Overall medical benefits gets more and more expensive each year.

This price increase has two key affects on dental:

1. Many companies are cutting back on or canceling their employees' dental benefits.

    

2. Those who don't have dental benefits either because they are unemployed, self-employed, or their job doesn't provide are having an even tougher time affording good dental care.

For either of the reasons above, the fact is that fewer and fewer people are getting the dental care that they need because it just is too expensive through pricey traditional dental insurance programs.

What's more is that even for those few who are fortunate enough to have some form of dental coverage, traditional insurance poses several undesirable challenges:

• Pre-existing conditions are not covered.
  So, if you get a toothache three weeks into the program the extraction or root canal may not be covered because they are "pre-existing" problems.
   
• Waiting Periods.
  This means that, yes, just like the insurance agent said, preventive procedures are covered. But, not until the policy has been in effect for six months. In a nutshell, waiting periods may keep you from getting the care that you need when you need it.
   
• Orthodontic benefits are not covered.
  "Oh, you wanted orthodontic benefits? That's only available at additional premium. You should have mentioned that before." Or, "Sure, you have orthodontic benefits. They're part of the phase-in benefits and you get them in the second year."

So What Are The Alternatives?

Well, in today's over-priced medical arena, your best bet for affordable care is with a discount dental plan---even if you already have traditional dental insurance.

What Makes Discount Dental Plans Any Different?

1. Dental Plans are not insurance, so they don't pay claims
   
   This is a very important point to understand. With dental insurance---or any insurance for that matter, the goal of the insurance company is to get their money from you up front so that when you actually use the plan and they have to pay, you've already paid for it many times over. This is the basic principle on which insurance companies make their money.

   Dental Plans, on the other hand, don't have to worry about getting money up front from you because they don't pay claims, they simply give you a great discount. They are able to negotiate these discounts because they have the power of thousands (sometimes even millions) of members. That is a LOT of buying power, and doctors and retail outlets are willing to give the members of these plans a good discount in turn for being referred to other members in the local area and prefer receiving payment at the time of the service.

   Because of this, dental plans can afford to charge a small, easily affordable membership fee as opposed to an expensive insurance premium.

    

2. Dental Plans offer many things that insurance does not

   Because they have little to no liability attached, dental plans are able to offer discounts for things like ongoing problems, cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, and specialists, which are where most people incur the bulk of their dental expenses.

   What's the use of paying a high insurance premium if you must pay the entire bill for $2,500.00 of specialist work or $5,000.00 worth of cosmetic orthodontics?

   Remember, dental plans don't pay claims so they aren't concerned with getting as much money out of you up front as possible. Their primary concern is getting more and more members so that they can negotiate better and better discounts and keep their membership price affordable.

    

3. While traditional insurance is often limited, dental plans are unlimited

   Once again, since they must get all of the money that they can get from you before having to pay a claim, traditional dental insurance generally has several limits that come with it:

   • Waiting periods
   • Annual limits
   • Number of people who can be covered on one plan

   None of the above are concerns to dental plans. They don't want your high premium payments, they just want lots of people paying their low, affordable membership fee.

   Because of this, you generally can get the care you need right away without having to deal with waiting periods. There is generally no annual limit. And finally, the best plans will allow you to have an unlimited number of people in your home included on their dental plan. It just gives you more incentive to join, AND its more people who they can say are members, which means they can continue to negotiate the best discounts for their membership.

    

4. What if I already have dental insurance through my job? How can i still benefit?

   Those who already have dental insurance from their job are actually in a fantastic position to benefit from the power of a discount dental plan.

   In many cases, discount dental plans may be used as a "wrap-around" benefit to cover up gaps in traditional insurance, such as:
    

   • Discounts for ongoing conditions
   • Discounts for dental care after the annual limit has been surpassed
   • Discounts for orthodontics and cosmetic dentistry
   • Discounts for specialist care
   • Discounts for immediate care during a waiting period

   In addition to their "wrap-around" qualities, discount dental plans may also be used to get additional savings in conjunction with traditional insurance.

   Group Dental Insurance + Discount Dental= A strategy for greater savings

   For your dental work you use only a provider participating in your dental program. When you go for your dental work you present your membership card from the dental program in order to receive the reduced costs, pay your bill, save your receipt and submit it to the insurance company for reimbursement and save twice. First from the dental program and then from your company provided dental insurance (depending on your policy).

Bringing it All Together

Are all discount dental plans created equal? Of course not. To find the best plan for you, it is suggested that you spend some time looking over several plans until you arrive at the one which bests suits the needs and budget of your household.

Membership with a good discount dental plan---whether with or without traditional insurance---can end up not only saving you thousands of dollars over time, but also providing you with the best possible dental care at the most affordable possible price.