Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of ViziLite(R) Plus, has reached an agreement where CIGNA Dental, one of the nation's leading dental insurance carriers, now covers the ViziLite Plus exam in some of its plans. ViziLite Plus is the most advanced technology in the marketplace for early detection of oral abnormalities that could lead to cancer.

"CIGNA believes that screening is an important step in the early detection and treatment of oral cancer and will ultimately save lives," said a spokesperson for the CIGNA Dental Companies.

CIGNA Dental meets the dental coverage needs of more than 10.7 million members, and the employer needs of more than one-third of all Fortune 100 companies. CIGNA Dental members access care from one of the largest dental HMO and dental PPO networks in the U.S., with more than 74,500 DPPO dentists and 5,600 DHMO facilities with 24,900 DHMO dentists.

"We believe this is a watershed event in our goal to make ViziLite Plus the standard of care nationwide. This agreement is a momentous milestone for our ViziLite Plus product and for Zila's oral cancer detection program as a whole," said Zila's Chief Executive Officer Dr. Douglas D. Burkett. "CIGNA Dental's coverage of our ViziLite Plus exam in some of its plans, coupled with the growing demand for ViziLite Plus nationwide, validates the enormous potential of this product and our pipeline of products for the early detection of oral cancer. As early detection technologies like mammograms, Pap smears, and PSAs have increased the survival rates over the years for people with breast, cervical and prostate cancer, ViziLite Plus is quickly establishing itself as THE early detection technology for oral cancer, now the sixth deadliest cancer worldwide based on survival rates."

David Barshis, Vice President of Zila Pharmaceuticals, noted, "All adults, especially those age 40 and older, and patients with lifestyle risk factors such as tobacco use or chronic alcohol consumption should have their dentist perform an annual ViziLite Plus exam. The ViziLite Plus exam, cleared by the FDA for use in individuals at an increased risk of oral cancer, is easy to perform and takes only minutes."

"There are several reasons people don't get cancer screening," said Scottsdale, Arizona dentist Paul Douglas. "They don't know about the exam, they think it will hurt, they fear the results or they can't afford it. Dentists are getting more involved in telling their patients about oral cancer and associated risks. We're showing how quick and simple the ViziLite Plus exam is. We're explaining the upside of early detection. And now, with CIGNA coverage available, we're able to provide the ViziLite Plus test, which normally costs around $65, at no or just minimal added cost. One American dies every hour from oral cancer. By putting a new light on this disease, maybe we can conquer oral cancer."

The ViziLite Plus exam is eligible for reimbursement under CDT-5 procedure code D0431. Medical insurance may also cover the ViziLite Plus exam. For more information, visit http://www.vizilite.com/resources/reimb_info.asp.

About Zila, Inc.

Zila, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, is an innovator in preventative healthcare technologies and products, focusing on enhanced body defense and the detection of pre-disease states. Zila has three business units:

--Zila Pharmaceuticals, marketer of products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease, including ViziLite(R) Plus oral examination kits and Peridex(R) prescription periodontal rinse.

--Zila Biotechnology, a research, development and licensing business specializing in pre-cancer/cancer detection through its patented Zila(R) Tolonium Chloride and OraTest(R) technologies.

--Zila Nutraceuticals, manufacturer and marketer of Ester-C(R) and Ester-E(R), branded, highly effective forms of Advanced Protection vitamins C and E.

Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of "a-" of Access Dental Plan (Access Dental) and Premier Access Insurance Company (Premier Access) (both of Sacramento, CA). The rating outlook for Premier Access has been revised to stable from negative, while the rating outlook for Access Dental Plan remains negative.

