Starting in the late 90s, both large and small employers have a dental benefits option that's usually more affordable than traditional indemnity-based dental insurance plans. Known as "discount dental plans", this type of coverage provides deep discounts (usually 30% to 35%) on virtually all dental procedures, even those that are rarely -if ever- covered by insurance such as cosmetic related work. Discount plans have many advantages over traditional insurance to employers including no annual maximums, deductibles, waiting periods or pre-existing condition exclusions for employees. Perhaps best of all, these discount-plans can be purchased for all employees with a payroll deduction option, so it can be offered as either a part of the total benefits package or on a voluntary, opt in basis. There are no minimum participation requirements and the list of local dental providers are usually comparable to those of most dental insurance plans.