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When shopping for a dental plan for yourself and your family it is important to recognize that with eight different plan types currently being offered by a number of different companies, dental is a buyer's market.  To help you select the plan that best fits your needs here is an overview of the eight types of dental plans available throughout the United States.  Once you have decided on the type of dental plan you would like you'll then be able to comparison shop the companies that offer those plans for the best rate. 

Dental Indemnity Insurance (Traditional or UCR) Plans:  Standard format is 100% coverage for preventive care then, after a deductible, 80% coverage for basic work and 50% coverage for major work.  Coverage is generally based on usual, customary and reasonable (UCR) charges and you are responsible for any excess balance.

            PRO:   go to any dentist

            CON:   these plans generally have the highest premiums

Dental Indemnity Insurance (Scheduled) Plans:  Lists a schedule of covered benefits with the amount the insurance company will pay for each procedure.  You are responsible for amounts over this.

            PRO:  go to any dentist for a lower premium than traditional

            CON:  potentially high out of pocket costs

Dental Regular PPO Plans:   Same format as traditional dental insurance but with lower premiums and a choice of in or out of network dentists.

            PRO:  no balance billing for in-network providers

            CON:  out of network coverage not as good, resulting in higher balance bills

Dental Preventive PPO Plans:  Similar to regular PPO but benefits limited to preventive care, usually covered at 100%, and in some cases a few basic procedures covered at 50% after a deductible.

            PRO:  low premiums for a plan providing 100% in network preventive coverage

            CON:  little or no coverage for procedures other than preventive and diagnostic

Dental Basic PPO Plans:  Similar to regular PPO but out of network dentists are paid at the network negotiated rates.

            PRO:  lower premiums with same in-network benefits as regular dental PPO

            CON:  high out of pocket costs for non-network providers

Dental Open Network HMO Plans:  Similar to a PPO but benefits can only be received from network dentists.

            PRO:  lower premiums than other PPO plans

            CON:  no out of network benefits

Dental HMO (DMO) Plans:  Network only plans with a schedule of benefits and subscriber copayments.

            PRO:   low premiums for a complete plan

            CON:   must select a primary care dentist from network

Dental Discount Plans:   Not an insurance product.  You pay a fee for access to a network and then pay that network’s negotiated rates directly to the dentist, making you a buyer of benefits instead of a buyer of insurance.  Study the fee schedule so you know what the plan will cover before you buy, and only buy a plan it it tells you exactly what you will pay for each procedure.  Avoid any plan that just gives you a range of discount percentages.

            PRO:   best value if you shop carefully

            CON:   necessary to change the way you look at dental plans