Dental Insurance FAQ

Although there is no one "best" dental insurance plan, some plans may work better for you and your family than others. A quick way to determine the right plan is to ask your self, "do I need immediate work done or will I use the plan for preventive services." If you need immediate work done then you want to enroll in HMO dental coverage. There are less waiting periods and there typically isn’t a benefit maximum. PPO dental plans should be used mainly for preventive type services with an occasional major service (filling, crown or oral extraction.)

Plans differ primarily in how much you'll have to pay monthly and how much you'll have to pay when dental services are rendered. Some plans will require that you pay a certain co-payment for services, or meet a specific deductible before the dental insurance company begins payment. Other plans may limit coverage to a specific dollar-amount maximum per year.

PPO stands for Preferred Provider Organization. PPO is used to designate a type of California dental insurance plan for which insurance carriers have negotiated discounted rates with providers. Those who are covered by these plans must use the professionals that are part of the network in order to get full benefits. PPO is considered beneficial for everyone. Professionals essentially get referrals from plan carriers, giving them more business. In turn, they offer special discount rates to California dental insurance companies and insurance holders. This means that insurance holders pay less and insurance companies have to pay less money out on claims.

A PPO dental plan is dental coverage that is part of a network California dental insurance system. Dentists sign up for the PPO network hoping to get more patients to treat. In acknowledgment of the referrals an insurance company provides, the dentists offer lower rates for the clients of a particular dental insurance carrier. The result is lower fees for patients. Patients, however, often have to choose from a network of specific dentists or face higher fees or decreased benefits.

HMO dental coverage stands for Health Maintenance Organization dental insurance. This type of dental insurance requires some type of prepayment from you. In exchange, you get dental care from a network of dental care providers. If you want to use a dentist outside the approved network, you must pay your entire dentist's bill. This type of insurance is also known as capitation dental insurance plan.

With HMO dental coverage, dentists in a network have to provide dental care to members of the dental insurance plan they are part of. No eligible patient can be turned away. Dentists that are part of the network are paid once a month by the dental insurance carrier. Usually, this payment is a fixed monthly sum per person.