Four provider options are available through Delta Dental, and they typically give the following cost savings:
- The USC Ostrow School of Dentistry and Faculty Practice is your best means of cost savings.
- The next-highest cost-saving dentists are those with Delta Dental PPO.
- Dentists in the Delta Dental Premier network give contracted rates that save you money, but not as much as PPO providers.
- Unaffiliated dentists provide the lowest benefit.
Every covered person’s annual benefit under Delta Dental is limited to $1500
The Engemann Student Health Center building, part of the University Park campus, is where the Ostrow School of Dentistry and Faculty Practice is situated (1031 West 34th Street, ESH 326, Suite 401 – yellow building in the center of the graphic, above). There is a little free parking available. All the dentists in the faculty practice are general dentists who also practice prosthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, and cosmetic dentistry (no students work at this practice, although they do in the Ostrow School of Dentistry clinics). Some early morning and late afternoon/early evening appointments are available, as well as some Saturday hours. Existing patients can receive dental emergency care.
There is a $50 annual deductible per person for services rendered by a Delta Dental PPO dentist, with a maximum of $150 per family. A $75 yearly deductible per person is required for services rendered outside the PPO network, with a $225 maximum deductible per family.
For PPO and Premier dentists, reimbursement is based on PPO-contracted fees, Premier-contracted fees, and program allowance for non-Delta Dental dentists. The plan covers the following dental expenses:
- 100% (no deductible) for diagnostic and preventative procedures at the Ostrow Faculty Practice and School of Dentistry, including exams, two cleanings per calendar year, fluoride treatment, and space maintainers. 90% coverage (no deductible) for all other delta dental PPO dentists; 80% coverage for delta dental (after deductible).
- 100% after deductible for fundamental dental care at Ostrow Faculty Practice and School of Dentistry, including oral surgery, fillings, endodontics, periodontics, and sealants. 80% after deductible for all other in-network PPO dentists.
- At the Ostrow Faculty Practice and School of Dentistry, significant procedures like crowns, inlays, onlays, cast restorations, fixed bridges, and dentures are covered in full after the patient’s deductible. 60% after deductible for all other in-network PPO dentists.
- 50% of implants, with a lifetime cap of $1500.
- 50% of braces cost, with a lifetime limit of $1500.
You are responsible for the extra cost if you seek treatment from a non-Delta Dental dentist who bills you more than the program allows.
