Dental Insurance and Information

Dental insurance is definitely something that is worth having for yourself or your family. With that being said, you also want to be informed about the type of dental insurance you have. There are many different types of plans and companies offering competitive rates and benefits. Most dental insurance will stem from an employer benefit and you may not have the choice of what kind of insurance. Still, it is important to know your plan and coverage.

There are HMO plans, PPO plans and even Executive plans. With an HMO dental plan, you are required to go to an HMO provider. By doing this, you reap the benefits of dental visits, examinations, x-rays and cleanings being paid at 100%. With a PPO plan, you are allowed to choose your own dentist to visit. If they take your PPO plan you will be responsible for a percentage of fees on certain dental procedures. Normally the insurance company will pay 80% while you are responsible for 20%. Executive plans are usually a special type of plan that picks up any bill that is left over after the actual insurance company pays out. Meaning money does not come out of pocket for anything.

Now with dental insurance you will need to actually ask about orthodontic coverage. Not all insurance plans automatically have orthodontics on their dental plan. Some people assume that orthodontics is dental, so it must already be included. This is false. Orthodontics is a specialty. You will want to clarify not only if your plan has it, but, if it is for your dependents only, the whole family, or just you the subscriber.