Buying an individual dental policy is a lot like dating — you need to find out if the two of you are compatible. Asking these 4 questions will help you do it:

1. “Is this full coverage dental insurance?”

When you think of an individual dental policy, you probably think of a traditional policy — one that has you meet a deductible and covers all of your required services. However, not all dental policies are like that. There is low cost dental insurance that has you pay less, in exchange for less coverage.

There are also low cost dental policies that exchange lower premiums for higher deductibles and higher copays.

So, before you sign up for the insurance policy that seems like a great deal, make sure it really is full coverage dental insurance. Better you find out now than later!

2. “Can I add people to my individual dental policy later?”

Just because you’re single now doesn’t mean you’ll be single forever. It may not be very long before you need to turn that individual dental insurance into a full-blown family plan. However, the last thing you want to do is go through all of the work of finding great full coverage dental insurance for yourself — only to have to start over from scratch once a spouse and kids come into the picture.

In many cases, your individual dental policy can be expanded into a family plan with a phone call and a few signatures. Just make sure you understand how the procedure works before you commit to an individual plan.

3. “Does this policy come with any major exclusions?”

Just about every individual dental policy will exclude some kind of service or treatment. Before you sign on the dotted line, you need to decide if you can live with those exclusions. If, for example, your potential individual dental insurance plan doesn’t offer orthodontic coverage — and you might need braces soon — you might want to keep shopping.

4. “Would low cost dental insurance be a better buy?”

This is more of a question for yourself than an insurance company representative. However, it’s still an important question to ask! Before you sign up for that full coverage dental insurance, ask yourself if you’d be better off with a low cost dental plan.

To answer yourself, you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of low cost dental insurance. For example, you’ll get to make smaller monthly payments, but you’ll also be responsible for more out-of-pocket expenses down the road. Only you can decide if that’s a trade-off that you’re willing to make.

Got dental insurance questions that need answering? Find the answers you’re looking for at www.dentalforeveryone.com.