What is Birmingham Dental Insurance?

It is a fact that most people don't know much about their dental insurance. They just know that their company has provided them dental cover and are happy to have the routine check-ups and cleanings that is covered under most insurance plans. Most people hate all the technical jargon that goes into any insurance policy and just ignore it as long as possible. Only when an dental emergency strikes do they start wondering if their particular condition is covered under dental insurance or if an extensive treatment is needed and many others simply depend on their dentists to tell them if the particular treatment is covered under their insurance.

What is Included in Birmingham Dental Insurance?

Understanding what is covered under your Birmingham dental insurance plan can be overwhelming if uninformed. Coverage varies depending on the type of plan that you get and certain procedures may not be totally covered by the insurance you have. Birmingham dental insurance usually falls into 3 basic types of categories.

Preventive and diagnostic dental care

Many dental insurance policies offer preventive and diagnostic dental care and as it sounds, its purpose is to prevent future problems. Under Birmingham dental insurance what’s considered preventive care is services such as regular dental checkups, teeth cleaning and different dental procedures that are there to prevent problems with your teeth and mouth. The costs of these kinds of procedures are often times covered fully by the insurance company.

Basic dental care

A step above preventive care is basic dental care. Under Birmingham dental insurance this will allow for dentists to perform different procedures to fix your teeth. This will include fillings, the fixing of a chipped tooth, tooth extractions and some other simple procedures. To see what qualifies you need to see what your Birmingham dental insurance provider considers this. Often times a root canal may or may not fall into the category of basic dental care that’s why it is good to research your providers and find out which one offers what.

Major dental care

Most dental plans under Birmingham dental insurance will often times not cover major dental work. Major dental work is often times considered procedures such as denture work, dental surgery and devices such as braces and other orthodontic products. Your insurer will often not cover the cost for the full procedure but will cover a part of it. If you feel as if this type of work will be needed then research the best providers who offer full or a large part of coverage for major dental work.

Types of Birmingham Dental Insurance Plans?

Before purchasing any kind of insurance it is always good to be informed. This is why it is important to know the different types of Birmingham dental insurance that is available. It is good to know which one will be of a better benefit for you or your family as each plan is different and what may be needed by a group of person may not necessarily fit another.



Indemnity plans

This is the most common type of dental insurance in Birmingham and most other places across the United States. Indemnity works with the insurance company paying a dentist of your choice for the cost of the visit and work done. This is done on a fee for fee basis. A monthly premium is paid by either the policy holder or respective company. This covers the cost of any dental work that is needed. The Dentist is reimbursed by the insurance company instead of being paid by the client.

For Birmingham dental insurance, the indemnity plan usually covers certain percentages for different types of work that is done. For preventive services it usually will pay 100%. For restoration services it is in and around 80%. If other services are required for major treatments, then it falls down to 50%. These plans often have a prearranged or set deductible amount which will vary from plan to plan. Indemnity plans also limit the amount of services you can get or they will cover for the year.
Indemnity Pros

• The ability to chose your own dentist
• Your monthly premium is usually between $15 - $25
• Relatively cheap

Indemnity Cons

Participating Provider Plans (PPO)

Birmingham dental insurance offers PPO dental plans. These are very similar to indemnity coverage, with a few slight differences.  People who decide on this kind of plan often times have to choose a specific Birmingham dentist’s that are incorporated into the PPO’s network. The benefit of this is the Birmingham dentist’s in this network reduce their fees providing a discount to covered members.
Pros
Considerable cost savings when visiting a dentist in the preferred provider network through prenegotiated lower fees on services

Discount Referral Plans

Direct Reimbursement Plans