One may find many types of basic dental insurance plans which offer coverage ranging from basic dental care to a complete dental insurance—including all major procedures.
Actually, the basic dental care plans are not insurance plans but just enables a plan holder to avail a discounted dental care service from a specific dentist. The amount of discounts generally depends upon the monthly payments made by the policy holder. These plans are available at relatively lower rates.
Indemnity insurance plans are the plans that offer dental care coverage against a fixed amount from the plan holder. In this type of dental plan, the insurance company bears the fees of a dentist for offering services to the plan holder and the dentist is the direct receiver of reimbursements.
However, not all the costs are covered under these plans and the plan holders also have to pay some part of the total expenses. So it is better to know in advance what is the total amount that the insurance company will reimburse per year?
Direct reimbursement plans are another type of popular dental plans. In these plans a plan holder is able to reimburse the claims from his/her employer after making payments to the dentist for dental care services. The amount that an individual is able to claim for reimbursement depends upon the coverage offered by the employer.
Another type of dental plans is capitation dental insurance plan, in which dentists are paid a fee per patient on an annual basis instead of paying each time. In certain cases, plan holders have to bear a portion of the total cost of treatment.
With a preferred provider organizations dental insurance plan, an individual is able to visit a dentist who is a part of a preferred supplier list for a discounted fee. And, if a plan holder wants to visit his/her favorite dentist, he/she still can get some discount.