The revised outlook for Premier Access reflects the company's increasing premium revenue and earnings trend in a competitive commercial dental market. Premier Access has been growing its group dental business primarily in California and Arizona. The continuation of the negative outlook for Access Dental reflects a potential decline in future earnings from a proposed 10% reduction to the California Medi-Cal/Denti-Cal reimbursement rates to health plans later in 2008 and continuing payments of sizeable stockholder dividends. Access Dental's business is confined to three government contracts in California.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna (NYSE:AET) announced today that it has begun selling stand-alone dental plans to individuals and families, which are now effective as of June 1, 2008. These new products will initially be offered in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois and Pennsylvania, with plans to expand their availability to additional states in the future.

Individuals, including those who are eligible for Medicare, will be able to purchase these plans at any age. In addition, there will be no medical underwriting, meaning that individuals are automatically accepted if they apply (prices will vary based on age and geographic region).

There will be two PPO-style options for individuals to choose from - the Aetna Individual Advantage(SM) Dental PPO Plan and the Aetna Individual Advantage(SM) Dental PPO Plus Plan. Both plans will give members access to Aetna's PPO network of participating dental practices, which includes more than 105,000 available dental practice locations throughout the country.

Individuals can find more information on these plans and purchase them directly at www.aetna.com/buydental or by calling 1-877-243-3682.

"The fact that 47 million individuals in our country do not have health insurance is often mentioned, but it is rarely noted that more than twice as many individuals lack dental insurance," said Frank McCauley, head of Aetna's Consumer Business Segment. "We believe that a stand-alone dental product will help increase access to important dental care."

Aetna's Emphasis on Dental Health

Recently, numerous studies have demonstrated the connection between dental health and overall health. This includes research conducted by Aetna and the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine that shows a correlation between periodontal disease and individuals with chronic conditions, including people with diabetes or heart disease.

"Our research with Columbia indicates that promoting preventive dental care can have an impact on the overall wellness of our members," said Alan Hirschberg, head of Aetna Dental.

In addition to this research, Aetna has worked with Columbia to develop a number of continuing education courses for participating dentists on the connection between dental health and overall health. Columbia also provides the content for Aetna's dental education website, Simple Steps to Better Dental Health([R]).

Health Insurance Plans for Individuals

In addition to this stand-alone dental product, all of Aetna's individual health insurance plans give members the option of adding on a dental PPO plan (the optional plan is not the same as the stand-alone dental product offerings).

Aetna's health insurance plans for Individuals and Families are currently being sold directly to consumers or through independent insurance agents and brokers in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. Additional information about Aetna's plans for individuals and their families is available at www.AetnaIndividual.com or by calling 1-866-582-9629 or your insurance agent.

About Aetna Dental

Aetna Dental is one of the nation's leading providers of integrated and stand-alone dental products, serving more than 14 million dental members. In 2006, Aetna launched its Dental/Medical Integration program, which includes enhanced benefits and educational outreach to members, helping them achieve optimal health. Aetna is the brand name used for products and services provided by one or more of the Aetna group of subsidiary companies. The Aetna companies that offer, underwrite or administer dental benefits coverage include Aetna Health Inc., Aetna Health of California Inc., Aetna Health of the Carolinas Inc., Aetna Health of Illinois Inc., Aetna Health Insurance Company of New York, Corporate Health Insurance Company, Aetna Dental Inc., Aetna Dental of California Inc. and/or Aetna Life Insurance Company.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.

Delta Dental of California catapulted to the top spot thanks to nabbing several big clients and integrating a subsidiary, according to this week's Business Journal list of Orange County's top dental insurers.

The 13 dental health maintenance and preferred provider organizations grew their memberships 10% to 1.8 million people during the past 12 months.

Estimates were made for six insurers.

San Francisco-based Delta Dental posted the biggest gain.

Delta's OC enrollment shot up 50% to 477,9 1 9 members, bumping it up a spot to No. 1 .

Delta's growth came from a couple of things. One was adding a large, "family entertainment client," said Steve Spigarelli, Delta's director of Southern California sales and top local official. He declined to name the company.

