Sometimes, it can be very easy to feel like you aren’t getting much of anything about your dental benefits. You might have checked a box when you started at a new job, or picked one out as an afterthought on the healthcare exchange, and not really thought much about it since.
You could even begin to wonder whether dental insurance is something worth paying for. It absolutely is—but only if you know how you make use of your benefits properly.
Here are a few things that you can do to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your dental benefits.
Take Advantage of Preventive Care
Any dentist will tell you that the easiest way to deal with oral health problems is to make sure that they don’t happen in the first place, which is the reason why most of them recommend visiting for two checkups every year.
Dental insurance companies are also aware of this, and as a result, most of them will provide you with two checkups each year at no additional copay. Taking advantage of these is an easy way to make sure that you’re getting the most from your benefits.
Understanding Annual Maximums
One feature unique to dental insurance is the annual maximum, which refers to the largest dollar amount that they’re willing to pay for your care within a given year. After they’ve paid out that amount, your copay for every procedure functionally becomes 100%.
For this reason, it’s smart to time your larger, multi-appointment treatments so that they’re spread across two years. That way, you run much less of a risk of exceeding your annual maximum.
Beating Benefit Reset
Perhaps the most important thing you should know about your dental insurance is that your benefits completely reset at the first of the year, and that any leftover benefits you have do not rollover. This means that any unused complimentary checkups are erased, you’ll have to pay your deductible all over again, and you lose out on any reimbursement guaranteed before meeting your annual maximum.
There’s a time limit on your dental benefits; if you want to make the best use of them, “use it before you lose it” is an important thing to remember!
About Our Practice
At Midtown Family Dentistry of Dallas, we believe that every patient we see deserves a beautiful smile that they can take true pride in. That’s why we do what we can to remove any barriers between you and the high-quality dental care that you need. Whether it’s through helping patients navigate the insurance system or making our services as comfortable as they can possibly be, we’ll make sure that great dentistry is always at your fingertips.
If you have any questions about dental insurance, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (469) 529-6016.