Family Dental Insurance

Dental services are expensive, and therefore having a family dental insurance could provide substantial savings. For families, it is recommended they buy a family dental insurance, as it offers better value for money when compared to getting an individual dental plan for each family member. Family dental insurance covers all members of the family including children up to 18 years of age. It is possible for exceptions to be made to include older children who are financially dependent on their parents or who are full time students.

Most plans have a nationwide network of dental health professionals.
Some plans have restrictions on the number of treatments that can be done or caps on maximum charges. It is advisable for people who might require extensive dental work to choose a plan that has a wide coverage. Plans also have yearly and lifetime maximum coverage limits. Some complicated dental procedures like root canal surgery and crowns are usually not fully covered, with many insurers only willing to shoulder a proportion of the total expenses.

Most plans would cover for bi-annual teeth cleaning, X-ray and fluoride treatments. Some insurers require family plan holders to pay for half of the costs on major dental procedures. If your family has a history of good oral health you can negotiate with insurers for lower fees. There may also be some restrictions with setting dental appointments in family dental insurance plans.

One type of family dental insurance is the Dental HMO (Health Maintenance Organisation). With this type of insurance holders can choose from a list of participating dentists on the insurance plan provider's list. Normally, you are not allowed to see a dentist who is not accredited by your insurance company. Special dentists like orthodontists and endodontists need to be referred by member dentists as well.

On the other hand, PPO (Preferred Provider Organisation) family dental insurance plans offer more flexibility to plan holders but in general are more expensive. In these types of plans, members can either choose their own dentist or they can pick from an insurer’s list of accredited dental health professionals. They can also elect special dentists of their choice for more specialized procedures. It is however advisable for plan holders in these types of plans to choose a dentist from their insurer’s network to save on costs. When a member sees a dentist not included in the insurer’s list and the bill is for an amount that their insurers judge to be above industry rates, then the member will be personally liable to pay for the excess charges.

Dental HMOs and PPOs do not typically require a lot of paperwork, but there may be instances where policy holders may have to do some. On these occasions, members may first have to pay for their dental expenses and then have their bills reimbursed by their insurer later.

Another type of family dental insurance scheme is discount plans. Though technically not an insurance plan this type of program provides tremendous cost savings for members. It is also more convenient since no paperwork is required. Members just need to bring their discount cards with them whenever they visit their dentists.

Examples of companies that offer family dental insurance plans are AETNA, Cigna, GE Dental Insurance, UniCare, and DenteMax.