---
title: "What Is In-network? Dental Practice Glossary | Copeland Consulting Services"
description: "In-network describes a dentist who has a contract with a plan and agrees to the plan's fees for covered services."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/in-network
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Insurance and network

# In-network

In-network describes a dentist who has a contract with a plan and agrees to the plan's fees for covered services.

A network is the group of providers a plan has contracted with. HealthCare.gov defines it as the facilities, providers and suppliers your health insurer or plan has contracted with to provide health care services.

A dentist who joins a network is in-network for that plan. The contract sets fees and billing rules. Patients usually pay less when they use an in-network dentist.

The contract also affects the practice. Fees may be lower than the dentist's usual fee, and the gap becomes a [write-off](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/write-off). Compare with [out-of-network](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/out-of-network). See [dental PPO](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-ppo).

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [Out-of-network](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/out-of-network)
-   [Dental PPO](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-ppo)
-   [Write-off](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/write-off)
-   [PPO participation](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/ppo-participation)

## Sources

1.  [HealthCare.gov Glossary: Network](https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/network/)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)