Dental Insurance for Individuals - Indemnity or Discounts?

Low-cost dental insurance for people who do not have it from an employer is often difficult to find but well worth the search. Indemnity insurance allows one to use any licensed dentist while discount plans restrict plan holders to specific dentists. The problem then is deciding which individual dental plan purchase is best for you.

Naturally people will find a wide variety of pricing for the various plans. Unlike a bottle of ketchup which is catsup which is still just plain old catsup no matter what brand you buy, prices for individuals seeking dental insurance will vary primarily because the benefits vary significantly from insurance policy to policy. All varieties of catsup are pretty much the same thing but this is hardly true of dental insurance plans designed for individual purchase.

While the wide range of benefits and waiting periods can make it difficult to compare prices easily for dental insurance that very same variety of insurance provisions can help you find precisely the dental policy that you are looking for. You will want to compare deductibles and look for a dental insurance plan that will have a significantly lower deductible for preventive services. This can be a good indicator of a policy that is slanted a little bit more toward the consumer than plans that discourage people from obtaining preventive dentistry.

On the other hand, some varieties of discount dental plans provide full benefits to the individual almost immediately. The restriction is that you may have to go to specific dentists that participate in the program but sometimes the advantage of having immediate full coverage makes it desirable to work within these restrictions. All dentists in these plans are licensed and monitored by the appropriate board of dentistry and are competent to perform the work that you need.

For most people, the advantage of a lower priced discount dental plan is completely negated by the fact that their dentist does not participate individually in any discount plans. For people who have a trusting relationship with their dentist there is simply no substitute for a good indemnity dental insurance plan that allows them to continue receiving treatment from their favorite dentist.