Delta's current membership figures also now include PMI Dental Health Plan, a Cerritos-based business unit that ranked No. 8 on last year's list. PMI and Delta combined on Jan. 1. PMI had been operating under a separate healthcare plan license, even though it was bought by Delta back in 1985. It offered the DeltaCare prepaid dental plan in California.

Delta's surge took it past longtime leader Aliso Viejo-based SafeGuard Dental and Vision. SafeGuard fell to No. 2 with 460,812 local members. SafeGuard's figures were estimated at 400,000 local enrollees last year.

SafeGuard had posted a large enrollment gain a couple of years ago after it bought the dental and vision HMO membership from GE Wellness Dental & Vision in early 2005.

SafeGuard had 862 HMO dentists and 1,899 PPO dentists in its program.

Irvine's Managed Dental Care, which was formerly known as Guardian Life, came in at No. 3 with 193,473 members. The insurer now includes dental HMOs in its program, something it hasn't done in previous years.

No. 4 Aetna Dental had estimated OC enrollment of 149,690 members.

UnitedHealthcare Dental/PacifiCare Dental ranked No. 5 on this year's list, posting 11% growth to 134,910 local members. The company didn't return a call for comment.

Other enrollment estimates included No. 6 Cigna Dental with 131,000 local members and No. 7 Blue Cross of California with 100,000 people.

No. 8 Western Dental Services, which is based in Orange, said it had 74,084 OC enrollees, up 1%.

No. 9 United Concordia Cos. of Woodland Hills had an estimated 53,000 local dental plan members.

The No. 10 plan, Golden West Dental & Vision, a unit of WellPoint Inc., posted the sharpest decline, 23%, to 38,554 members. The other décliner was No. 1 1 Costa Mesa's Ameritas Group Dental whose local enrollment fell 8% to 28,583.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Principal Financial Group([R]), the nation's premier provider of employee benefits, announces a new agreement with SafeGuard Health Plans, Inc. bringing optional dental health maintenance organization (DHMO) coverage to customers in California, Florida and Texas. Through SafeGuard, customers and potential customers of The Principal([R]) are now able to offer a DHMO plan alongside preferred provider organization (PPO) coverage.

"Employee choice is the foundation of a good benefits package. That's why The Principal is partnering with SafeGuard to add even more flexibility. This relationship is the beginning of a new strategy where we plan to work with similar companies in regional areas to provide one of the most comprehensive dental programs available," said Theresa McConeghey, dental product director for The Principal([R]). "By working together with strategic partners, we're able to leverage the strengths of these organizations to bring our customers more benefit design options along with a strong local presence and provider network."

"We are excited about the opportunity to partner with The Principal to bring the added value of dental HMO benefits to their plan offerings," commented Steve Baker, president and chief operating officer of SafeGuard. "The plans marketed through their sales force are SafeGuard's newest product line and are more comprehensive than most products being offered today."

In addition to flexible benefit designs, The Principal provides a number of interactive tools to help members get the most out of their dental benefits. Through the Principal Dental Health Edge(SM) located on www.principal.com, members can access information on procedures, treatment plans, network providers and basic oral health information. The site includes a cost estimator, which calculates dental costs in a given zip code and a database of network providers who offer discounted charges and fees.

About SafeGuard

SafeGuard Dental & Vision([R]1) is a family of companies that are part of privately held SafeGuard Health Enterprises, Inc. SafeGuard has more than 30 years experience providing dental and vision HMO, PPO, indemnity, and ASO products and now serves more than 1.8 million members primarily in California, Florida, Nevada, and Texas. For more information, visit SafeGuard's website at www.safeguard.net.

Having dental insurance is not given importance enough unlike other health insurance policies. But having it, is a good idea. Just you have to pay monthly payments. It relieves you from worries and covers almost all of your expenses, once you reach at deductibles stage. Dental insurance is important for one whose teeth and gums or jaws are more likely to get worse. People often ignore it to have dental insurance. Mainly middle and lower income people avoid going for this, because they know, they have to pay a monthly amount, even if single teeth injures. Some points to benefit you with dental insurance are given below:

1. First of all, you must realize its importance. Ask yourself, what you can do, if your child's teeth need improvement one by one, and you are not so rich that you could pay dentist's bill every time.

