Dental Benefits: Savings to Smile About

The costs of dental work can be enough to scare anyone away from the dentist. There are several options available to you that can help reduce or cut your dental costs completely.

Buying a dental plan from your insurance company is the safest bet if you have had extensive dental work in the past or think that you may need a lot of treatment in the future. When you purchase a dental plan you pay regular premiums, and in return your insurer will cover 100% of your preventative dental expenses after you meet your deductible. There will generally be annual spending caps on your dental plan.

Many Americans, especially those who are employed at large companies (companies with over 500 employers) already have a dental plan as part of their employee benefits. While most large companies have already sought out dental plans for their employees, most small businesses do not offer dental plans and thus, less than half of the American workforce have coverage. If the company you work for does not already offer dental insurance, it pays to ask for their help. Insurance companies look for ways to facilitate employers in providing dental plans. Some insurance companies help employers establish voluntary dental coverage, where the employer is merely a channel for employees to receive insurance at group rates.

Lately, employers have found that direct reimbursement plans are a more cost-effective way to offer dental insurance to employees than purchasing policies from an insurance agency. The employees pay their dental bills in full and then submit the costs to their employer, who can then reimburse the patient for a percentage of the fee from their own funds. This allows the employees to choose whatever dentist they are most comfortable with, and allows both the employee and the employer to avoid monthly premiums. Employers can manage their own expenses through annual benefit caps.

But if you rarely have dentistry issues, buying a dental policy may not be the most cost-effective solution. Dental benefit programs, however, can help keep your costs low. Benefit programs are not the same as purchasing an insurance plan. Rather, benefit programs offer to cover a certain percentage of your bill (covering routine check-ups, cleanings, filling cavities, even braces) in exchange for regular membership fees. If you have a dental discount plan, you must go to a dentist who participates in the same program.

Most dental benefit programs require an initial enrollment fee and then regular monthly fees from thereon. One major plus of dental benefit programs is that their fees are generally less than payments on a dental insurance policy. Another benefit is that these programs often offer discounts for cosmetic procedures ignored by insurance plans.

It is important, when opting in favor of a dental benefit program, to remember that these programs are not insurance plans and therefor not regulated by state or federal insurance departments. It is up to you to make sure that you cover your bases. Always make sure that the program is licensed to work in the state in which you live. Ask if the program is registered with the Better Business Bureau, and gather all the information about where the program is located (an illegitimate program will be reluctant to give you an address). Do not pay a membership fee without verifying the legitimacy of the program… it helps to ask for web site information or mailed marketing materials. Ask if their plan is associated or endorsed by any other nation organization, and get a list of dentists who accept their plan to make sure that it is appropriate for your needs.

If you have children who are part of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), it is possible that they already qualify for dental benefits. While the Children's Health Insurance Program is not required to give you benefits, in certain states these discounts are offered.

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©2004 The Lawrence Marketing Group

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