Dental insurance is an ancillary benefit many employers offer to supplement employees’ health coverage. Employees pay a monthly premium for coverage of preventative care and most dental procedures.

Dental insurance premiums are much lower than health insurance premiums—around $50 per month for an individual plan. The monthly payments are usually deducted from an employee’s paycheck and paid for by their employer on their behalf.

The most common dental plans are dental maintenance organizations (DMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs). The difference between DMOs and PPOs comes down to affordability and flexibility.

Dental insurance usually groups services into three categories of coverage:

1. Preventative Care
2. Basic Procedures
3. Major Procedures

Plans can differ in how procedures are categorized, so employees should refer to a particular policy to better understand what’s covered. Still, most policies cover 100% of preventative care with frequency limitations. That means an oral exam may be completely covered every six months—or no more than twice in twelve months. Preventative care often includes cleanings and X-rays as well. There is often no waiting period for preventative care.

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