“Do you take our insurance?”

We as a society are engrained from the medical world that you HAVE to have insurance to see the doctor. Is that also true for dentistry? Does dental insurance work the same as medical insurance? Those answers might surprise you. 

Medical and dental insurances work quite differently in how you are able to actually use them. Medical insurances have a deductible and once you pass that deductible the insurance company picks up the tab. Dental insurances also have a “deductible” BUT when you reach that deductible, you pay for EVERYTHING after that amount. Which is a stark difference. Dental insurance deductibles haven’t changed much since the 1970s even though the price of dental work has gone up tremendously!

Let’s talk a little bit about the different types of dental insurances. The main two that you will encounter are PPO and HMO (or DHMO) plans. HMO plans assign you a dentist and you may only receive services from that dentist. PPO plans allow you to see any dentist that you would like. Under the PPO umbrella, there are “‘in-network” and “out-of-network” dentists. Can you only see a dentist that your insurance is “in-network” with? NO! With a PPO plan, you are able to see any dentist. Does a dentist that is “out-of-network” cost more? Not always! Surprisingly, some insurance companies actually pay MORE towards services from an “out-of-network” dentist. 

Bottom line is that you do NOT NEED to have insurance to see a dentist. Having an understanding about which type of dental insurance you have is helpful when choosing your dentist. If you would like to have a choice, make sure it's a PPO plan. Is it better to see an “in-network” or an “out-of-network” dentist? That’s a choice you get to make! Rather than having your deciding factor on if a dentist takes your insurance or not, I feel that decision should be made on how well the dentist listens, how comfortable they make you, the type of technology they have, and how personable they are!