If you’re in the market for dental insurance, the choices out there can seem never-ending. You have your pick of a low cost dental plan, a traditional dental PPO plan, or dental indemnity insurance.

OK, so you probably know what the first two are – but what exactly is dental indemnity insurance?

Also known as a “fee-for-service” dental plan, with dental indemnity insurance, you pay for all of your dental services and procedures yourself. Then, your insurance company reimburses you later. Depending on what your specific dental insurance policy says, you might be reimbursed for the entire bill or only portions of the bill. Unlike a low cost dental plan – which offers you discounts on your dental services and procedures – you will have to pay the full amount for each dental visit.
But if you have to pay for everything yourself first – at full price – what’s the benefit of dental indemnity insurance?

Even though you’ll be spending more money upfront, a dental indemnity plan will give you more freedom than a traditional dental PPO plan. Under a PPO, you are required to do business with dentists that are on a special list. If you go to a dentist that’s not on your insurance company’s approved list, you probably won’t have any coverage – or, if you do, it will be far less than the coverage you would have had if you had gone to a network dentist.

For some people, that’s a real hassle. After all, what do you do if there aren’t any good dentists on the list near your home? Or what if there’s an emergency and you can’t get in to see a dentist that’s on the list?

However, if you have dental indemnity insurance, you are free to go to any licensed dentist you want. No matter who you do business with, your insurance company will reimburse you according to your plan’s guidelines.
But that’s not the only benefit!

Depending on your dental indemnity insurance plan, you may get certain rewards. For example, you might be able to get all of your preventative treatments – like your check-ups, routine cleanings, and x-rays – completely paid for by the insurance company. Or, your insurance company may increase your reimbursements if you go in for preventative care on a regular basis.

And, as an added benefit, the monthly premium payments on dental indemnity insurance plans are usually cheaper than they are for traditional dental insurance plans.