans will have benefits that will set the amount that each person has to pay depending on the treatment.

Dental HMO Plans

Most employers will offer their employees Dental HMOs plans; HMOs will provide treatment coverage to employees form the dentist within the network of the company. Any treatment from external dental clinics will not be covered.

What is a Dental Discount Plan?

Dental discount plans are very different from dental insurance plans. The biggest difference is that dental discount plans do not pay for any dental procedure but they offer a discounted price for each treatment.

No Deductibles or Wait Times

A dental discount plan does not rely on any deductibles, you don’t need to wait for days to get it through, and there is no annual maximum payout. You are liable for a discount from 10% to 60% for a regular non-cosmetic dental procedure. The plans do not cost much, a typical discount plan will cost a single individual $100 dollars, and for families, it could cost $150.

What to do When you Need Extensive Dental Work

If you require a major dental procedure than a dental insurance plan might not be able to provide enough coverage for everything. The waiting time and benefits cap can limit the coverage you receive. If you find yourself in a similar situation, then you should choose a dental discount plan. Since the membership payments are approximately $100 for a single person, you will get a significant discount on cosmetic and other major dental procedures.

Before choosing dental insurance or a dental discount plan make sure, you discuss your options and your treatment requirements to the dentists in contract with your employer. Ask about the actual charges with no hidden cost and choose a plan that suits your needs. At Angel Dental, we can help you where you have questions about billing or insurance. And also ask about our Care Credit dental financing options available.