How To Look For Affordable Dental Insurance

By Jaclyn Hurley


Buying insurance cover for your dental needs is a very important thing to do. But when determining which cover will be suitable for your needs, it is important not to just look for cheap and affordable dental insurance cover. Besides how much it will cost you, you need to ensure that the whole package best suits your current and future need. The following are some factors that you need to check before settling on any specific plan.

The first thing to do is understanding the types of dental plans available in the market today. This will help you to settle for a plan that will work best for you and your family. The main options you can choose from are indemnity plans, a preferred provider organization, a discount plan or a health maintenance organization plan.

The first thing you need to consider is the type of cover. Almost all plans break down dentistry procedures into preventive, basic and major classifications. When selecting a plan, make sure you understand how the service provider classifies certain procedures and how these procedures are covered by the plan. This will help you to know which plan would suit your needs and thus help you to avoid hefty dental bills in the future.

Another important thing you need to understand is the annual maximum amount. This represents the total amount of money the insurer will pay for your covered services for the entire year. If your expenses exceed your annual maximum, you will be expected to personally foot the difference. Since these amounts vary, it is prudent to compare rates of a number of service providers first.

Understanding the waiting periods associated with that particular cover is important too. Most, if not all covers have waiting periods on certain dental procedures. This is the number of months a member must be enrolled in the plan before certain procedures are covered. Typically, plans will have 6 months waiting periods for basic restorative procedures and a 12 month waiting period for major procedures such as dentures, crowns and bridges.

Most insurance plans do have a specific waiting period before they finance certain procedures. For example a specific plan may cover a certain simple procedure right away, but it may require you to wait a number of months before they can cover a major procedure. Before you settle for any plan, make sure you find out if there is a waiting period, and if so, check what type of procedures it applies to.

If you do not have an employer sponsored or a paid group cover, a discount plan would be an excellent alternative. However, there is one trade off for joining this plan. Discounted plans have a much smaller network as compared to major insurers, hence there is no guarantee that your dentist will be in this network.

The number one concern to many people while visiting the dentist today is the cost of treatment, hence the need of finding an affordable cover. The task of selecting a suitable cover can be challenging. To help you make an informed decision, ensure you conduct a research by considering factors such as waiting periods, cost and the annual maximum amount.




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