Your oral health is a crucial part of your overall wellness, and having dental insurance coverage can play a vital role in ensuring your dental health is cared for. However, many people with dental insurance plans aren’t aware of the best ways to make the most of their dental benefits.
To help you make the most of your dental insurance in Elkin, NC, by the end of 2024, Dr. Manigault explores practical strategies for maximizing your dental benefits and outlines the various dental services your dental insurance may cover.
What Are Your Dental Insurance Benefits?
Dental insurance benefits are plans that cover specific oral care. You can get them through your employer or by creating an individual plan with health insurance companies, such as Medicare. Your dental insurance benefits will usually vary based on the insurance plan, but they usually cover preventive, basic, and major dental care:
- Preventive Services: Dental insurance plans usually offer full coverage for preventive care, which includes routine checkups, dental cleanings, fluoride, X-rays, and sealants.
- Basic Services: You can receive dental insurance benefits on basic dental treatments such as dental fillings, root canals, gum disease treatment, and tooth extractions. These services usually receive about 80% coverage or more if you haven’t met your deductibles.
- Major Services: Your dental insurance plan partially covers major dental treatments, such as dental crowns and bridges, implants, oral surgery, dentures, and complex extractions.
What Does Dental Insurance Cost You?
The cost of your dental insurance plans varies from the provider, down to the type of treatments covered. In terms of cost, most health insurance will require:
- Premiums: This is the monthly amount paid to your provider for your dental insurance.
- Copays: Copays are a fixed amount paid to your dental insurance provider for a covered service. It is usually paid upfront.
- Deductibles: Before your insurance plan kicks in, you’ll be required to pay an amount for your dental care. The amount paid is called a deductible.
- Coinsurance: Coinsurance is the percentage you pay for your dental treatment after you have paid your deductible.
- Annual maximum: This is the maximum amount your insurance plan will cover for the dental services you receive in a year.
How To Use Your Dental Benefits Before the New Year
Your annual maximum often resets at the end of the year, and any unused benefits won’t be rolled over to the new year. Here are a few ways to use your dental benefits before the new year:
- Schedule Preventive Care: Most insurance plans fully cover preventive care. You can schedule an appointment for a preventive treatment at our dental office in Elkin, NC. We offer preventive care, like teeth cleaning, fluoride treatments, and X-rays, to help protect you from expensive dental procedures in the future.
- Make Early Appointments: Coming in for treatment early will enable our dentist to take proper care of your oral health before the holidays. Don’t wait until it’s late in the year to use your dental benefits.
- Discuss with Your Dentist: Dr. Manigault, our dentist in Elkin, NC, can walk you through your dental plans, helping you identify the treatments you might need before the end of the year. Contact us to discuss your dental needs.
To maximize your dental benefits in Elkin, NC, you must have a good understanding of what your plans cover and whether you’ll have to make some out-of-pocket expenses. Also, if you have any dental insurance, know that your annual maximum will expire at the end of the year, meaning that you’ll be leaving money in the hands of your insurance providers. Schedule an appointment with our Elkin dentist today to discover the best ways to use your dental benefits.
