Dental insurance helps to protect you from unexpected dental expenses. It also makes it affordable to keep up the regular checkups, cleanings and other preventive treatments you need to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

 

Different plan designs offer various levels of coverage and different choices in which dentists you can visit.

 

The major differences between dental insurance plans:

Most types of insurance, like a dental PPO, DPO, DHMO or prepaid plan, rely on a network of dentists. These participating dentists agree to perform services for patients at pre-determined rates and usually will submit claims for you. You'll usually pay less when you visit an in-network dentist.

 

Most (but not all) traditional indemnity or fee-for-service insurance products do not provide a network feature, so you may have to pay for services up front, file your own claims, and wait for the insurance carrier to reimburse you. However, there are advantages such as having the freedom to visit the dentist of your choice.