Health and dental insurance is universally available and a large majority of people in developed and developing countries take coverage in health and dental insurance plans.

A health and dental insurance plan is a plan by which you pay a small premium to a health and dental insurance provider periodically, usually monthly or annually. In turn the health and dental insurance provider bears the costs of your health and dental costs. There are two types of health and dental insurance plans available in the United States today.

Indemnity Health & Dental Insurance Plans. In these plans, you have the flexibility to visit any doctor or dentist whom you want to visit. The bill is paid by you and later you can claim the reimbursement from the insurance company. The insurance company will deduct the deductible and coinsurance from your bill and reimburse the rest to you. However this should not lead one to think that the insurance company will pay any medical or dental bill you submit. The insurance company pays the bill according to UCR (Usual, Customary and Reasonable) rate for services. It involves more paper work and is relatively expensive.

Managed Care Health & Dental Insurance Plans. In these plans, you have to visit the doctor, dentist or hospital which are part of the plan. The insurance company has a tie up with a group of doctors, dentist and hospitals for medical and dental care. You can visit a specialist only on reference from the Primary Care Physician (PCP). The PCP is the doctor/dentist of the insurance company. In these plans the paper work is less and the doctor will claim the costs incurred, from the insurance company. There are flexible plans also available by which you can visit a dentist/doctor of your liking. However they are relatively expensive and you have to pay co-insurance and deductibles.