If your employer offers dental insurance, consider yourself fortunate. This benefit works like a valuable "coupon" that can greatly reduce the costs of dental care. However, no dental benefit plan is set up to cover all of your costs. To avoid surprises on your dental bill, it is important to understand what your insurance will cover, and what you will need to cover some other way. Dental benefits should not be confused with the dental services you need, which are determined by you and your dentist. How dental plans work Almost all dental plans are the result of a contract between your employer and an insurance company. The amount your plan pays is agreed upon by your employer with the insurer. Your dental coverage is not based on what you need or what your dentist recommends. It is based on how much your employer pays into the plan. Employers generally choose to cover some, but not all, of employees' dental costs. If you are not satisfied with the coverage provided