What are you looking to accomplish when you start your search for a new dental plan? I'm not trying to nose into your personal business or confuse you in any way, but there's an important reason behind asking you this and it's very likely that you won't know the reasoning behind why I'm asking you this question.

You see, if you are looking for a dental insurance plan in order to get your teeth fixed for an existing condition then it's important that you know that dental insurance will not provide coverage for any pre-existing conditions. This included caries (cavities), dentures, broken or missing teeth, gingivitis or any other codition that was already there at the time that you bought the policy.

Dental insurance will provide for preventive dental treatments, such as x-rays, cleanings, etc. in order to avoid having to pay for major dental problems in the future that would be more costly.

An alternative to dental insurance is called a "discount plan". The way that these dental plans work is by performing dental procedures on a reduced scale by charging patient's less money for care, but requiring payment in full at the time of the scheduled visit. You see, dentists will normally have to wait as long as 45 days to be paid for their work from insurance companies and in some cases they may not be paid at all. This happens in the event that there's a dispute over whether a certain procedure that was performed for a patient was covered by their policy or not. In this case the dentist would then be forced to rebill the patient and hope for the best. With discount dental plans dentists don't have to worry about these types of problems. It's cash (or credit card) on the barrel head and the patient and dentist both get a great deal.

One problem that some folks have with discount plans is that you must always pay at the time of your visit, even if it's at a lower rate. There aren't any standard deductibles or annual limits, but you still can't see a dentist without paying at the time you're seen.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to each of these types of dental plans. You should always consider this before you choose an individual or family dental plan.

Basically, if you can afford to pay a discounted rate of 30-60% off, then a discount dental plan is likely your best option, especially if you have damage to your teeth that must be repaired because insurance won't pay for any portion of the costs.