2. Having dental health insurance is not so costly unlike other medical health insurance. Definitely, it can save your much money, if you have to go to dentist many times

3. Try to get your dental health insurance also, from the company where you purchased your medical health insurance. It will help you to save money, because your paper work will be short and they may offer it, at better terms.

4. Get the information about insurance, which you are going to be offered. Ask several questions to your insurer like about his website, registration, license and all that.

Here are some different type of insurances available.

1. Direct reimbursement programs reimburse patients a predetermined percentage of the total dollar amount spent on dental care, regardless of treatment category. This method typically does not exclude coverage based on the type of treatment needed, allows patients to go to the dentist of their choice, and provides incentive for the patient to work with the dentist toward healthy and economically sound solutions.

2. "Usual, Customary and Reasonable" (UCR) programs usually allow patients to go to the dentist of their choice. These plans pay a set percentage of the dentist's fee or the plan administrator's "reasonable" or "customary" fee limit, whichever is less. These limits are the result of a contract between the plan purchaser and the third-party payer. Although these limits are called "customary," they may or may not accurately reflect the fees that area dentists charge. There is wide fluctuation and lack of government regulation on how a plan determines the "customary" fee level.

3. Table or Schedule of Allowance programs determine a list of covered services with an assigned dollar amount. That dollar amount represents just how much the plan will pay for those services that are covered, regardless of the fee charged by the dentist. The difference between the allowed charge and the dentist's fee is billed to the patient. Most of you might know that several diseases start from your mouth. If your mouth is clean and free from illness, a big amount of your money will be saved effortlessly.

Dental insurance is a types of coverage that is designed to provide preventive care against things like dental caries and gingivitis. This is done by providing for regular visits to the dentist, regular cleanings and x-rays. Unfortunately, dental insurance is NOT designed to pay for pre-existing conditions. This means that if you have any problems with your teeth, such as caries, broken teeth, are in need of braces or dentures or any other kind of tooth repair, you'll need to make arrangements to pay for that on your own because dental insurance will not pay for anything that was already there when you bought the policy.

A much better alternative to dental insurance is called a discount dental plan. There are so many people that never go to the dentist because once they find out that dental insurance won't cover them they're under the impression that there's nothing else that they can do but pay full price. Most people choose to not go at all because they simply can't afford it. However, a discount dental plan can change all of that for you and/or your family.

Discount dental plans offer big savings on dental care in exchange for doing three things.

#1. Joining the discount plan and paying the low annual fee.

#2. Only visiting dentists and specialists that are participating in the network of the plan.

#3. Paying for your dental care in full after each visit.

Dentists love these plans because they get their money on the spot and don't have to go through the hassle of filing claim forms and then waiting up to 45 days to be paid. Sometimes the claim will be denied by the insurance company and the dentist will end up having to pay for the costs themselves. With a discount plan they charge as much as 60% less for the same professional care that you're used to, but they get their money on the spot. No waiting, no billing, no hassles.

If you've been thinking of buying dental insurance for yourself or your family, I highly recommend that you take a good look at discount dental plans instead, especially if you are in need of immediate dental care.

Having dental insurance doesn't guarantee that you will be allowed to have the procedures you want and need done. Many dental patients have found some insurance carriers to be difficult to work with, denying claims and causing stress for both the patient and dentist. Here are a few facts about dental insurance everyone needs to be aware of:

FACT #1:

Your dentist can't make them pay. Your dental insurance (and the procedures it covers) is determined by a contract made between your employer and your insurance company. When questions arise, your best course of action is to call your human resources department or insurance carrier yourself.

