Certain studies have pointed out that overall health may be associated with good dental hygiene.¹  That’s why a dental benefit plan is a highly appreciated employee benefit. Yet, many of your clients do not offer a dental benefits plan as part of their overall benefit programs. This can add a financial burden for employees. Fortunately, MetLife has the knowledge and innovation to offer a range of affordable dental benefit plans to fit the needs of nearly all employers.

MetLife is the largest administrator of dental benefit plans among all single commercial carriers,² providing dental plan administration for nearly 21 million people.³

The MetLife Preferred Dentist Program (PDP)

The MetLife PDP is the cornerstone upon which we have built a wide range of dental benefit options. The benefits of the PDP and our flexible plan designs enable you to offer a dental program that meets plan objectives and maximizes value for employer and employee alike.

• More than 100,000 participating dentist locations, including more than 23,000 participating specialist locations, nationwide.
• Turnover in MetLife’s PDP network is consistently less than 3% per year, only 1.34% in 2006.⁴
• All dentists who participate in our PDP agree to accept MetLife’s negotiated fees as payment in full. Typically, these fees are 10-35% less than the average charges in their community.
• When visiting in-network dentists, our negotiated fees extend to all covered services, even to non-covered services and services provided after the annual benefit maximum has been exceeded.
• The PDP provides freedom of choice — no office "lock-ins" or required specialty referrals. Employees may go out-of-network at any time and still receive benefits.
• All of MetLife's PDP plan designs utilize MetLife's Quality Initiative Program to help control costs.

For a glimpse at the PDP section of our web site (aimed at employees), including online provider searches with mapping capability, program information, claim forms, and dentist application information,  click here. 

Quality Management

Big provider networks alone may not provide the most value from dental benefits investments. We believe that you'll want to suggest a carrier that understands the changing trends in dentistry and has developed quality and utilization programs that address these changing needs.

To keep abreast of these changes, we established the MetLife Dental Advisory Council (DAC). The DAC is a group of academic and practicing dentists and corporate representatives responsible for overseeing MetLife's quality initiatives, dentist and employee communication and education, and integration of research and professional standards into claim payment policies.

Other aspects of MetLife's Quality Initiatives Program

• Rigorous dentist selection process
• Monitoring of dentist treatment patterns to help manage costs and improve program value
• On-site consultations, self-assessment surveys and ongoing communications to help participating dentists promote a safe environment for patient care in accordance with safety guidelines
• Valuable discount programs and technology to help dentists reduce overhead, improve overall business practices, and promote a stable network

Plan Designs

Preferred Dentist Program

A range of flexible plan alternatives is available to help meet the specific needs of employers. Plan designs can provide varying levels of incentives to use in-network providers, ranging from overlay plans (same benefit, coinsurance and maximum levels in- and out-of-network) to plans that can provide more cost savings (benefit levels vary in- and out-of-network). Certain plan designs are subject to restrictions and are not available in all states.

In addition, PDP Copay Plans may provide an attractive alternative to standalone or dual-option programs containing a Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO) or access plan. These fee-for-service plan designs offer competitive pricing alternatives to "capitated" plans.

Graduating Dental Benefits Feature⁵

MetLife now offers Graduating Dental Benefits that encourages participants to maintain their dental coverage and provides enhanced coverage to help ALL participants achieve and/or maintain good oral health. Participants, including dependents, are rewarded for maintaining dental coverage with an increasing annual maximum benefit⁶ each year for up to three years.^7,8  When choosing Graduating Dental Benefits for their plan, your clients have the option to start the plan at any benefit level and apply this feature at $250 increments for both in- and out-of network or $500 for in-network only.

Graduating Dental Benefits is not a rollover plan. It is a valuable reward that is easy for employees to understand and promotes dental care for everyone — not just those in good oral health. There are no dollar threshold limits or special qualifications. To receive the benefit, employees simply need to enroll in the dental plan.  Graduating Dental Benefits dollars are available no matter how much of the benefits are used in a prior year.  All plan participants need to do is maintain enrollment in the plan from year to year.  

Voluntary Dental Options

For groups with 10+ enrolled employees, MetLife offers a variety of voluntary dental plan designs, utilizing the Preferred Dentist Program (PDP).

All voluntary dental programs are supported by communication, enrollment and customer service support to help promote these plans to employees. We handle the implementation and enrollment tasks with a minimum of employer involvement, further reducing administrative burden.

Indemnity Programs

MetLife offers a variety of reasonable and customary (R&C) and scheduled plan designs to ensure the flexibility that employers demand. These plans can be combined with our Preferred Dentist Program which can provide savings on out-of-pocket expenses for employees who use participating PDP dentists.

Full Service Dental for Retirees

With Full Service Dental for Retirees, your clients can enrich their retiree benefits package with minimal administration and no additional benefits expense. Available to your clients with 1,000 or more eligible retirees, Full Service Dental for Retirees from MetLife makes it easy for you – and your clients.

• We will handle marketing, enrollment, customer service, recordkeeping and billing.
• Retirees pay the entire premium, which we collect directly from them.

Dental coverage is seen as a valued benefit by employees of all ages, and today’s retirees, who in general, are living longer and healthier lives than previous generations are looking for continued access to affordable dental benefits. Our new Full Service Dental for Retirees was designed to provide employers with a turn-key way of satisfying retirees’ need for reasonably priced dental benefits, while giving their employees the assurance of knowing that, when they retire, they continue to have access to dental benefits.

A Concern for Employees' Privacy

At MetLife, we are dedicated to protecting employees’ right to privacy.  Please see “A Concern for Your Privacy” on the group dental page for employees. Or click here.

Like most group dental policies, MetLife group policies contain certain exceptions, waiting periods, reductions, limitations and terms for keeping them in force.  Please contact us for costs and complete details.

¹U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Oral Health in  America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 2000.

²2006 MetLife Market Research, based on enrolled lives as of December 31, 2005

³MetLife data as of September 2006

⁴MetLife data as of year-end 2006

⁵ Currently available for groups with 500 or more eligible employees, excluding Copay plans and Full Service Dental for Retirees. Expected to be available for groups under 500 eligible lives in early 2008.

⁶ At this time, each increment to the annual maximum can be $250 for in-network and out-of-network or $500 for in-network only.

⁷ Exact timeframes are determined by the employer.

⁸ The highest annual maximum level is capped at three years or $3,000.