Because of the large number of participating members, group dental insurance plans have the benefit of providing a wide range of coverage at controlled rates. Apart from individual coverage, some group plans also extend coverage to the employees' families.
Buying insurance for the entire family makes sense because dental insurance by its very nature is preventive. This is because most dental diseases can be prevented by regular check-ups, dental cleanings, and fillings. This is, of course, true for people who follow the regular regime of brushing their teeth both in the morning and night. Let us suppose that a root canal treatment is required. Without dental insurance the cost of this treatment could burn a deep hole in the patient's pocket. In this situation, dental coverage provides the perfect umbrella for the rainy day.
What to look for in a plan:
First of all, you should consider whether or not the plan will allow you to choose the dentist that you want to go to. Certain insurers only cover dental treatment done by dentists that are in their network. For treatments by other dentists, you might have to pay 100% of the treatment charges. Before signing anything, you should consider if this is fine with you or not. If it isn't and you have a preferred family dentist, you should be ready to pay a little bit more for a plan that will cover this.
Next, you should also consider the number of caps and limits on treatment payments that are put in place by the insurance plan. This is definitely the case if you and your family have a record of poor dental health that will require a lot of treatment.
You need to know what the family dental insurance covers. Ideally, you would want to subscribe to a policy that will cover cleaning treatment twice a year and free X-ray and fluoride treatments for your family members. Some insurance policies require you to pay part of the treatment cost for major dental procedures.