Traditional dental insurance and a dental discount plan, both are similar in the way that they reduce dental costs, i.e., they help maintain oral health and promote the same by offering some relief on dental expenditures which are otherwise very expensive. However, they are different in terms of how much you save and what each of them covers as part of the plan. traditional dental insurance provides different coverage and costs than a dental discount plan.
The differences between a traditional dental insurance and a dental discount program are as follows.
Cost benefits
The first and foremost difference between dental insurance and a dental discount plan is their cost benefits. Dental insurance works like regular health insurance. A regular premium is paid until a set deductible is reached, after which the insurance covers a portion of your dental costs, and you have to pay the balance. A dental discount, on the other hand, does NOT pay any amount of your dental costs but instead provides you with services at discounted prices from participating dentists as provided by AARP membership delta dental insurance.
Reimbursements
In some cases, the insurance company pays the patients bills due to be paid as part of the insurance plan directly to the doctor. However, in other cases, insurance companies may ask you to pay the bill in full and then reimburse you the share that is to be paid by them. In a dental discount plan or in AARP membership delta dental insurance, there is no such provision. It simply makes dental services available at discounted rates.
Dental caps
In case of a dental insurance plan, the dental cap usually ranges from $1000-$1500, which might not be enough for people requiring significant dental procedures every year. In case of a discount plan, there is no such thing as a cap since the plan does not pay any portion of the costs.
While on the face of it, a discount plan and AARP membership delta dental insurance seem a better choice, but in reality, it may not be the case. After all, it depends on what kind of dental services one needs and what kind of discounts are offered. The best way to know which is better would be to evaluate your needs and consult a dentist for an opinion.