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Colorado Dental Insurance

Understanding Dental Coverage

Understanding Dental Coverage - Discount vs. Insurance
Before you  purchase a Colorado dental plan, it is very important that you understand the difference between a discount dental plan, and a dental insurance plan.


Colorado Discount Dental Plan
A discount dental plan is a plan that provides discounted services to you when you use a participating dental provider.  Every discount dental plan is contracted with specific dental providers, and it is very important that you use a dentist that participates in the network in order to receive discounted services.   Take a moment to Search for a Dentist in Your Area .

The key advantage of dental discount plans, unlike dental insurance plans, is that they typically have no waiting periods.  There are several more advantages including:

• No limits to the discounts you can receive in a calendar year
• Very low rates
• Significant discounts for preventive care and fillings
• Discounts for Braces, Orthodontics, Orthodontia, Periodontics, Endodontics
  Fluoride treatments, Root canals, Dentures, Wisdom teeth extractions, Gum surgery, Dental implants 
  Crowns , Bridges, and many other services, (Discounts will vary depending upon plan.)
• Discounts for dental emergency

Now that you understand what a discount dental plan is, you'll probably want to shop around for the best rates or perhaps find a plan that is networked with your dentist.  Here is a list of the best discount dental plan resources that we have found in Colorado:

• DentalPlans.com - Offers more than 30 discount plans to choose from and quick activation.
• Careington Dental - Offers the lowest rates in the marketplace with plans starting at only $6.95, and an option to pay monthly rather than annually. 
• Avia Dental - Offers very low discounted rates for dentures, as well as many other procedures. Get details.  Only $8/month for an individual!  Includes vision and prescription discounts.
• Delta Dental Patient Direct - Offers up to 100% savings on preventive dentistry.  Delta Dental offers, by far, some of the best discounts on preventive dentistry among all of the discount plans available in the marketplace.

If you or your child is in need of braces, and you do not currently have dental insurance that includes coverage for orthodontia, a discount dental plan may be your best option for reduced pricing on braces. 

There is one major disadvantage to discount dental plans:  You will find that the networks of participating providers can be very limited.  It may be difficult to find a plan in which your existing dentist participates, so you might have to switch dentists in order to receive benefits from a discount dental plan.  

With a discount dental plan, you could be exposed to significantly more financial risk when it comes to major services than you would with dental insurance.  Discount dental plans provide you with a "fee schedule" or "schedule of benefits".  Before purchasing a plan, you can review a schedule of benefits to find out exactly how much you can save on a particular service. 

Colorado Dental Insurance
Dental insurance is different than a discount dental plan.  With dental insurance, you get the benefit of the network discounts, like you do with a dental discount plan, AND you get insurance coverage above and beyond the discounted rates.   Dental Insurance provides a specific amount of coverage for each type of service, and this coverage will vary from one plan to the next.  Typically, coverage is 100% for preventive services, 80% for basic services, such as fillings, and 50% for major services, such as crowns or root canals.   There could be a deductible before coverage kicks in, and typically, this deductible is waived for preventive services.  Also, coverage is usually limited by an "annual maximum" amount, and this annual maximum usually varies anywhere from $1000 to $1500 per year for personal dental plans.  If you happen to exceed your maximum amount of coverage in a calendar year, you will still get the benefit of discounted services when you use a network dentist.   Some plans specifically limit you to coverage within a preferred provider network (PPO) or a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), while other plans will offer the added benefit of coverage outside of the PPO network.  Plans that offer coverage outside of the network are called "Indemnity" plans.  With Indemnity plans, you may use the dentist of your choice and still receive coverage, even if that dentist is not networked with your dental plan.  There are basically two types of "indemnity" plans:

Standalone Dental Insurance Plans

• Delta Dental of Colorado
  • Competitive Rates
  • No waiting period for fillings (coverage begins when policy is effective)
  • Credit towards "Type III Service" waiting period is given with proof of prior
    coverage within 90 days prior to policy effective date.
  • Must be 18 or over to apply.  Child Only coverage is not available on this
    plan.
• United Health One Dental Plan for Individuals and Families
  • Competitive Rates
  • Out-of-Network coverage available
  • Child only coverage available
• Ameritas Bright One
  • Very large network of participating providers
  • Indemnity (any dentist) plans available
  • No age limitations
  • This plan costs a little bit more than some others, but the
    large network and level of coverage is worth the extra premium.
  • There is a $2.00 mandatory monthly association fee that is
    required with all Ameritas Dental Plans.  The quotes do NOT
    include this fee.
• Anthem Blue Dental PPO
  • Very large network of participating providers
  • Child Only coverage available (only $22 .03/mo.)
  • Must be age 64 or younger to apply
  • Coverage outside of the network is available.

