Discounted Dental Plans - are These a Good Deal or a Scam?

That seems to be what the public really wants to know. After all, if discounted dental plans are such a "great"
deal, then what exactly is the purpose of dental insurance? Let's take a look at both of these dental plans
and see if we can make some sense of this mess.

Dental Insurance

Dental insurance was designed to provide dental protection for individuals, families and groups. The main
benefit of these plans was that you could see a dentist every six months and it would either be paid for
as part of the policy premium or you would pay a substantial discount. In many cases, you would have
to pay for the checkup and then your insurance company would reimburse you.

Insurance companies encouraged you to visit the dentist on a regular schedule because you could catch
things before they became a major problem that required more costly procedures. This isn't always the case
anymore.

Dental insurance does not pay as much as it used to for dental procedures. As a matter of fact, dental
insurance doesn't pay for pre-existing conditions at all. This means that if you have a broken tooth that must
be repaired and you buy a dental insurance policy looking to get it fixed, you can expect a big surprise when
you get to the dentist's office and they ask you if you would like to pay in cash or put the procedure on your
credit card.

In most cases, dental insurance has a twelve month waiting period before you can be seen for pre-existing
conditions. Also, you can still expect to pay for most of the visit out of pocket as the insurance policy will
only cover a percentage of procedure..

Dental insurance is also very expensive. Most policies can cost up to $100.00 per month for a family just
for the premiums. You'll still have a deductible to pay for each procedure and certain procedures may or may
not be covered. This mostly applies to things like braces, cosmetic dentistry and certain types of oral
surgery. Dental insurance today is not what it was when our parents were younger.

Discounted dental plans

These are exactly what they say they are, discounted dental plans, not insurance. These plans have their
good points and bad, just like dental insurance, however, the good really does outweigh the bad here as
long as you prepare yourself for each visit to the dentist.

This is how a discount plan works.

You join the plan for a small monthly fee, usually less than twenty dollars for a family, and you may then
see any dentist in their network. These are NOT "horse doctors" either. They are fully qualified dentists
that are just like any other dentist you've ever seen. As a matter of fact, your family dentist, if you have
one, may already be a member.

You're probably wondering why a dentist would want to be a part of the network huh? The reason is because
they get cash on the spot and don't have to wait on their payment for up to forty five days to be paid from an
insurance company. Also, membership has its benefits and these dentists, as a large group, can also save
money on different things that they need for their businesses such as equipment, ect. Large numbers means
buying power.

Most of these plans offer a discount for services performed at the time of the visit. Your savings can be anywhere
from 10-60%, depending on the plan. Your actual savings will depend on what part of the country that you live
in too. It seems to be less expensive in larger markets because of the competition between dentists. They can
afford to give lower prices because of the steady amount of patients that they receive.

The only drawback to the discounted dental plans is the fact that you must have cash to pay the discounted
fees at the time of your appointment. If you prepare in advance, so that you have the money set aside, then a
discounted dental plan may be an option for you.