Smile and the world smiles with you. For that smile, however, one must maintain good oral hygiene and correct problems in a timely manner. A dental plan basically provides financial support for treating the various dental needs that pertain to preventive or treatment-based care.

Dental plans are most often sponsored by business organizations as part of the employee’s benefit scheme. Presently, consumers can choose from a wide variety of plans. Key issues that differentiate the plans include:

a) The third party involved in funding the option.

These include non-profit dental service corporations, profit-oriented insurance companies and self-funded insurers, which are companies that pay for their employee’s dental care.

b) Allowance for a dentist of your choice.

Open panel gives one freedom of choice regarding dentists, while a closed panel allots a dentist with a prior contract with the specific funding agency.

c) Type of service compensation to the dentist.

In indemnity plans, the funding agency covers a part of the cost incurred in the treatment, while the rest is borne by the patient. It requires the patients to start a variable dollar payment as premium to the agency for a certain time period before the agency meets with the expenses towards the dental care. The capitation plan also needs a premium from the patient, but the agency sponsors the treatment by referring the patient to a specific dentist. In certain cases, if the treatment option is not under the plan coverage or the preferred dentist is not part of the scheme, it requires the patient to contribute a partial payment towards the service charges. In the direct reimbursement plan, the patient pays the dentist directly, after which a fixed percentage of the payment is reimbursed by the employer.

d) Estimation of the benefit options to decide on the best purchase value of the various available dental plans.

Whatever the type of the plan, the best one always affords maximum coverage with regard to diagnostic, preventive and emergency care services.