Dental Plans: The perfect alternative to dental insurance

by Wildsmile

Many times when we want to protect the health of our mouth and our family's, we are looking for alternatives to cover this need in an affordable way. Along the way we discover that there are several options such as Dental Plans and Dental Insurance. But what is the difference between both options, you may ask. In this article we will explain what each one of them consists of.

Dental Plans, the best option to take care of your dental health

If you want to receive free, discounted treatments with no waiting times or co-payments, Dental Plans are the best option for you. Just like Dental Insurance, for an annual or monthly payment, you will have access to multiple benefits and treatments such as: consultations, dental cleanings, tooth extraction, teeth whitening, x-rays, endodontics, orthodontics, dental prosthesis and implants, just to mention a few. One of the best benefits of having a dental plan, is for your economy, since many treatments are completely free or with very attractive discounts.

Benefits of having a Dental Plan

• - They have no limit of use. It depends on the company you contract your dental plan with, but most of them work this way.
• - They have no waiting period. You can use it immediately.
• - You can choose any dentist in the network.
• - Affordable prices and plenty of free treatments.
• - Payments are made directly to the clinic. No paperwork, no claims, no authorizations from insurance companies.
• - Many dental treatments offer a good price reduction, thus offering great savings to patients.

If you wish to know all the benefits of a Dental Plan, we suggest you read our previous entry: DENTAL PLAN: WHY DO YOU NEED ONE

What is a Dental Insurance?

It is the contracting of dental services from an insurance company, which consists of an annual payment, in order to obtain discounts or free dental treatments. Dental insurance is designed like any other insurance ( automobile, home, life ), it refunds the losses.

Most dental insurance has the following features:

• - Co-payment: is the amount of money you must pay each time you want to have dental treatment.
• - Previous authorizations: There are some treatments that will need the evaluation of a pecialist, so your insurance company will make a previous revision. This may result in your treatment not being covered by the policy. Approval times are not usually so fast.
• - Limited treatments: This may vary depending on the insurance company. Some dental procedures may have a maximum usage per year. For example, 3 resins. If you exceed that limit, you will have to pay for the entire treatment.
  
  

In conclusion, dental plans are made to always take care of dental health, encouraging people to have regular visits with their dentist at affordable prices. Dental insurance, on the other hand, is designed to be risk-based, which means that it will always cost the insurance company money for you to go to the dentist, so they won't want this to happen very often; consequently, the use of co-payment, limitations for some procedures and long authorisation periods for certain treatments.