A dental plan gives a patient the opportunity to spread the cost of their dental treatment by paying a fixed monthly fee, which is reviewed and would change just once a year, so they get the benefit of being able to budget for their ongoing care. Different plans offer different levels of cover as patients are so different in their dental needs and a dental practice will make the judgement as to what cover is offered. Some plans eg Denplan may cover all the possible required treatment, however patients with a low treatment need may end up paying more to compensate for those with a higher need, and sometimes a dentist may delay offering necessary or cosmetic treatment. Other plans, eg Own Practice plans may cover the types of treatment that the patient would need with some additional costs should treatment be required. Most plans tend to offer world-wide emergency cover and accident and emergency cover. Our Waterside Dental Care Plan covers the essential hygiene visits for gum treatments at an interval to meet the patient’s requirements to maintain their oral health. In addition it covers an annual dental examination by the dentist, necessary X-Rays, 15% off any treatment required, including cosmetic treatments and the world wide accident and emergency cover. The level of gum disease and the effectiveness of a patient’s home care dictate whether they are advised visits with the hygienist at three or six monthly intervals and the length of time needed for those appointments. In order not to penalise our patients we offer three levels of care, dependent on a patient’s needs. The monthly fees range from £15.00 to £35.00 and before joining a patient would have an individual and personal quotation. The accident and emergency cover alone can be invaluable: We have a patient who had an accident at 14 years old and broke his two front teeth. Over the past three years he has needed root fillings and crowns and this treatment was covered by the insurance portion of his dental plan cover – well worth it for his Mum!