Dental Insurance Offered with Health Insurance

• Anthem Blue Dental PPO
• Humana Dental
• Aetna Dental
• United Health One Dental

• Delta Dental PPO Direct Plan, and
• Delta Dental PPO Plus Plan. 

If you are currently in need of major or emergency dental services, or if you are looking for affordable braces and you do not have any dental insurance coverage, you might want to consider a Dental Discount Plan.   Discount dental plans, such as the Delta Dental Patient Direct Plan, typically do not have waiting periods, and they can provide significant discounts for services such as fillings, crowns, root canals, and even orthodontia. 

The advantages of dental insurance as opposed to discount dental include:

• Larger networks of providers
• 100% coverage for preventive care
• Financial protection against large expenses associated with major dental services such as crowns and root canals

The disadvantages associated with dental insurance as opposed to discount dental include:

• Higher premiums
• Waiting periods

Child Dental Insurance for Low-Income Families
If you cannot afford dental insurance or dental care for your child, you may qualify for coverage through CHP Plus, Colorado's State Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) for children.  visit www.cchp.org for more information.  Here is the CHP Plus Fact Sheet, which describes eligibility and enrollment information.

Another organization that provides dental care for children in Colorado is KIND (Kids in Need of Dentistry) .  This organization serves children in need in Denver and Colorado Springs and through the use of a mobile unit known as "Miles for Smiles" in rural and underserved urban communities throughout Colorado.

How to Get a Tax Deduction on your Dental Expenses
If you have an HSA compatible, high deductible health plan (HDHP), you can use the money that you save in your health savings account (HSA) to pay for your out of pocket dental expenses on a tax-deductible basis.  Although you cannot use HSA dollars to pay for dental insurance premiums, you CAN use HSA dollars to pay for any out of pocket costs not covered by your dental insurance, and you can also use HSA dollars to pay for the cost of a discount dental plan.  If you do not have a dental plan, you can use your HSA dollars to pay for any dental expenses.   For more information about what an HSA is and how to get one, visit our Health Savings Account webpage.  Click here for free, instant, quotes on Colorado HSA compatible health plans.

Colorado Group Dental Insurance
Group dental insurance in Colorado can be offered to your employees on a voluntary or non-voluntary basis.  "Voluntary" means that the employee will pay the full premium for his/her dental plan for hisself/herself and eligible dependents.  Since group dental insurance tends to be less expensive and more comprehensive than personal dental insurance, the advantage of offering a  voluntary plan to your employees is that you can offer a benefit that would likely cost less and provide better coverage than what your employees might be able to obtain on their own in the personal dental insurance marketplace.  Additionally, you can offer these benefits to your employees under a pre-tax payroll deduction, so the savings are even greater.  For groups of 10 or more enrolled members, we can offer dental plans that include orthodontia coverage.  (Orthodontia coverage is typically not available to groups of less than 10 enrolled members). 

"Non-Voluntary" means that the employer will pay all or a portion of the premium.  There are a wide variety of various different group dental plans to choose from, and the quantity of participating employees will dictate what kinds of plans will be available to your group. 

Erickson Financial Services offers dental plans to groups with as little as 2 enrolled members.  For more information about group dental insurance coverage, and to receive a free quotation, please contact our office.  Due to the complexity of group benefit plans, we will require, prior to preparing quotes, that you commit to a meeting either by phone or in person with Scott Erickson, our group benefits specialist.

The group dental carriers that we do business with include Metlife, Delta Dental, Companion Dental, Principal, Humana, United Healthcare and others.

Laser Dentistry
A new and emerging form of dentistry is Laser Dentistry.  The Water Laser is a new technology that allows many dental procedures to be performed with little or no pain or need for anesthesia.  Many adults and children fear going to the dentist due to the fear of pain.  From personal experience, we can assure you that you or your children will no longer fear the pain of a filling with the Water Laser.  Find a Waterlase Dentist in your area!

Colorado Dental Association
The Colorado Dental Association provides an array of information about Dentistry in Colorado.   Their mission is to provide member services that promote the highest standards of care for the public and inspire members in the pursuit of professional excellence and personal fulfillment through education, leadership and communication.
One of our favorite tools available on this website is the Colorado Dentist Directory.  Here, you can search for quality dentists by city or specialty.  You can also filter your search by specific services that you would like your dentist to offer.  This website also provides a means for you to file legitimate complaints against dentists who are members of the association so that disputes can be resolved in a timely and objective manner.  Additionally, The Colorado Dental Association provides a means to assist you with dental claim disputes that you have been unable to resolve through your own due diligence.

Low-Cost Dentistry
The Colorado Dental Association provides a map of dental clinics that offer low-cost dentistry in Colorado.  If you do not have dental insurance and you are in need of urgent dental services, you might want to have a look at this low-cost dentistry directory, to find out if you can qualify for reduced-fee services for your dental emergency.