Important Buying Points for a Discount Dental Plan

Published Jan 05 2010

When looking for a dental plan, there are many different factors to include in your decision-making process. You may not even know about some of them until months into owning a policy, and then it comes back to bite you. I aim to inform you about all the different aspects of the dental plan purchasing process, so you do not end up with any bite marks of your own.

The first characteristic of a good policy is that it does not have any waiting periods. Many times you can use a dental plan for cleanings and oral exams. However, if at one of those dental exams you discover that you need a root canal, for example, you may have to wait about 6 months for coverage to kick in! When you are choosing your dental plan, make sure that you ask the consultant if their policy is completely effective immediately. Otherwise you could end up in a tough situation.

Secondly, check for a preexisting condition clause. This seems do defeat the purpose of a dental plan because usually no one thinks to purchase a dental plan until they have a nice toothache reminding them to do so. Either purchase your dental plan when you have no problems in your mouth, or double check and make sure your policy does not have a preexisting condition clause.

The absence of annual maximums is the next point to look for in your policy. Usually plans that include an annual cap max out around $1200 a year. A single root canal with a crown usually runs around $2000. Obviously you don't want to have to come up with an extra $800 just because your policy ran out on you. If you have four people on a policy, and one person gets a root canal while another needs fillings, you could really be in trouble. Don't worry though, there are plenty of dental plans that have no annual maximums.

Lastly, find the policies with the cheapest fees! Many times a dentist will recommend a plan to a patient simply because it is the one she works with that doesn't lose her as much money. Remember, most dental plans actually reduce the amount of profit the office makes per procedure. However, if the office is looking for more business, then lowering their rates for discount plan holders is actually a benefit for them. Do your research, compare the fee schedules and find the policy that is the most beneficial to your wallet. Then, find a good dentist that accepts it. If you may have an attachment to a particular dentist, that is okay, just compare the losses and benefits of switching. It can literally mean saving thousands of dollars!

In conclusion, when choosing your dental plan, find the plan with no waiting periods, no preexisting condition clauses, no annual maximums, and get the one that saves you the most money! There are a lot of numbers to look at, but if you really put in the time to find a good plan, you will thank yourself later.

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Dental Plan