FACT #2:

Dental insurance isn't a pay-all, but rather an aid. With most policies now capping at $1,000 a year per patient, dental insurance isn't meant to cover all of your costs like health insurance, but to ease the burden of dental care a bit.

FACT #3:

Even if you have 100% coverage, your dentist may not get 100% of his fee, leaving you in some cases, to pay the difference. Most insurance companies survey the area in which your dentist is in practice, calculates an average fee for all service providers in that area including discount dental clinics, take 80% of that fee and consider that the appropriate fee, paying only that amount.

FACT #4:

If you and your spouse have policies through your own employer (but with the same carrier), the insurance company is not required to use the second policy to pay for uncovered costs, as is the case if you have coverage from two different carriers. Sad but true, insurance companies can accept payment from two different employers for coverage, but still only give the employee and his/her family members the $1,000 spending limit according to many state's laws. I, however, you and your spouse have different carriers; you can use both insurances to cover most, if not all, of your dental fees.

FACT #5:

Many routine dental services are NOT covered by insurance companies.

FACT #6:

Your insurance carrier is not responsible for paying for dental work that has not been preauthorized - even if it's an emergency! Be sure that your dentist's office files for any preauthorization are necessary before agreeing to any procedure.

With so much misunderstanding regarding dental insurance coverage out there, it is very important for every patient to carefully discuss their policy and its requirements with their dentist's business manager before agreeing to any expensive procedures to insure that they won't be left paying for the entire bill.

Dental discount plans are more commonly known as discount dental plans, but they are both the same thing. The one thing that they both are not is insurance. Discount dental plans are precisely what they say they are, a discount plan that offers savings for visiting specific dental specialists that have agreed to accept a reduced fee in exchange for being paid in full at the time that the dental care is rendered. This means that if you go to the dentist to get your teeth cleaned and the usual cost is $75.00, but your cost as a member of the discount plan is only $40.00, then at the time of your appointment you'll hand your dentist either a credit card or two twenty dollar bills and settle up right then. This works out great for you because you just saved $35.00 and great for the dentist because they didn't have to finance anyone or submit any claim forms to get paid. It's a "win-win" situation for both.

Here is an example of the savings provided by dental discount plans. In this example we'll use an example of someone living in Texas. We'll say that this person needs a family dental plan and they haven't been able to visit a dentist in awhile. For this example we'll use zip code 75210, which is the Dallas, Texas area. Here's what we found out.

The cost of joining a dental discount plan is only $159.95 per year for the entire family. We've determined that they haven't seen a dentist in awhile so they'll need an in depth check-up, x-rays for two adults and two children, two adult teeth cleanings and two child teeth cleanings.

Here's what happened at the dentist.

The usual cost of an in depth check-up $67.00, with the plan $0, savings $67.00 x 4 = $268.00

The usual cost of full mouth x-rays is $104.00, with the plan $48.00 x 4 = $192.00, a savings of $224.00

The usual cost of adult teeth cleaning is $75.00, with the plan $48.00 x 2 = $96.00, a savings of $54.00

The usual cost of child teeth cleaning is $53.00, with the plan $34.00 x 2 = $68.00, a savings of $38.00

The combined savings in this first visit is $584.00. Now deduct $159.95 and your net savings is $424.05. Keep in mind that this is only your first visit. You and your family will continue to save up to 60% on dental for the next twelve months.

Bottom line - If you haven't been able to afford to take your family to the dentist don't feel bad because the majority of Americans are in the same position. However, by finding a good dental discount plan in your area affordable dentistry is now available for people everywhere. Take a good look at how a dental discount plan can help you and your family today!

Tennessee dental discount plans are both very affordable and offer great savings for both individual and family dental plans. As a matter of fact, you will save as much as 60% on certain dental care procedures simply by showing the dentist your card at the time of your visit. Here's an example of a Tennessee dental discount plan and how you'll save money.

