Use Your Insurance Benefits Before Time Runs Out

If you pay for a dental health insurance plan and have yet to go to Sheila L. Brush for this year’s checkup, then now is the time to make an appointment. When it comes to dental insurance health plans, please remember if you don’t use it, you will definitely lose it. Why pay out each month for something that is just going to waste? 

Below you can learn more about how a dental coverage policy works and tips to take advantage of the benefits before the end of the year.

What Are Dental Benefits?

Dental benefits are the treatments that cost you nothing from subscribing to a dental insurance plan. In most cases, health insurance companies are pretty straightforward and specify the type of dental services they cover. 

What Does Dental Insurance Cover?

Typically dental insurance plans cover preventive care, fillings, root canals, and oral surgery. However, some may even include portions of restorative and orthodontic treatments, dentures, and bridges. Keep in mind that many insurance companies will not cover cosmetic dental treatments such as teeth whitening or crowns.

What is Insurance Maximum Benefit?

When you pay for your dental insurance monthly, you are paying for coverage up to a certain point. That precise amount is called your annual maximum. When the year ends in January, everything starts from square one again. 

This means that the money you should have used up for essential dental treatments goes down the drain. Not using this money is a massive gain to the insurance company and a heartbreaking loss to you. These days, no one can afford to waste money, and that is why you should always attend your biannual dental checkups. Six-month checkups keep your oral health in the best shape and give you the most bang for your buck.

What is an Insurance Deductible?

Your deductible also resets to zero at the beginning of the new year. The deductible amount is what you must pay before dental insurance kicks in. Most insurance plans use the 100-80-50 structure to specify their contribution. The contribution amount will vary from plan to plan. 

What does all this exactly mean? It means that preventive care costs could be 100% covered, essential treatments 80% covered, and major dental procedures covered at 50%. 

Take advantage of 100% Coverage on Preventive Dental Procedures.

A dental insurance policy is not just for fixing your teeth. It’s really about maintaining excellent oral health and preventing disease and decay before it takes hold. Most dental plans cover 100% of the following twice a year:

• A dental care examination 
• Dental x-rays
• Regular professional teeth cleaning 

Dental x-rays are essential because they show your dentist’s problems that aren’t visible. Small cavities between the teeth can are difficult to detect, and abscessed teeth with no symptoms are sometimes only visible through x-rays.

An exam with your dentist is so much more than just checking for cavities. Your dentist palpitates your mouth tissues for suspicious areas related to oral cancer or issues with the thyroid, lymph nodes, and jaw joints. 

A bi-annual cleaning by your dental hygienist helps prevent cavities and gum disease and keeps your oral health in tip-top shape. 

Take advantage of your preventive dental health care benefits each year. The easiest way to use your benefits is to schedule out biannual preventive care visits.

Visit Your Dentist Before Your Insurance Benefits Expire

Please see us at Sheila L. Brush, DDS, your dentist in Laytonsville, MD. We can help you use your maximum dental insurance benefit plan before everything expires on December 31st.