As access to healthcare continues to change, dental benefits through insurance companies have remained stagnant for over 40 years. That’s why many Americans are starting to familiarize themselves with alternatives to traditional dental insurance and invest in savings options like dental discount plans.
What is a Discount Dental Plan?
Unlike your traditional insurance policy, a discount dental plan is a membership that you buy into and that’s accepted by dentists who have partnerships with the plan. Regardless of where you live or are traveling, you can bring your membership card into any participating dental practice and get a discount on your treatment. There are no disclaimers or lengthy paragraphs full of small print to consider. As a result, you get more bang for your buck!
Savings on Dental Treatment All Year Long
With a conventional dental insurance plan, you’re only allowed a certain dollar amount of benefits each year. Once you hit that maximum allowable, the rest of the treatment is on your own dime until the clock resets each year. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve paid into your plan or how much treatment you need, once you hit the cap, that’s it.
Fortunately, with a discount dental plan there aren’t any maximum allowable involved or time frames to consider. You get access to discounts every time you schedule an appointment — regardless of when it is — or what it is for. You can schedule four implants and never have to worry about your insurance policy saying they’ll only help pay for one.
No Claims to File: The Savings are Instant.
Using your dental discount plan entitles you to immediate savings. Dentists love them, because there aren’t any forms that have to be filled out and submitted to the insurance company. Just take your membership card to any dentist who accepts your dental discount plan and get immediate access to great benefits. Save as much or as little as you need to.
Plus, you know exactly what your discount plan covers. You’ll never have to worry about getting a statement in the mail a month after your dental appointment for an amount that you never expected. Everything is easy to understand right from the start, so that you can book your treatment as soon as you’re ready.
To make it more convenient, most dentists will accommodate month-to-month payment plans upon request, in combination to accepting discount dental plans. That way there’s as little impact on your budget as possible.
There Aren’t Any Waiting Periods
When you sign up for a new dental insurance plan, there are typically restrictions as to when you can start on your dental work. Some plans can make you wait six months before they’ll cover a portion (usually around 50%) of your crown. By that point, you might need the tooth pulled and have to talk about getting a dental implant; you might as well have to pay for all of the treatment out of pocket without insurance at all!
With a dental discount plan, you can take advantage of the savings just a few days after you sign up as a member. Even if you need to schedule a lengthy procedure for the next week, you won’t be required to get preapproval or check the calendar to make sure your insurance says it’s ok first. Getting dental care sooner can help you avoid tooth loss and more expensive treatments later!
Change Your Plan at Any Time
After your most recent dental checkup, you and your dentist might have decided that you need to have your teeth cleaned every three to four months, as opposed to every six. Or, you may decide that you need to start preparing for full mouth rehabilitation if you have extensive dental work that’s starting to wear out. As such, you can talk to your discount dental plan advisor and they can adjust your membership as necessary. Different tiers of membership are available at different monthly rates, and entitle you to as few or as many discounts as your personal smile needs!
It doesn’t cost anything to get a quote for enrolling yourself or your family in a dental discount plan…but it can cost you not to ask! Ask one of our savings specialists today about whether or not a dental savings plan is right for you.