In July 2002, your dental coverage transferred to Delta Dental’s DeltaPreferred Option USA®, a national preferred provider organization (PPO) plan.

This new “point-of-service” dental plan will offer you access to Delta Dental’s two nationwide networks – DeltaPreferred Option® (DPO) and DeltaPremier®, under which you were previously covered.

You still have access to the DeltaPremier network and you’re still free to go to any licensed dentist anywhere, regardless of whether the dentist participates in one of Delta Dental’s networks. Your plan coverage amounts are still the same and will be applied to claims received from network dentists, as well as out-of-network dentists. However, you’re likely to save money by going to a dentist who participates in the DPO or DeltaPremier network.

North Carolina employees should continue to access the DeltaPremier network.

If you go to a DPO network dentist, your out-of-pocket expenses are likely to be lower because these dentists agree to accept reduced fees as payment-in-full. In the majority of cases, this translates into reduced copayments for you. More than 45,000 dentists in 61,300 dental offices throughout the country participate in the DPO network.

As many of you know firsthand, if you go to a DeltaPremier network dentist, you may still enjoy savings. These dentists have agreed to accept Delta Dental’s fee determination or Maximum Plan Allowance for DeltaPremier dentists as payment-in-full. If Delta Dental’s fee is lower than what the dentist charges, he or she can’t bill you for the difference. More than 107,000 dentists in 135,500 dental offices throughout the country participate in DeltaPremier – nearly three out of every four dentists nationwide.

All dentists who participate in Delta Dental’s DPO and DeltaPremier networks agree to fill out and file claims forms for their patients with Delta Dental coverage so you don’t have to hassle with paperwork, either.

If you go to an out-of-network dentist, you’ll still be covered, but you may have to pay more because these dentists have not agreed to reduced fees or no “balance billing,” which means you will be responsible for any difference between what Delta Dental pays and the dentist’s fee. You may also have to file your own claim. Click here for a claim form.