How To Choose Individual Dental Insurance

The information on this website can help you learn more about dental insurance. Dental insurance is different from medical and other types of health insurance. While medical plans cover your doctor visits and prescriptions, dental plans only cover the cost of services performed by dentists. One way to save money is to cut back on unnecessary dentist visits, like trips for routine exams or teeth cleaning. On this site, you’ll find a list of questions to ask before choosing an individual dental plan as well as how much each type of plan costs depending on the services covered (such as cleanings or crowns).

What is dental insurance?

Dental insurance covers expensive procedures performed by dentists, including cleanings, fillings, extractions, and crowns. Dental insurance is very expensive – each year you may have to pay thousands of dollars for dental services. But it’s also important to get regular checkups at the dentist because preventive care can save you more money than emergency services. Dental plans cover visits to your dentist, too – such as a checkup and cleaning – but only if they’re part of the overall service plan. For these types of services, there are different policies that will cover different things.

Why do I need dental insurance?

You may need dental insurance if you're having a lot of problems with your teeth, like someone told you that they think you have a genetic disease. Or maybe you just want to avoid paying thousands of dollars for emergency visits when there’s no health problem. Dental insurance is also important if your family plans on having children and going to the dentist for checkups. In this case, it’s not only very expensive to pay for services for one person, it’s also hard to save money on dental work since the entire family will be covered by the plan.

What is an individual dental insurance plan?

To understand dental insurance plans, there's an important point about who buys the coverage. Dental insurance plans are sold to individuals and families. The individual is either the person paying the fee or someone who has a fixed amount that they have to pay each year. The family is people related by blood or marriage, who can be covered with one policy. This means that parents and children, spouses or even grandparents can each get a different plan but they’ll all share in the cost of any treatments covered.

What is a total dental insurance plan?

When you get a total dental insurance plan, you pay one annual fee and are covered for all services provided by the dentist. If you do need to go to the dentist more often, your costs will be much lower and you can save money on care. But there’s a big difference between an individual dental insurance plan and these plans that cover the entire family for all services at once. The family of four might be able to get lower coverage rates since they can have more than one plan or multiple policies.

What happens if I don't have coverage?

Dental problems are very common – about 45% of people visit the dentist every year . Uninsured people who can’t afford care may not go to the dentist at all. If you don’t have coverage, you might have to wait a long time for treatment. Periodontal diseases, also known as gum disease or bad breath, are very common with adults. It’s estimated that about half of all adults over the age of 18 have some form of periodontal disease . In general, it's estimated that about 20% of people have moderate to severe gum disease . Untreated gum problems start out as red or swollen gums, but can lead to bleeding, teeth that require root canal therapy and tooth loss if not treated. Having a dentist regularly check your gums and clean your teeth is important to keep gum disease from getting worse. Without insurance, you may have to wait weeks or months for an appointment.

What are individual dental plans?

An individual dental plan is designed for you as an individual. This means that you're the one paying for the coverage. You can pay directly to a dentist or use an agent that sells dental insurance plans on behalf of the insurance company. You’ll need to pick an insurance company and then find a specialist who works with this plan to get services covered by it. You'll be able to get these services at any office that works with this carrier, including emergency care if necessary . With an individual plan, you'll be covered for all dental services, not just some. You won't be able to choose your dentist since the plan will pay only for services performed by a dentist who works under the contract with the insurance company.

What is a family dental plan?

A family dental policy looks much like an individual one, except that a family can have many members covered under one policy. So if you want to add on kids or other relatives to your family plan, this is an option. Families usually pay less each year than individuals because of economies of scale – it's more efficient to share costs across several people . One way to save money on dental insurance plans is to add people to your plan.

If you’re interested in a family dental plan, you’ll want to choose a company that provides those plans. You can also buy these policies directly from the insurance company instead of an agent. This can save you money, because you don't have to pay an agent's commission .

Once you've chosen your individual or family dental plan, there are only minor differences between them. Both cover emergency services as well as routine care for teeth, gums and other oral health problems. For the most part, they both include the same services – teeth cleaning and extractions are among those required by all plans in both types of coverage . So if you have a choice, you'll probably want to pick the one that offers the most comprehensive benefits and is the cheapest.

Do I need dental insurance?

It depends on your situation. If your income is above average or if you've been diagnosed with periodontal disease or other chronic diseases, it's important to consider getting dental insurance. Also, if there's no dentist in your town and you can’t afford to go out of town for care, having a policy can be very helpful . But even if neither of these conditions apply to you, getting a plan for preventive care should help save money in the long run.

Conclusion

If you're curious about dental insurance , start by contacting your dentist. As long as he or she works with a dental insurance plan you can choose from, you may be able to get an individual policy. If not, look for a dentist who offers a family plan that covers all the members of your family or just one member. Ideally, you should choose the dentist who'll be providing care directly for you. This will make sure that everything is paid for by the right insurance company and also make it easier to pay bills because all procedures are being covered under one policy.