First Dental Health Expands Access across the U.S. with Principal Dental Access Network

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The first licensed discount dental plan in California, New Dental Choice, has now become a national presence with the addition of the Principal Dental Access Network. New Dental Choice helps provide more affordable dental care to the uninsured and under-insured. Today, the high cost of dental care has become a national issue requiring innovative solutions considering that approximately 140 million people in the United States are dentally uninsured. New Dental Choice, a comprehensive and affordable discount dental plan by First Dental Health, now encompasses a network of more than 100,000 dentists and specialists at locations across the United States.

"Our network partner, Principal Dental Access Network, opens up new options for dental care savings to individuals, families and businesses from coast to coast," says Dr. Michael S. Grossman, President and CEO of First Dental Health. "This is a giant step forward in helping make dental care more affordable in the United States."

"By working with New Dental Choice we're able to bring added benefits to our network providers and to consumers," said Theresa McConeghey, Assistant Vice President, the Principal Financial Group®. "This relationship helps dentists attract new patients and provides members with access to quality care at discounted fees."  

New Dental Choice was created by practicing dentists to provide affordable dental services to people who aren't covered by dental insurance. Their discount dental plan options offer savings of an average of 15 to 60 percent on all common dental procedures, and require no waiting period for activation, have no restrictions and no annual maximum benefit. New Dental Choice is a service of First Dental Health, one of the largest independent dental network management companies in California, and one of the Inc. 500|5000 fastest-growing private companies in America in 2010 and 2011. First Dental Health is also the recipient of the 2011 Most Innovative Product or Service Award, Small Business category, from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®) (1) is a retirement and global asset management leader. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, investment services and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $335.8 billion in assets under management(2) and serves some 16.5 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

For more information, contact Katelynn Sarcione, Marketing Communications Manager, www.newdentalchoice.com (858) 444-2604.

(1) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
(2) As of June 30, 2011.

SOURCE First Dental Health