Change can sometimes be difficult, especially when it involves your health care. If your dentist leaves the Delta Dental network, you might wonder what happened and what options are available to you. Delta Dental is always working hard to maintain and expand its large nationwide network.
Provider trends
The dental industry is shifting in several different ways:
- Financial challenges due to the economic concerns, including inflation, have put a strain on providers and office staff.
- Some providers are promoting in-office payment programs and evaluating their participation in insurance plans, a trend which is consistent with what is happening in the medical field.
- Many dentists are retiring early. According to the American Dental Association, one out of every five dentists is retiring before 65, and over half of all dentists say they’ll retire in the next 10 years.
The Delta Dental network
Delta Dental has the largest proprietary network in the country, with over 150,000 dentists participating in its PPO and Premier networks. That includes about 4,700 dentists in Pennsylvania, or more than six out of every 10 dentists in the state.1
Even so, Delta Dental is working actively to keep dentists in its network while recruiting new dentists. Local Provider Relations teams personally visited more than 10,000 dentist offices last year. Every provider who intends to leave the network is contacted directly to discuss options to stay.
Delta Dental’s retention rate nationwide is about 96%, and it has the most favorable provider impression among major dental carriers.2
How to find a new dentist
But what happens if your dentist leaves the network?
First, you can still go to that dentist and be covered. You’ll save the most on exams and procedures if your dentist is in the network, though.
If you want to find another dentist in the network, use the Find a dentist tool. Log in to your account and search by address, city, ZIP code or dentist name. You’ll get results that show quality ratings from DentaQual® to make sure you’re getting a qualified dentist.