Dental insurance plans vary as greatly as other forms of insurance. Each dental insurance plan is designed for particular types of coverage, therefore, before making any decisions on a specific dental insurance plan, you should know ahead of time what a particular dental plan covers and what you may be paying for out of your own pocket.

Despite the various differences among dental insurance plans, some common categories are:

--        Usual, customary, and reasonable (UCR) programs. These plans allow patients to pick the desired dentist for treatment. UCR plans cover a certain percentage of the dentist's fee or the "reasonable" or "customary" fee limitation determined by the plan's administrator. The set percentage of the dentist's fee or the "reasonable" or "customary" fee limitation, whichever is less, is the one paid by insurance.

--        Capitation programs. These plans give dentists who are contracted to be part of the program a monthly fixed amount for their services specifically for enrolled members. However, most of the dental services may not require an amount to be paid from the patient. Some services have a co-payment attached to each of them that the patient must pay.

--        Direct reimbursement programs. These plans pay patients a percentage of the overall amount spent on any dental care. This program does adhere to different treatment categories and does not exclude any coverage that may be required based solely on a defined form of treatment. It also allows patients to pick the dentist they want.

In any dental insurance plan, cost predetermination can occur before treatment is received. Other factors to take into consideration before purchasing any dental insurance plan include:

--  Buy only the dental insurance coverage you need

--  Realize dental insurance has annual benefits limitations attached

To find out more facts on dental insurance, go to http://www.ada.org/public/manage/you/faq.asp#howmuchwill for a detailed overview.