Whats the difference between a dental plan and a dental insurance ?

Dental insurance simply means you have a program where you get help paying for dental work. Usually, you pay premiums to have the program, but you may not have to pay anything, as it may be covered by your employer, or it may be that you are on someone else's insurance as a dependent.





A dental plan is the actual description of benefits that you get with your dental insurance, and it varies from company to company, or even inside of the same company. For instance, some dental plans pay for two cleanings each year, and you don't pay anything for those. Other plans have you pay a small fee for each cleaning. Some plans will charge you a set fee (called a co-pay), like $35, for each cavity you have filled in the calendar year. Other plans will pay on a percentage basis, with the plan paying 80% of all charges, and you paying the other 20%.





So, insurance is just that, insurance, where you have a program which helps cover dental expenses. The actual dental plan is the benefits you are allowed by your insurance company. Since they vary widely, you should probably find out just what is covered on your dental plan before you go to the dentist. You need to know what you will be paying so you can make informed decisions about your care.

Whats the difference between a dental plan and a dental insurance ?
Be sure though if you are looking at buying insurance that they mean INSURANCE and not PLAN; because in technical insurance terms they are 2 totally different things. Report It

Reply:Okay if you are asking what I think you are - you are asking about 2 different ways of going about paying for dental services.





Dental Insurance - You pay your work or a company monthly and they (this is an example only) pay for 2 cleanings a year, 80% of restorative, and 50% of major work with a yearly max they will pay (such as $1,000.)





Dental Plan - You pay work or a company (monthly or however its set up) and certain offices will accept it and they will give you a reduced rate on services as opposed to paying a percentage.





With these, it usually comes out that the dental insurance is better since it covers a high percent of work, but sometimes plans can be better too. Its up to what you figure! :)