This example is going to be based on zip code 37920, the Knoxville, Tennessee area. In this example we're going to say that you're an individual that is in need of a new upper denture, but simply can't afford to pay full price. The national average cost (according to a 2005 survey) for an upper denture is $1,252.00. This may be more or less, depending upon where you live, but in this example we'll use the average from the survey.

The discount plan that we've found only costs $129.95 per year for an individual dental plan. That's an excellent price as it comes out to only just over $10.00 per month average.

The cost of your new upper denture with this plan is only $616.00. That's a savings of $636.00! Now deduct the $129.95 cost of the plan from the $636.00 that you saved on your denture and you've still saved $506.05 net.

This is all you need to do to get started.

#1. Find a participating dentist in your area.

#2. Join the plan that best fits your needs and that the dentist will accept.

#3. Wait 1-3 days to get all of your membership information

#4. Make an appointment with your dentist

#5. Pay for the care you need at the time of your appointment

It's so simple and so many people now are now finding out what a great little "secret" these discount dental plans are, especially compared to traditional dental insurance.

One of the joys, as also the highlights of modern times, is the fact that science and technology has made life considerably easy, as also added some spice to it. It has transformed the world into a global village and ensured that the things, to fetch which, one had to visit the country of its origin, can actually be had in one's own backyard. Then, whether they are cloths, food or accessories. Food particularly has undergone huge change with a wide variety now available on a platter. Stuff which one thought never existed can also be relished now and that too sitting at home.

However, there lies the trouble. With a variety of spices, sauces etc. going into the mouth, they really wreck havoc on teeth. No surprises then that the cases of teeth decay are constantly on rise these days. It's true that toothaches don't kill any one but it can cause excruciating pain. Something which can only be understood by people who have the misfortune of suffering from it. It's a menace that needs medical assistance at the earliest. And if one does not have enough money to get oneself treated than the plight of such a person can very well be understood. It is here that dental insurance comes into play and ensures that one is free from the worries of arranging for the finance to get oneself treated, as it is the insurance company that takes care of all the finances with the concerned person not requiring to pay a single penny.

However, one must take care of a few things to gain completely from dental insurance. First of all one must ensure that the policy comes to life as soon as it is signed, one should also find out that whether the insurance company will pay the entire sum required for the treatment or only a part of it. One should also ensure that no wrong information is provided to the insurance company as well as the fact that there is no default on monthly premiums.

If efforts like these are taken then one can be rest assured that dental insurance will go a long way in helping people in such trying circumstances. Not for anything is dental insurance, a branch of sickness insurance, is so popular amongst the masses.

One of the highlights of present times is the fact that science and technology has alleviated it to a new level. There are plenty of things happening today which might appear like magic to people of earlier times. It is to the credit of science and technology that the world today has become a global village. What it also means is the fact that things, to enjoy which, one had to go to another country can actually be had in the backyard in today's times. This includes cloths, accessories, food etc.

Food is one thing that has undergone a revolutionary change in today's world. This is only to be expected with the fusion of cultures. A rich variety of food is now available to people transcending the barrier of countries. What this means is the fact that different types of exotic dishes are available to people. However, there lies a problem.

Different types of dishes ensure that teeth are exposed to different types of spices, sauces etc. which go a long way in decaying teeth giving rise to the problems of cavities. It is right that no one dies of toothache but the pain that one has to endure because of it is immense. And if it so happens that one does not have enough money to get himself treated than the plight of the person can very well be understood. It is here that dental insurance comes into effect and ensures that one is never short of funds as far as treatment is concerned. The respite that such a service as dental insurance brings to people therefore, can easily be understood.

However, to gain maximum advantage from dental insurance one must take care of certain points. First of all one must ensure that the policy comes to life as soon as it is signed, one must also find out that whether the insurance company will bear the complete cost of the treatment or only a part of it. In addition to it one must also ensure that he never default on monthly premiums as well as never provide any wrong information to the insurance company as acts like these can lead to the disqualification of the policy.

