When people want to find a solution to covering their dental care expenses, many of them normally think of dental insurance. After all, we have or can have insurance for almost anything else, such as medical insurance, car insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and many more. Therefore, people usually choose dental insurance and pay for a policy only to discover later on that this was not their best option, for several reasons.
First of all, your dental insurance is very likely not to cover any of the conditions you had prior to buying the policy. In other words, if an older dental problem is bothering you now, you’ll have to pay to get it fixed, although you have dental insurance. The waiting period before you can treat a pre-existing condition is somewhere around twelve months, but who can wait that long if the problem persists or gets worse? And not even after the waiting period is over can you be sure that your condition will no longer be considered ‘pre-existing’ and will be covered by your insurance. Moreover, the cost of dental insurance is rather high, the cheapest insurance possible being somewhere around $150, while some of the most expensive are around $ 600. You can imagine that the services covered vary according to the price of the dental insurance, so you shouldn’t expect too many coverings from a rather cheap insurance. Furthermore, cosmetic dentistry is not included in dental insurance; this is something you will have to pay for yourself.
Fortunately, all those who want to have access to affordable dental care can do so by joining dental plans. These are the far better option now, in light of what the dental insurance covers and how much it costs. The discount dental plans are not expensive to join, starting as low as $80 a year. If you want your whole family to join the discount dental plan, the price is even more convenient, beginning with about $ 130 a year.
But how do dental plans work? Well, you can join such a plan by paying a yearly fee and finding a dentist in your area who participates in a dental discount plan. It can be any dentist or dental specialist in the plan network, the choice is entirely up to you. Once you have joined a dental plan, there is no waiting period before you can have a dentist see you, there is no such thing as pre-existing condition (everything is treated) and there is no coverage limit.
What do dentals plans cover exactly? Pretty much everything, from preventative care and restorative care to periodontal, orthodontic and endodontic procedures, from oral surgery and infections to cosmetic dentistry. In other words, you can join a dental plan and visit a dentist the very next day for dental problems such as check-ups, cleanings, x-rays, root canals, caps, gum surgery, root planing, braces, retainers, bridges, dentures, veneers and teeth whitening.
All in all, if you are in need of immediate and decent dental care, at an affordable price, I suggest you weigh your options carefully and consider joining a dental plan, which comes with a lot more benefits and advantages.