Discount Dental Plans
Today's discount dental plans were first created in the 1970s. Today, many
millions of Americans enjoy
substantial savings with discount dental plans.
With a discount dental plan, participating dentists agree to charge discounted fees
for services to plan members. As a plan member, you simply show your dental plan card when visiting a participating plan dentist to receive discounted dental services.
Discount dental plans are a lower-cost, easy to use alternative to dental insurance. There are no claim forms to file and no waiting periods to enjoy savings on dental care. And typically there are no annual limits on savings.
Often people need $1000, $5000, or even $10,000 worth of dental work and are desperate to find anything that can save them money. Sometimes a good dental discount plan is all someone needs to make the dental work they need affordable.
Top-Selling Dental Plans Reviewed...
Discount dental plans are NOT created equal and wading through all the information can be
very confusing. Some dental plans work better than others. Here we review and rank some of
America's best-selling dental plans.
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| Our Number One Pick: |
Rating |
Careington 500 Dental Plan presented by
1AffordableDental.com.
Pros:
Best Schedule of Discounts in the industry (best savings). Immediate (same day) coverage available, covers pre-existing conditions, no maximums (use as much as you need), orthodontics included, no claim forms, no deductibles, starts at
$6.95 a month (monthly premium payments OK) and save 10% on premium if you pay
annually. Vision is included FREE. Also they offer a 45 day money back guarantee on the premium (not on the $20 processing fee). Careington was one of the founding companies of this type of product (since 1979) and is huge -
now over 8 million members nationwide.
WARNING: Not all CAREINGTON plans are the same. The plan offered on this site is
CAREINGTON's best plan - the 500 Series (varies by state, plan 501, plan 502, plan 503,
etc., based on cost-of-living and other factors).
Cons:
There is a non-refundable $20 processing fee when you join. Like all discount dental plans, you must go to a
participating plan dentist for savings.
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| Runner Up: |
Rating |
DentalPlans.com
Pros:
This site is by far the largest dental website on the internet. There are over 30 discount dental plans from which to choose. Great website and very informative. You can compare many different plans, search for specific providers, etc. The top "flagship" plan is the
Aetna Dental Plan. Also they offer 3 months free, a very tempting enticement.
They have most of the same features of our number one pick - covers pre-existing conditions, no maximums (use as much as you need), orthodontics included, no claim forms, no deductibles, etc.
Cons:
With many plan choices, you can't see the full Schedule of Discounts. This is very confusing and
you're not sure what you're getting. You can only pay annually when you join (no monthly payment option) and the annual membership fees tends to be higher.
Like all discount dental plans, you must go to participating plan dentists for savings. Also you cannot get immediate coverage and for many people this is a deal killer - they need something NOW.
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| Third Place: |
Rating |
Pros:
This plan is very similar to Dentalplans.com (see above) with many of the top companies and includes
the Careington 500 (1AffordableDental.com). Is this the best of both worlds?! See Cons below.
Cons:
They include the CAREINGTON 500 plan (rated #1) but charge more than 1AffordableDental.com! Also, they require
that you to enter your email address to see the different plans. For privacy reasons, many people refuse to do this, so
they just make up an email address and access the website that way. (See Insurance Tiger for on-line insurance
shopping tips and why we will never give personal information for quotes.)
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| Fourth Place: |
Rating |
Pros:
This plan includes not only dental, but vision, prescription, and chiropractor. This plan is sold via
Multi-Level Marketing (see cons below) and has been in business since 1992. They currently have approximately 1 million members. They have most of the same features as the other plans... they cover pre-existing conditions, have no maximums (use as much as you need), orthodontics included, no claim forms, and no deductibles.
Cons:
This is the most expensive plan listed, starting at $19.95 monthly. Probably the reason for the high cost is that this is a Multi-Level Marketing plan. Like some plans on Dentalplans.com, you can't see the full Schedule of Discounts of what you are buying. This plan has generated numerous consumer complaints, perhaps because of the Multi-Level Marketing approach and lack of control over it's sales force.
Just remember, like all discount dental plans, you must use participating plan dentists for savings!
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We know there could be disagreement with our analysis. Therefore, we invite you to do your own research.
Compare the Schedule of Discounts (your savings). Compare your selection of participating dentists. No matter which plan you buy, you can save money. We believe that for most people, the
CAREINGTON 500 Plan is the best choice!
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