Dental Plans

The major differences between dental insurance plans:

• The choice of dentist
• your out-of-pocket costs
• how dental treatments are paid 

Most types of insurance, like a dental PPO, DPO, DHMO or prepaid plan, rely on a network of dentists. These participating dentists agree to perform services for patients at pre-determined rates and usually will submit claims for you. You’ll usually pay less when you visit a network dentist.

Most (but not all) traditional indemnity or fee-for-service insurance products do not provide a network feature, so you may have to pay for services up front, file your own claims, and wait for the insurance carrier to reimburse you. However, there are advantages such as having the freedom to visit the dentist of your choice.