Preventive care, including regular checkups and cleanings, is critical to maintaining oral health. A good dental benefit plan is designed to ensure that you receive regular preventive care thereby avoiding more costly restorative treatment later. Emphasis on preventive measures and early diagnosis is the main reason for dentistry's effective cost control. Often employers offer more than one dental plan and it is important to understand your options. Plans may cover as little as 30 percent or as much as 100 percent of dental services, but most fall in the 50 to 80 percent range.
Some plans exclude certain procedures while others provide benefits for all dental services.
Direct reimbursement programs reimburse patients a percentage of the dollar amount spent on dental care, regardless of treatment category. This method typically does not exclude coverage based on the type of treatment needed and allows patient to go to the dentist of their choice. These traditional programs usually pay a set percentage of the dentist's fee or the plan administrator's fee limit, whichever is less. This plan allows patients to go to the dentist of their choice. Limits are the result of a contract between the plan purchaser and the third-party payer.