New Patient Offer: End of Year Dental Benefits
Fall is here, ushering in a season of holidays and hectic activities. During this busy time, it can be easy to neglect important activities. One of these is ensuring that you do not leave your dental benefits on the table when they expire at the end of the year. So be sure to consider getting any type of needed dental treatment or appointment before December 31st. If you are visiting a dentist for the first time, you may want to inquire about whether they have a new patient offer available.
According to the National Association of Dental Plans, 77% of Americans have dental insurance benefits. For most people, this involves private insurance coverage from their employer or a group insurance program.
To get the most out of your dental insurance benefits, it is helpful to consider the following:
Benefits or Insurance?
The term ‘dental benefits,’ is actually different from insurance. The purpose of an insurance plan is to help with the absorption of risk. For example, the risk involved with having a tooth extracted so that costs are covered accordingly.
A dental benefit plan will be covering certain treatments and procedures fully, while others may only receive partial coverage, and others none at all. So you want to make sure that you understand what your individual plan covers when shopping for coverage.
What Insurance Plans Cover
In general, dental insurance policies will cover the cost of preventative dental care, dental crowns, fillings, root canal therapy, and oral surgery, like tooth extractions. Some plans provide coverage for periodontics and prosthodontics, like bridges and dentures, and orthodontics.
If you have an individual insurance policy, prosthodontics and periodontics may not be available during your first year of dental insurance coverage. Orthodontics typically requires a rider that involves the payment of an additional fee.
Most dental insurance plans have what is known as a 100- 80-50 structure of coverage, meaning that they provide preventive dental care coverage at 100%, while basic dental procedures are covered at 80%, and major ones at 50 percent.
Dental Cleanings
If you have gone a while without having a dental exam and cleaning appointment, you should definitely do so before the end of the year. Keeping up with these vital appointments helps to prevent costly and unnecessary dental work down the road.
For More Information
Contact Mannassas Smiles today! New patients are welcome. Call (703) 335-1020 or book online.
