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Dental Insurance Explained:

How does dental insurance coverage work?

Dental insurance is very similar to a regular health insurance plan. There are monthly premiums, deductibles and you may have to provide a co-pay for your visit. Many dental insurance policies offer co-insurance, where you may be required to pay 10 to 30% for certain procedures that are not fully covered.

There are two main types of dental insurance: Indemnity, which will require you to provide payment for services at the time of your visit or Managed Care Plans, which are usually cheaper and do not require an upfront payment for services.

You will need to weigh the two main types of insurance to decide which one will work best for your particular situation. If you cannot afford to pay upfront costs, a managed care plan will provide you with the solution you need. If you are looking for more freedom in a network, and you don't mind paying up front for your services, than an Indemnity plan would suit your needs well.

These plans are also referred to as managed care plans, as mentioned above. They provide lower costs and less out-of-pocket expense after visits to your dentist. These plans are very similar to Health PPO Insurance plans.

This type of plan usually will have a deductible, but allows you the freedom to select the dentist of your choice, regardless of any networks. This type of insurance will normally require an upfront fee after dental visits, which will be reimbursed once you have submitted your claim.

Absolutely. The vast majority of dental insurance providers allow policies for children only. However, you may need to purchase separate policies if you have more than one child.

An in-network dentist is a dentist that has agreed to contract with your health insurance company to provide services at a set rate. This type of dentist visit will normally not require an upfront fee if you have a dental PPO or managed care plan.

When you have a PPO or managed care plan, you will receive a list of dentists that have contracted with your insurance company. If a dentist is not on that list, that means that they are out-of-network and your visits may not be covered, depending on your insurance company?

Dental insurance offers actual coverage for certain procedures over a set period of time. A dental discount plan does not offer insurance coverage, but will offer you a reduced rate for services with dentists that participate in the discount plan program.