Dental Insurance, also called a Dental Plan, is any financial service offered by
an organization to cover the cost of dentist appointments and services. This coverage can be in whole or in part, the actual terms vary depending on the provider and the particular plan that the consumer chooses to take.
One major advantage of good dental insurance is that it greatly offsets the cost of any dental procedure you have to undergo. Medical expenses have the frightening tendency to shoot up in price concurrent to the complexity of the problem and the competence of the attending physician. Dental issues are no different. The worst dental emergencies are those we havent anticipated. Prices are even higher if you live in places with an elevated cost of living like New York or Las Vegas.
There are three main types of dental insurance available to consumers. These are divided according to the types of financial coverage they provide.
Dental Health Maintenance Organization
A Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO) plan uses a per-capita system to pay dentists. This means that payment will be according to the number of patients serviced instead of the actual procedures done, regardless of the comparative difficulty or complexity of these same procedures. For example, a dentist in Las Vegas with DMHO covered patients will get paid more to do routine cleaning on three people than to perform an intricate dental implant surgery on one guy.
Indemnity - Individual Dental Insurance
This is an insurance plan that is usually provided for by companies to their employees. The employer pays the service provider a monthly fee. Whenever the insured utilizes dental services, the insurance company reimburses the amount accrued even if it exceeds the monthly premium. One advantage of this type of plan is the freedom to choose any practitioner you want. For example, a guy in Nevada can go to any dentist in Las Vegas without fear of the cost.
Preferred Provider Organizations
A PPO (Preferred Provider Organizations) dental plan is similar to an Indemnity Dental Insurance (IDI) with one key difference. While an IDI allows you to visit any provider of services dental Las Vegas has to offer, PPO plans have an exclusive and limited array of dentists they cover. If the insured wishes to be reimbursed, he has to get treated at one of the accredited dentists in the PPOs list.