Dental Insurance Plans

Dental plans - Choosing a Dentist.

Is your dental plan an open or a closed panel plan?

Do you get to choose your dentist under your dental plan? Or are you
constrained to go a dentist chosen by your dental insurance company?

A good dentist is vital for you and your family's dental health. If you are
not comfortable with your dentist and your dental insurance company does not allow you to change your dentist then it may be time to look for another dental insurance. But before you make that decision read on.

Dental plans have different options for choosing a dentist.
Some dental plans allow you the freedom to choose your own dentist while others limit your choice for lower rates.

These two alternatives are called the open and closed panel dental plans.

Open Panel. This type of an American dental plan allows patients to go to a dentist of their choice. Similarly any dentist has the choice to accept or refuse to treat patients enrolled in this type dental insurance plan. Open panel plans often are described as freedom of choice plans.

Closed Panel. This type of American dental plan allows patients to choose only from a limited number of dentists who have contracted with the dental insurance company. The third party contracts with a certain percentage of dentists within a particular geographic area.

Closed panel plans are again of two types:

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) - The participating dentist provides service at less than his usual fee to the patients covered by this type of American dental plan. If the patient chooses to see a dentist who is not designated as a "preferred provider," then he may have to pay more.

Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) - Some patients can see a group of dentists under this American dental plan. There may be some exceptions for emergency and out-of-area care. But if a patient decides to see a dentist who is not listed on the EPO panel, the payment will not be covered by the dental plan. An EPO contracts with a limited number of practitioners and access to necessary specialized care may be restricted. The EPO may also limit the amount of services that a patient can receive in a given calendar year.

If you prefer going to your trusted dental care provider then choose a open panel plan, but read the fine print to see that emergency and routines tests are covered, else you may be left with large bills that your dental insurance company is not willing to foot. Strike a balance, a better option might be to choose a plan that has a large number of participating dentists from whom you can choose one.

For example DentalPlans.com has over 100,000+ participating dentists under its dental insurance plans. So, you enjoy a wider choice of dentists but at a lower premiums.

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