subject: Protecting Your Smile With A Dental Insurance Plan [print this page] Protecting Your Smile With A Dental Insurance Plan
In the UK, the average household is said to spend more on dentist bills than on toothpaste throughout their lives, which can easily add up to thousands of pounds. As there are fewer and fewer NHS dental practices in Britain, more people are having to turn to costly private dental care. However, with the right dental insurance package, getting your teeth whitened or fixed in an emergency needn't cost the earth. As with all insurance, after paying a minimum premium each month, quarter or year, the insurance largely looks after itself, and most even cover preventative care too.
There are two main kinds of managed dental insurance plans to choose from, Preferred Provider Organisation plans (where the insurance company encourage patients to use particular dentists) and Exclusive Provider Organisation plans (where the dentist you choose is a registered member of the dental governing body, the General Dental Council). However many clinics, and even pharmacies, now offer various levels of dental insurance, from a basic plan designed to partially cover NHS treatments, to a private plan which can cover most private work.
If you have never considered dental insurance before, now is perhaps a good time to do so, as companies in all sectors worldwide are passing savings on to their customers in light of the recession, and it's always good to save money. Where to start looking for the right cover plan? Well thanks to ever-increasing dental costs, everyday family health insurance will not cover as much as it used to, so a specific dental insurance plan is what you need. Firstly check your local clinics for any plans they offer and if there's nothing that suits what you can afford, get looking online. The first thing to check on any plan is how many dentists are covered within it. The more dentists that are covered and clinics registered the better, as fewer dentists means longer waiting times and potentially a little bit of travel too. More dentists on the plan could also likely mean better discounts too, as they compete for appointments.
Next look at the discount rate of the work you're planning on having done or, if you don't currently need any dental work, the most common work, like fillings and root canal treatment. A good insurance rate can pay as much as 70% of the bill on routine dental work, and sometimes up to 60% of more specialist work.
As with all insurance and utility providers, paying annually can usually work out cheaper than paying monthly, so look for a plan that lets you do that. It may seem like a lot of money, but when you weigh it up against one or two dental appointments, it can be well worth the savings if you pay it in advance.
Of course, there is no better dental insurance plan than just looking after your teeth and regularly going to the dentist but, if you do choose an insurance provider, make sure you read and understand exactly what you're entitled to.
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