{"id":353,"date":"2023-11-08T09:36:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T09:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/?p=353"},"modified":"2023-12-19T09:36:14","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T09:36:14","slug":"what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does it Mean when a Dentist is \u201cIn-Network?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Patient<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Navigating the wide world of dental insurance<\/a> can be difficult, and it involves sifting through a lot of jargon that you may not encounter in any other context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the difference between an in-network and out-of-network dentist may not be immediately apparent, not least because dental practices themselves don\u2019t always use these terms to describe themselves. In the interest of helping you get the most out of your benefits, here\u2019s what you should know about the distinction between these two kinds of providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What \u201cNetwork\u201d Are We Talking About Here?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Insurance companies don\u2019t just reimburse you for the cost of care; they also negotiate with individual practices about the price of their procedures. Insurance companies have thousands of clients, and getting their seal of approval, i.e., being in their \u201cnetwork,\u201d can draw in many potential patients. For this reason, insurance companies are often able to negotiate lower prices for their clients than what you would get on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is \u201cIn-Network?\u201d What is \u201cOut-of-Network?\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is where the core distinction between in-network and out-of-network dentist lies. A dentist is in-network with your insurance plan if they\u2019ve agreed to charge a lower, agreed upon price for care to their enrollees. They sometimes call themselves \u201cparticipating providers,\u201d indicating that they\u2019ve accepted this kind of deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, a dentist is out-of-network for you if they are not contracted with your insurance company in this way. It\u2019s worth noting that most of these practices will still accept insurance, though getting the money from them will be a bit more involved\u2014you\u2019ll usually have to pay for care upfront then get reimbursed later by your plan. For this reason, out-of-network dentists sometimes call themselves \u201cfee-for-service\u201d practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking Between In-Network and Out-of-Network<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All things being equal, going to a dentist that\u2019s in-network with your insurance plan is obviously ideal. You\u2019ll likely pay less and getting reimbursed by your dental plan will be easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in some situations you don\u2019t want a cheap dentist\u2014you want the best<\/em> dentist. In the case of major, risky procedures you may want to pick an out-of-network dentist you can trust versus picking someone from a list. And of course, whether a dentist is in-network is irrelevant if the care you\u2019re getting is unlikely to be covered anyway, as in the case of cosmetic procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the answer to which kind of dentist you should pick comes down to your unique circumstances. Hopefully, however, you\u2019re now a little bit better-equipped to make that decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Dennis Ayer is a dentist with extensive clinical expertise and who cares deeply about the health of his patients. With his wealth of experience, clinical knowledge, and impeccable chairside manner, he\u2019s proud to offer care that\u2019s second-to-none. Dr. Ayer received his dental degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, and since then has completed well over 3,500 hours of advanced education in a variety of dental fields.
If you have any questions about dental insurance, he can be reached at his website<\/a> or by phone at (913) 246-3000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Navigating the wide world of dental insurance can be difficult, and it involves sifting through a lot of jargon that you may not encounter in any other context. For example, the difference between an in-network and out-of-network dentist may not be immediately apparent, not least because dental practices themselves don\u2019t always use these terms to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does It Mean When A Dentist is "In-Network?" | Dennis C. Ayer DDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There\u2019s nothing worse than insurance company jargon. What does it mean to be \u201cin-network?\u201d Here\u2019s what you should know.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Does It Mean When A Dentist is "In-Network?" | Dennis C. Ayer DDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s nothing worse than insurance company jargon. What does it mean to be \u201cin-network?\u201d Here\u2019s what you should know.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dennis C. Ayer Dental Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-08T09:36:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-19T09:36:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"drayer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"drayer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/\",\"name\":\"What Does It Mean When A Dentist is \\\"In-Network?\\\" | Dennis C. Ayer DDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-08T09:36:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-19T09:36:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08b44b0572492277260db3d8a589764e\"},\"description\":\"There\u2019s nothing worse than insurance company jargon. What does it mean to be \u201cin-network?\u201d Here\u2019s what you should know.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Does it Mean when a Dentist is \u201cIn-Network?\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dennis C. Ayer Dental Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08b44b0572492277260db3d8a589764e\",\"name\":\"drayer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b212e80c39f24274e93473f7060a76298886ab625ebe8b8d4a8540518bdcab40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b212e80c39f24274e93473f7060a76298886ab625ebe8b8d4a8540518bdcab40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"drayer\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Does It Mean When A Dentist is \"In-Network?\" | Dennis C. Ayer DDS","description":"There\u2019s nothing worse than insurance company jargon. What does it mean to be \u201cin-network?\u201d Here\u2019s what you should know.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Does It Mean When A Dentist is \"In-Network?\" | Dennis C. Ayer DDS","og_description":"There\u2019s nothing worse than insurance company jargon. What does it mean to be \u201cin-network?\u201d Here\u2019s what you should know.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/","og_site_name":"Dennis C. Ayer Dental Blog","article_published_time":"2023-11-08T09:36:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-19T09:36:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"drayer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"drayer","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/","url":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/","name":"What Does It Mean When A Dentist is \"In-Network?\" | Dennis C. Ayer DDS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg","datePublished":"2023-11-08T09:36:02+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-19T09:36:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08b44b0572492277260db3d8a589764e"},"description":"There\u2019s nothing worse than insurance company jargon. What does it mean to be \u201cin-network?\u201d Here\u2019s what you should know.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_451593971.jpeg","width":300,"height":200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/what-does-it-mean-when-a-dentist-is-in-network\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Does it Mean when a Dentist is \u201cIn-Network?\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/","name":"Dennis C. Ayer Dental Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08b44b0572492277260db3d8a589764e","name":"drayer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b212e80c39f24274e93473f7060a76298886ab625ebe8b8d4a8540518bdcab40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b212e80c39f24274e93473f7060a76298886ab625ebe8b8d4a8540518bdcab40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"drayer"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":355,"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions\/355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.docayer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}