If you’re living in the United States, you should be aware of the number of dental plans available to you; you may have Blue Cross, John Kerry has Blue Shield. No matter what route you take, it is important to know what the options are.

In Canada, you might be already be covered by your provincial government or employer. It is also important to know what options you have and how dental coverage works in Canada.

Dental plan coverage for individuals is not commonly offered because dental needs are highly predictable. For example, you would not pay premiums for your dental coverage if the premiums were more expensive than the cost of the dental treatment you need. Since this is the case, insurance companies would stand to lose money (spend more on benefits than they receive in premiums) on every individual dental plan they write.

There are, however, a few companies that offer a form of dental benefits for individuals.  Under these types of plans, an individual pays a monthly fee to a third party in return for access to a list of dentists who have agreed to a reduced fee schedule. Payment for treatment is made from the patient directly to the dentist. The third party acts only in the capacity of matching the individual to the dentist. The dentist receives no payment from the third party other than in the form of referral of patients.

Employers and other plan sponsors offer dental benefits for a variety of reasons, including promotion of oral health and attraction and retention of high-quality employees.Regardless of why the plan is offered, its intent is the same: to help individuals by paying for a portion of the cost of their dental care.Almost all dental benefit plans are the result of a contract between the plan sponsor (usually an employer or a union) and the third party (usually an insurance company). For this reason, concerns about your dental plan should first be directed to your plan sponsor.