Most dental benefits reset at the end of the year. Unused benefits won’t rollover into the next year, so it is important to consider how to best use your dental benefits before the year ends. Otherwise, you are essentially just throwing money away. Keeping your children’s smiles healthy doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg; optimizing your dental benefits will help you to obtain superior care, as well as help you save money.
Here at Mountain View Pediatric Dentistry, we care about the health of your children’s smiles and are more than happy to discuss how to best use your dental benefits before the end of the year. Effectively using your dental benefits can go a long way toward preventing a potential escalation of issues with your oral health. It can also be incredibly useful to understand what exactly happens at a dental visit to ensure that you know what services you need to obtain.
The Purpose of Dental Insurance
Dental insurance is designed primarily for preventative treatment. Understanding the intended use of dental insurance can help you to optimize your use of it. Most dental insurance plans are designed on a 100-80-50 basis. This means that they often cover 100% of preventative treatment expenses, 80% of basic services, and 50% of major services. Insurance is intended to offset dental costs, rather than completely cover them. Basic services include things like having cavities filled, while major services are generally more complex dental (and expensive) procedures. It also is not intended for cosmetic use, so it is incredibly uncommon for dental insurance to even partially cover any cosmetic treatments.
Ensure that you familiarize yourself with your dental insurance plan to completely understand how to effectively use your insurance. The reason dental insurance is designed in this manner is because prevention is always the best method to take for your oral health. Not only can this save you a significant amount of pain, but it will also save you quite a bit of money on dental services.
Prevention and Dental Care
Prevention is necessarily the ultimate approach to take to your oral health. This also applies to the oral health of your children. It is vital to ensure that your children undergo an effective oral hygiene routine. This includes brushing their teeth twice a day for at least two minutes, flossing once, and visiting the dentist regularly. Fortunately, most dental plans cover preventative services. They generally cover two dental cleanings and exams yearly, so it is strongly recommended that you obtain these cleanings before the year ends, if you haven’t already done so. If you are ever concerned regarding your child’s oral hygiene routine, you should consult with our experts.
Use your Dental Benefits
Most dental insurance plans operate on a “use it or lose it” basis. You pay for your dental insurance whether you use the dental services or not. So when you don’t optimize your dental benefits by the time they reset at the end of the year, you are essentially losing out on money that you’ve already paid. The majority of dental plans reset at the beginning of the calendar year, so it is important to use all of your dental benefits by December 31st.
Your insurance plan likely comes with a yearly maximum. This maximum resets at the beginning of the year, but any remaining balance won’t rollover, so it’s better to use it before the year ends. If the plan doesn’t roll over, the money is essentially just lost. In addition, there is a good chance that you have already paid the deductible on your plan before the year has ended. If you wait until after the year has restarted to obtain services, you will have to pay the deductible again.
Importance of Dental Insurance
It is incredibly important to obtain regular care for your teeth. Failure to do so can lead to an escalation of health issues, which will ultimately be much more expensive and painful. Many people avoid going to the dentist when they don’t have dental insurance, because it may be difficult to afford dental services. However, regular dental cleanings can help to ensure that your dentist catches potential problems in the early stages, when they can be treated more easily. Almost everyone will require dental treatment to protect their teeth, so nearly everyone could benefit from obtaining dental insurance. Oral health issues have been linked to general health issues, so excellent dental health does more than protect your smile. Dental insurance is also designed to provide preventative care, which can help ensure that everyone understands the importance of implementing excellent oral hygiene practices to protect their health.
Potential Issues with Dental Insurance
Though dental insurance can be incredibly helpful, it is far from a perfect system. There are several potential issues with dental insurance. Dental insurance can be rather costly, which can prevent it from becoming a viable option for many people. It often comes with low yearly caps that are paired with high co-pay costs, which can minimize its usefulness. Additionally, dental insurance won’t cover much of the cost of services that aren’t oriented toward prevention. We understand that not everyone has dental insurance and it can be difficult to plan for problems with your children’s teeth. Here at Mountain View Pediatric Dentistry, we believe that you should be able to obtain the services to protect your children’s smiles without financial ruin. We offer options for payment plans to cover these important services.
Contact Us
Dental insurance can be rather complicated, though it certainly has its benefits. It is vital to take the steps necessary to ensure that you have used all of the insurance benefits that you are entitled to before they reset at the end of the year. If you are unsure how best to use your insurance by the end of the year, contact our experts. This will also allow you to learn more about how to protect your children’s teeth. Schedule an appointment with us today!