How to Choose a Dental Insurance Plan

PPO Plans

The second main type of plan is a PPO or Preferred Provider Organization. Many patients mistakenly believe that they must go to an in-network dentist (“Preferred Provider”), even with a PPO plan. In fact, most of our patients choose our office despite our being out-of-network with their plan, due to the care we take to treat each patient as an individual, from taking the time to thoroughly explain treatments and diagnoses, to ensuring the comfort and safety of our patients during and after their visits.

While we are out-of-network with most plans, we are happy to file your PPO insurance for you as a courtesy. We actually advise you on how to get the most out of your benefits! The best PPO plans provide comparable coverage regardless of whether you visit an in or out of network dentist, truly giving you freedom of choice. If your employer offers you the option to purchase such a plan at a discount, it may end up being a good value, since group plans have fewer waiting periods and other restrictions than individually purchased plans.

Unfortunately, some PPO plans provide a very low amount of coverage. This is typical of individually purchased plans. Even well known insurance companies with large networks are now offering cheap plans directly to patients. However, these plans can be very misleading, since they are often on a lower tier than the “regular” plans, and therefore offer far less coverage!

I see this as a “bait-and-switch” tactic, since I have encountered patients who have purchased these plans, thinking their dentist is in-network with their insurance company, without realizing that the same company operates multiple networks, some far worse than others, with almost no participating dentists in the area. Even worse is the fact that these plans often have a very long waiting period before they cover major dental services.

If this has been a confusing read, you’re not alone. I myself am blown away each time I discover a new way that dental insurance companies mislead and swindle patients, whether by selling them useless plans, or denying coverage based on complicated rules and restrictions.

Alternatives to Dental Insurance

For the reasons outlined above, I do not recommend buying dental insurance unless your employer offers you a PPO plan at a discount. Even then, keep in mind that you may still have out-of-pocket expenses when going to the dentist, as most dental insurance is more of a benefit coupon than true insurance.

I have never been comfortable with the tactics dental insurance companies use to deny coverage, or the “games” participating dentists are forced to play in order to abide by network contracts. It has not been easy, but I am proud to put transparency and fairness first by avoiding unfair discounts dictated by insurance networks. This has allowed Wave Dental to pass much greater savings directly to patients with our in-office membership plan! Click here to find out how our plan is a better deal than insurance.

As always, thank you for reading and feel free to email me with any questions.