Five-step plan roots out right decision

LONDON (Reuters) - Deciding on whether private dental insurance is suitable for you -- and which plan to chose -- can prove tricky.

Our five-step plan is here to help:

Step 1: Firstly, try to find an NHS dentist. Contact your local Primary Care Trust, visit the NHS website at www.nhs.uk or call NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

Children, pregnant women and people receiving means-tested benefits receive free NHS treatment.

For everyone else, charges in England fall into three cost bands: basic treatments, such as a scale and polish, cost 15.90 pounds; intermediate treatment, such as a filling or extraction, costs 43.60 pounds; and complicated work, such as bridges, crowns or dentures, costs 194 pounds.

Step 2: Check to see if your employer offers its workers private dental cover: some do. This is classed as a "taxable" benefit, so a small amount will come off your pay packet each month in tax.

Step 3: Consider your needs. If you have a good set of teeth and do not need to visit the dentist often, paying 100 pounds or more per year for insurance could be unnecessary.

Step 4: Look at the options: stand-alone cover, capitation plans and cash plans, which also give some form of health cover. Read the small print, including exclusions, carefully.

Step 5: An independent insurance broker, such as a member of the Association of Insurance Intermediaries (www.amii.org.uk) will help you search the market for the best plan for your needs.