Delta Dental puts cost comparison in consumers' hands

Newly enhanced mobile app & online features help compare costs for top oral health procedures

OAK BROOK, Illinois - April 28, 2016 - Cost matters, and the ability to easily compare prices for different services and products has become second nature to most Americans. Today, Delta Dental is announcing an enhanced tool to help people find the best prices on the care they need to maintain good oral health.

With the launch of the Dental Care Cost Estimator tool, Delta Dental has put the ability to cost-compare the top nearly 60 reasons people visit the dentist right at consumer's fingertips. For millions of Delta Dental subscribers, they can now find out costs by dentists who are part of the Delta Dental network (4 out of every 5 dentists are part of the network). From a cleaning and an X-ray, to a crown or a root canal, the tool lets consumers search by zip code and dentist to find the best price by procedure.

"Consumers are cost-conscience. We're working to make dental costs more transparent and easy to understand to help consumers make the choices that are right for them," said Scott Jessee, vice president for information technology at Delta Dental Plans Association. "One of the most important parts of this new tool is not just allowing Delta Dental subscribers the ability to compare prices, but also the on-line component allowing the public to do the same. This approach is right in line with our mission of improving access to oral health for all Americans."

The Delta Dental mobile app is free to download for both iPhone and Android devices (after logging in, click on the "cost estimator" feature) and is available in most states across the nation. The online version can be found at www.deltadental.com.

Currently the tool provides the total cost of the procedure; however, in the near-future it will also show Delta Dental subscribers their actual out-of-pocket costs.