If precautions like these are taken then one can be rest assured that dental insurance would prove to be a very potent weapon in hours of crisis.

Good dental care is so important to your family’s good health and well-being. Who can underestimate the importance of a pleasant and attractive smile? Healthy gums and teeth can contribute to an individual’s self esteem. A pleasant smile can help you feel confident and secure when you meet people, and even help you perform well at a job interview.

Dental and gum disease may possibly effect your general health. There is some evidence that the bacteria from diseased gums and teeth may cause inflammation in the body which can eventually lead to heart and coronary artery disease. Preventative dental care can avoid these serious complications, yet, sadly, there are many Americans who cannot afford expensive dental treatment.

Now that it is back to school time and your child will be required to bring in completed dental and medical examination forms, it might be time to give some thought to your family’s dental plan. What if you or your children need some serious dental work? What if your child needs expensive orthodontic treatment? If there are any senior citizens living in your household, they may have medical coverage through Medicare, but do they have an affordable dental plan? Missing or broken teeth or poorly fitted dentures can affect an older Amercan's ability to chew comfortably. This can result in poor nutritional status for the senior.

Dental insurance is often the forgotten coverage. While many employers provide some form of medical insurance, as many as 7 out of 10 Americans do not have a dental plan. Even among those who do have dental insurance, many dental plans prove to be very inadequate. In my work as an AmeriPlan Independent Business Owner, I speak to many individuals each day who lack affordable dental benefits. Even if they have the good fortune to have dental insurance provided by their employer, often these plans have serious limits on coverage, have waiting periods for pre-existing conditions, and frequently do not provide orthodontic treatment for children or adults. With the high cost of dentistry, a $1,500 per year limit on dental services will not take a family very far.

Discount dental plans provide the consumer with an excellent choice for saving money on dental care. These affordable dental plans are reasonably priced alternatives to expensive dental insurance plans. Savings typically range from 25% for specialist treatment (periodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists) to 80% for exams. Most major dental procedures, such as fillings, root canals, crowns and bridges, dentures, and orthodontic treatment (braces), offer savings from 50% to 60%--literally cutting a family’s dental bill by more than half. A good dental discount plan will even provide savings on implants and cosmetic dentistry which are usually not covered by traditional insurance.

Some added features that a good discount dental plan provides are:

* No limit on visits or services
* Ongoing dental problems are accepted
* Instant savings
* No paperwork
* No waiting period
* Orthodontia and cosmetic dentistry are included

When looking for an affordable dental plan, look for a plan that is a member of the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP), has a good choice of dental providers in your local area, and has an 800 number for customer service. In addition, many discount dental plans offer value added services such as discounts on vision care, prescriptions, and chiropractic treatment.

Big discount dental plans are exactly what they say they are. They provide a substantial discount to their members at the time that they visit a participating dentist or dental specialist within their network. These big discount plans are not insurance in any way, shape or form, but a discounted fee for service plan that can actually save you as much as 60% on both routine and major dental care.

You can find a big discount dental plan by simply doing a keyword search online at a major search engine, such as Google, Yahoo or MSN. There are some plans that are extremely popular online and have networks of providers that exceed 100,000 dentists nationwide.

You can also find information about discount dental plans through your local insurance agent. Just don't let them pitch you dental insurance. The reason that I say this is because insurance does not cover any type of pre-existing condition. That means that if you currently have cavities, broken teeth, need dentures or braces or have any other immediate need, other than a cleaning, dental insurance will NOT cover you. You want information on a discount dental plan, not insurance.

Big discount dental plans are available in both family and individual dental plans. Joining a plan is very affordable too. The cost for an individual for most discount plans is under $100.00 per year and most family dental plans are less than $150.00 annually.

If you or any one of your family members are in need of a visit to the dentist, why not get more information about big discount dental plans today? You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find out.