Maintaining one's oral health is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Many people are ready to make the commitment to improve their oral health, but have a difficult time choosing between dental insurance and discount dental plans. Our goal at DentalPlans.com is to improve oral health nationwide by making quality dental care affordable and accessible to everyone. With that in mind, let's consider how the differences between dental insurance and discount dental plans can affect you. Dental insurance policies are typically characterized by monthly premiums, deductibles and annual maximums. Alternatively, discount dental plans are designed to be as accessible as possible, so they do not share any of these characteristics associated with dental insurance.

Monthly premiums for typical dental insurance policies may be as much as $30 per month for individuals and more than $100 per month for family plans. Instead, the discount dental plans provided by DentalPlans.com are much less expensive and can be paid annually. Discount dental plans start at only $79.95 a year per individual and only $129.95 a year per family. Plus, discount dental plan members receive 3 additional months for free when they join on DentalPlans.com. So discount dental plan members enjoy discounts on dental care for 15 months for the price of 12 months! That averages out to less than $6 a month per individual and less than $9 a month per family for the most cost-effective plans!

Usually, insured individuals must meet their deductible before their dental insurance companies begin to cover their dental care, so the cost of deductibles should be considered when calculating the overall costs associated with dental insurance. Annual deductibles can vary from $25 to $50 per covered individual, depending on the dental insurance policy. On the other hand, discount dental plans do not have deductibles. Instead, discount dental plan members pay an annual membership fee, allowing them to pay discounted rates at participating dental providers at the time services are rendered.

The majority of dental insurance plans cap the amount of reimbursement to an annual maximum that is usually $1,000 to $1,500 per year. The insured individual is responsible for any costs incurred after that. Discount dental plans do not have annual limits. Plan members can use their discount dental plans as often as they'd like. There is no limit to the amount of money members can save by using their discount dental plans!

Individuals with dental insurance policies often complain about the time-consuming bureaucracy they are forced to face, including written claims procedures, exclusions on pre-existing conditions, and waiting periods for major procedures. Alternatively, the easy-to-use discount dental plans found on DentalPlans.com are designed to save members time and money.

Most dental insurance policies require their members to go through a tedious written claims process every time they use the service. There are no tedious paperwork hassles with discount dental plans; discount dental plan members simply present their plan membership card to participating providers at the time of service to receive discounts on most dental procedures.

Dental insurance plans will frequently refuse to cover certain procedures or impose long waiting periods. For example, many dental insurance policies have exclusions on pre-existing conditions and may require a 6 to 18 month waiting period before paying for major dental treatment. Conversely, most discount dental plans are free of these limitations and activate within 3 business days, allowing plan members to join and start saving on their dental care as quickly as possible. Additionally, select discount dental plans offer significant savings on dental specialties, such as orthodontics and teeth whitening, while dental insurance policies very rarely cover these procedures.

The rising cost of insurance premiums makes dental insurance inaccessible to many individuals and families unless it's provided by their employers. The cost-effective discount dental plans offered by DentalPlans.com are an accessible alternative to costly dental insurance available directly to individuals, families, businesses and other groups. Discount dental plans are an easy, flexible way for businesses to save time and money on valuable dental care for their employees. Also, unlike many dental insurance plans, discount dental plans do not have a minimum participation policy for employees or their dependants. Despite the differences between traditional dental insurance and discount dental plans, they can even be used together in certain situations to maximize savings.

DentalPlans.com is devoted to helping America access quality dental care and save money in the process. In short, discount dental plans are an affordable and easy-to-use alternative to dental insurance, and offer plan members significant savings on most dental procedures. We proudly offer the freedom to choose from an extensive selection of discount dental plans designed to save members money on their dental care needs.