Nsurance Info
Supplemental Dental Insurance 101
Many people mistakenly assume that all
their dental needs are covered by their health insurance
plans. While many health insurance plans - most notably
HMOs - may offer some dental coverage, most of your dental
needs won't be covered by the typical health insurance
plan. In fact, you may even find that a dental insurance
plan only goes so far in covering your true dental costs.
Supplemental dental insurance can help cover your out of
pocket expenses, or lower your dental costs with
participation in various dental plans.
Supplemental dental insurance is not
meant to be your primary dental insurance. Rather, it's
meant to help cover the costs associated with your dental
needs which may not be covered by your primary health or
dental coverage. There are several varieties of dental
insurance supplement plans, but they fall under a few
broad categories.
Dental Discount Plans A dental discount
plan is designed to lower dental costs by leveraging the
large number of their members to negotiate lower prices
for their members. Discount dental plans aren't actually
dental insurance, but they do lower your dental costs by
passing the savings on to you.
You save money by getting your dental
care and serviced provided by their member dentists. When
you pay, you present your dental discount plan member
card, and are billed at the discounted price for members.
A discount dental plan can cost as little as $5 per month
per person covered.
Discounted Student Dental Plans Because
college students often lose dental and health coverage on
their parents' dental plans when they reach 18, many
colleges have opted to provide discounted student dental
plans for their registered students. Generally, the
discounted plans provide limited benefits such as
cleanings, x-rays, fluoride treatments, routine fillings
and emergency dental treatment for pain relief.
The services may be entirely paid for by
the supplemental dental insurance policy, or may involve a
small co-payment. Costs for student supplemental dental
insurance are generally low, from $125-$175 per student.
Dental Insurance Preferred Provider
Network One popular type of dental insurance plan is a
preferred provider network. With a preferred provider
plan, you can choose from any dentist who is a member of
the network for your dental care - and switch dentists
whenever you like. The dental insurance plan pays a fixed
flat fee for any service provided, and you pay the rest.
Cost is generally $15-20 per month.
