Dental Insurance and dental Phobia
Dental insurance is insurance designed to pay the costs associated with
dental care. Dental insurance pays a portion of the bills from dentists,
hospitals, and other providers of dental services. By doing so, dental
insurance protects people from financial hardship caused by unexpected dental
expenses.
The American Dental Association states that more than half
of the population in the United States are not covered by any dental insurance
plan. Those who do have dental coverage often get it through their employer
as part of their health insurance plan. Depending upon the type of medical
coverage you have, it may be a good idea to have a compatible program to
eliminate any gaps or overlap within the two plans. That may save money
while allowing you to take advantage of receiving necessary preventive care.
The most common types of dental insurance plans are either Preferred
Provider Organization (PPO) or Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO).
Both types are considered managed care, and each dental insurance plan has
benefits and disadvantages.
Dentists participating in the PPO plans have negotiated their fees with
the administering company, and provide their services under the plan, but
this usually doesn't cover all fees. There are deductibles to consider and
most of these types of dental insurance plan only pay a percentage of the
charges, leaving the patient with a co-pay. There may also be a maximum
amount they will pay annually. If your employer is paying the monthly premiums
for the dental insurance plan and the dentist you use is part of the PPO,
this might be an attractive option.
A Dental Health Maintenance Organization is another dental insurance plan
option, based on the model of medical HMOs. Here, too, the patient is enrolled
in a program, and can visit any dentist in that program. However, dentists
may end up having to provide services at 'below cost' rates, and not be
able to spend as much time with each person as a PPO could offer. Working
in an HMO setting, the dentist has many more people to see and is compelled
to function in an environment where volume matters. Although a patient will
be seen and treated, the relationship with the dentist isn't developed due
to lack of time. If you want to be seen by a dentist who takes time with
his or her patients, this may not be your optimum dental insurance plan.
Dental phobia is a fear, or phobia, traditionally defined as an irrational
and exaggerated fear of dentists and dental procedures. Some controversy
exists with regards to whether the fear is "irrational", as dental phobia
is most commonly caused by previous bad experiences. Furthermore, there
appear to be several subtypes of dental phobia, which to date have not been
adequately described and categorized, for example "fear of dentists" versus
"fear of specific dental procedures", needle phobia, and dental phobia resulting
from previous, perhaps unrelated, abuse. Not all of these fears can be deemed
irrational.
Dental phobia may better be defined as an extreme and persistent fear which
results in the individual's avoidance of attending a dentist at all costs,
unless possibly when a physical problem becomes overwhelming. Even thinking
or hearing about going to the dentist will cause marked psychological distress,
and the phobia may interfere with social functioning.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
dental phobia which may also be referred to as odontophobia, dentophobia,
dentist phobia, or dental anxiety is one of the specific phobias. The
diagnostic criteria of specific phobia include
a marked and persistent fear of the specific object or situation that is
excessive or unreasonable,
an immediate anxiety response upon exposure to the feared stimulus, which
may take the form of a panic attack,
recognition that the fear is excessive or unreasonable,
avoidance of the anxiety-producing situation,
the phobia interferes with normal functioning or causes marked distress.
Automobile Insurance Defined
Automobile insurance, is probably the most common form of insurance and may cover both legal liability claims against the driver and loss of or damage to the insured's vehicle itself. Throughout most of the United States an auto insurance policy is required to legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. In some jurisdictions, bodily injury compensation for automobile accident victims has been changed to a no fault system, which reduces or eliminates the ability to sue for compensation but provides automatic eligibility for benefits.
Health Insurance Defined
A health insurance policy is a legal, binding contract between the insurance company and the customer. The largest difference between private sector health insurance and life insurance is that for life insurance, a person may purchase guaranteed renewable insurance for the whole of the insured's life at a constant premium rate, while health insurance is generally purchased year by year with generally no assurance of renewability and if renewable no guarantee that premium rates will not increase.
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This is a consumer assistance web site designed to help the average consumer become more educated on their insurance policies as well as insurance needs.