International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 306 Vol.7; Issue: 7; July 2017 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Review Article Dental Micro-Insurance in Rural India - A Vision for the Future Dr. Sunita Kulkarni, Dr. Amit Aggarwal, Dr. Soheyl Sheikh, Dr. Ravinder Singh, Dr. Usha Rathod Dept of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Swargiya Dadasaheb Kalmegh Smruti Dental College & Hospital, Nagpur, India. Corresponding Author: Dr. Usha Rathod ABSTRACT Over the last 50 years India has achieved a lot in terms of health improvement which includes oral health. But still India is way behind many fast developing countries such as China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka in health indicators. To highlight the need of oral health care among poor in rural areas in India through microinsurance. The objective is also to understand and analyse the workings of health insurance by the dental workforce. Keywords- Microinsurance, Dental Workforce, NGOS INTRODUCTION In case of government funded health care system, the quality and access of services has always remained major concern. [1] Unlike most western countries, specific dental insurance plans are not common in India. The nascent health insurance sector in India accounts for a trivial portion of the overall market. Only the very rich, government employees, and some formal sector workers enjoy health insurance and currently only a handful of dental insurance plans are available on a stand-alone basis. A dental plan offers cover against financial hardship due to dental treatments. [2] Oral health is normally integrated with the general health insurance schemes. Micro-insurance, the term used to refer to insurance to the low-income people, is different from insurance in general as it is a low value product, involving modest premium and benefit package, which requires different design and distribution strategies. It is a form of health, life or property insurance, which offers limited protection at a low contribution hence ‘micro’. It is aimed at poor sections of the population and designed to help them cover themselves collectively against risks. [1] Health Microinsurance Micro-insurance for the poor is a relatively recent phenomenon in India. The strength of Indian economy is the rural community and it deserves to be well. India has shockingly small organized private sector-less than 10 million workers. Today, with falling agricultural prices and increasing healthcare expenses the poor in unorganized-sector cannot access the micro- insurance in their own. [2] Approximately 3 billion people worldwide, i.e. half the people on the planet survive on $2 a day. More than one billion or less survives on half that amount or less, which is the World Bank’s definition of the severest poverty. Most citizens of the