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The Best Dental Plans for Children

Lawmakers have spent a lot of time discussing medical insurance plans with little regard to dental insurance, but keeping a healthy mouth is also important to good health. Tooth decay can cause infections and eventual loss of teeth, even in children. A dental plan can help offset the cost of visits to the dentist. However, some plans limit the choices of dental care for children.

  1. Employer Dental Plans

    • According to the National Association of Dental Plans, about 97 percent of Americans who have dental coverage have it through their employee health insurance benefit. Most of these dental plans include an option to have the entire family covered. This allows parents to be able to take their children to see a dentist and only pay a small amount, called a co-payment. Some employer-sponsored dental plans offer two free teeth cleanings a year, which are important to good dental health. Many of these plans also cover visits to the orthodontist.

    PPO vs. HMO

    • Like health insurance plans, dental plans can be HMOs or a PPOs. With an HMO, the premiums are lower but the child must see a dentist in the network. With a PPO, the out-of-pocket costs are lower if the patient uses a dentist in the network. However, patients can go to an out-of-network dentist. In PPOs, most preventative care such as teeth cleanings are usually free. The premiums may be a little higher than those of an HMO.

    Dental Discount Plans

    • For those without dental insurance, dental discount plans are an option for saving money on children's dental costs. This is not health insurance. Participants pay an annual fee, which is usually less than $200 a year, to cover the entire family. The participants are then eligible for discounts on most services. Many of the discounts are about 50 percent of what would be paid without the discount plan. Since these services usually include orthodontics, these plans are very attractive to families.

    Pediatric Dentistry

    • Finally, parents should consider a dental plan that allows them to choose a pediatric dentist. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, most pediatric dentist are listed as primary care providers with HMOs and PPOs. As the name implies, pediatric dentists specialize in treating children. The association recommends that parents look at their health insurance plans to see if they have a choice in which dentists their child sees. Parents with dental discount plans can check with their provider to see if he accepts their plan.

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