Dental Insurance Plan Topics    Do you have an estimate from your dentist and want to know how to save on it?   What is the difference between HMO and PPO dental plans?   Why you need Dental Insurance?   by C.Gowri   What does Dental Discount Plan mean?    by Gowri C  Dental Coverage FAQ (ask your questions) Do you have an estimate from your dentist and want to know how to save on it   If you have a treatment plan estimate and you are wondering how you can get the same treatment done for less you have come to the right place. Your answer is in "Dental Discount Plans". Such plans are designed exactly for you. The way they work is that you pay a very small annual fee (as low as $79-100) and you are usually eligible for coverage immediately. There is no annual maximum or waiting period. Many dentist accept these plans. For a complete list of dentists and to compare and purchase the right plan for you, click on the link below. Back to the top What is the difference between HMO and PPO dental plans? If your employer offers dental benefit or if you are shopping for it yourself you often come across two terms: 1. Dental HMO plans (DMO) 2. Dental PPO plans To be able to make a correct decision you should know the difference between the two, and I don't mean the coverage difference that is usually presented by the insurance companies. What I mean is the real difference. You should know how they pay the doctors and which plans the doctors favor. Why? Because eventually it is the dentist that will provide the service to you and not the insurance company. So, no matter what the insurance company claims their doctors have to do, your dentist will treat you as he or she sees fit. To look at the issue from the perspective of a dentist, let's see how they differ in terms of payments to the doctors. 1. The PPO plans PPO plans, also called preferred provider plans, pay doctors based on the procedures they perform. In other words, for each approved treatment or service performed by your dentist the insurance company sends him a payment (assuming other limitations don't apply). When you are talking about this kind of coverage, it means the more your doctor does the more he is paid. Of course there are checks and balances in place to make sure the doctors overall performance is acceptable. 2. HMO plans When it comes to a general dentist, usually the way the insurance companies pay is called capitation payment. Which means they sign a contract with a doctor for a certain number of people (let's say 500 people). Then they pay doctors a monthly payment for each patient (Something around 1-6 dollars per person). Then in return they expect the dentists to perform certain procedures for free and some others at a discounted rate. When you think about it, you realize practically they reward doctors who do less! As far as the dentists are concerned if they are performing a "covered benefit" they are losing money! The only time they make money is when they perform a procedure that is not covered by insurance. Getting more familiar with the system, you now realize why some dental offices act strongly when you call them for appointments having an HMO plan. The fact is that insurance companies (being a large monopoly dealing with a non-union crowd) have pressured many doctors (both in medicine and dentistry) to sing up with HMO plans. That has resulted in lowering of the quality of service across the country. Next time you are thinking about selecting an insurance plan keep in mind the way they reimburse the doctors. You should not make your decision only based on the list of co-pays they give you. You may end up paying much more for a lower quality of service in the long run. Back to the top Why you need Dental Insurance?   by C.Gowri The most important reason why you need dental insurance is that dental diseases are quite common but very expensive to treat. Almost every member of the family needs to visit a dentist at least once a year and sometimes more. Routine check-ups every year. Tooth ache, under-bite, overbite, wisdom tooth extraction, root canal procedure, the list is endless. You need to be prepared to pay for these costs. But having a family dental insurance will protect you and your family by covering the costs of your dental care for most of the procedures. It's an essential safeguard for your family's dental health.   Preventive care, including regular checkups and cleanings, is very important to maintain good dental health. With regular visits to the dentist, problems can be diagnosed early and treated without extensive testing or elaborate and expensive procedures. That is why dental care costs are much lower when compared to medical care. A good dental insurance cover is an ideal safety net to help you keep your medical costs under control. So, invest wisely and choose dental plan that meets your and your family needs. A variety of online dental insurance plans are now available and are quite simple to buy too. About the author Gowri, Webmaster, Internet Marketer and Home Maker runs the successful Website A1 Dental Insurance Back to the top What does Dental Discount Plan mean? Dental Discount Plan are not dental insurance but the discounted fee structure helps you and your family to undergo the expensive treatment involved in managing dental problems like braces, crown and brigde work, gum problems and bad breath. By reducing the fees you will pay for each of these procedures you save a chunk of money that you would otherwise paid your dentist. Only restriction is you will getting your treatment only from the dentists contracted with your discount dental plan provider. Many dental disorders can be prevented from occurring and discount dental plans that provide preventable care are preferable. Major dental problems can be prevented but when they do occur, Dental Discount Plans will help tide over your financial burden. Most Dental Discount Plan programs are focused on preventive care so your the cost of treatment costs are low. Make it a point to visit your dentist regularly, have routine checkups, get dental cleaning done and preventive treatment that your dentist provides which is covered by most Dental Discount Plan   About the Author Gowri, Webmaster, Internet Marketer, Home Maker runs the successful A1 Dental Insurance website.   Back to the top   Do you have an estimate from your dentist and want to know how to save on it?   What is the difference between HMO and PPO dental plans?   Why you need Dental Insurance?   by C.Gowri   What does Dental Discount Plan mean?    by Gowri C