Are You Leaving Dental Benefits Behind?

Dental insurance benefits are meant to not only make dental treatments more affordable, but more predictable, especially when it comes to preventive services that protect your long-term oral health. Unfortunately, the average American only receives about $323 worth of dental treatment every year, despite typical plans holding annual maximums as high as $1,250. That means hundreds of dollars’ worth of benefits go unused. To learn why you should set up a dental visit now and how to make sure you’re getting the most out of the benefits you paid for, keep reading!

Dental Benefits Don’t Carry Over

If you have a dental plan, your benefits become available after you meet your deductible. This amount can vary depending on your plan, but once you do meet it, your insurer will start covering portions of your dental treatments. However, these benefits are only available in the calendar year. That means if you have unused benefits, they won’t carry over. Instead, they reset, making them what many dentists call “use it or lose it.”

Why It’s Essential to Use Your Benefits

Because many people don’t realize this, they’ll try to schedule appointments for treatments that they don’t have benefits for. Even if you’ve already paid your deductible and been paying premiums every month, you won’t get your money back even if you don’t use your plan.

Additionally, waiting until late into the year only makes it more difficult to set up an appointment. This is because many people schedule at the last minute to make the most of their plan, causing the dental office’s timeslots to fill up quickly.

While at-home oral hygiene is crucial to long-term oral health, you can’t necessarily call your smile fully protected unless you also complete routine checkups and cleanings every six months. The good news is when you have a dental insurance plan, you can expect to pay less in most cases compared to having no insurance at all.

Common Benefits Available in Most Dental Plans

Coverage for dental treatments generally follows a 100-80-50 model, which refers to the following:

• 100% coverage for preventive services (or at least close to 100%) for checkups and cleanings
• 80% coverage for minor restorative services (i.e. dental fillings and sometimes root canal therapy)
• 50% coverage for major restorative services (i.e. dental crowns, bridges, and dentures)

The first thing you should do is confirm if you’ve used all of your benefits for preventive services. Not only are these services the most affordable because of their better coverage, but they are also crucial to removing plaque and tartar that you likely missed during at-home brushing and flossing. Additionally, many dental problems tend to fly under the radar, and detailed exams ensure they are caught in the earliest stages before they can cause major problems later.

Don’t let dental benefits go by the wayside. Start making the most of them before the end of the year while you still have time!

About Edgewood Dental

The dentists of Edgewood Dental are in-network with a variety of dental insurance plans, including Aetna, Cigna, Delta Dental, Assurant, Sun Life Financial, and many more. Even if you are out-of-network, their team is prepared to help you maximize your benefits to the fullest extent. To get started, you can contact them through their website.