Texas Dental Plan

What is Discount Dental?

A discount dental plan is NOT dental insurance, but will help you save money on dental services. Unlike a dental insurance policy, you will not have set co-payments or coinsurance amounts under this type of plan. The payments that you make to purchase a discount dental plan are considered a membership fee and as a member of the discount dental plan you are able to receive dental services from a specific list of dentists at a discounted rate.

Under a discount dental plan, the Member is responsible for payment of services and payment is made directly to the participating dentist at the time services are received. Dentists who participate in the plan agree to provide services at a discounted rate. They agree to these rates in exchange for the referrals that come to them from the discount dental plan company.

Members of a discount dental plan are only entitled to discounts if they use a participating dentist. The list of participating dentists is typically more extensive than the list of participating dentists under an HMO and comparable to a list of dentists under a PPO.

Discount dental plans may offer savings that may not be available under typical dental insurance. These may include no annual limit, no exclusions and lower monthly payments. Membership in a discount dental plan is usually made through an annual payment, but some plans accept monthly payment arrangements.