What Does Dental Insurance Mean?
Dental insurance is an insurance policy that pays a portion of the policyholder’s dental care costs, including preventative services, various procedures, and treatment of dental disease. Various plans are available and often fall into one of three categories like health insurance: indemnity, preferred provider organization (PPO) and dental health managed organizations (DHMO).
Insuranceopedia Explains Dental Insurance
An indemnity plan allows the insurer to see any dentist and cover a portion of the fees, but these policies tend to have longer waiting periods, lower annual limits, and higher deductibles. It may be a good option for those who want to stay with a dentist not part of a dental network. Second, a PPO offers a reduced fee for dental services from in-network dentists while still allowing the insured to see out-of-network dentists, but at a higher cost. Finally, an HMO restricts the insured to a network of dentists but typically provides free preventative and routine care and a lower average monthly cost.