Dental Insurance Benefits

Maintaining the health of your teeth and gums is important to your overall health. Visits to the dentist can be inexpensive or can become costly depending on your services. Having dental insurance will help to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses as most policies will cover an array of dental services. Some policies may require that you meet an annual deductible before some services and most of them have an calendar year maximum amount that they will cover each year.

Preventative Benefits

• Regular checkups help to maintain the health of your teeth, gums and mouth. Many dental insurance policies offer to pay most of all of the costs associated with preventative and diagnostic care. Since it is recommended that people should receive regular teeth cleanings every six months, insurance companies want to promote pro-activity in taking care of your dental hygiene. Preventative care usually includes a basic exam, x-rays and a cleaning. The dentist will be able to determine the health of your teeth and can discover any potential problems or issues that could be taken care of before they escalate to bigger health issues. Taking the preventative approach in your dental care will save money for both you and the insurance company as well as preserve your dental health.

Basic Care Benefits

• Dental insurance benefits also include care for basic dental needs that arise from time to time. If during your visit to the dentist he discovers that you have a cavity, your policy may include cavity fillings. Your policy may also include extractions, which would be useful if an occasion arises that requires you to have teeth removed such as when wisdom teeth grow in and are painful or become infected. If you crack or chip a tooth dental policy benefits may cover having it repaired. Depending on your coverage, the dental insurance policy may require that you meet an annual deductible before it pays a percentage of the costs of these services.

Major Care Benefits

• There are dental insurance policies that include costs associated with major work that you may need to have done such as oral surgery and orthodontics. Many companies impose a waiting period before these types of services are covered or may exclude certain major treatments from their policies. Dental insurance benefits may include paying a certain amount for braces for you and your family members as well as crowns or bridges. Some carriers also cover some of the expense for root canal work and treatments for periodontal disease. There are usually capped dental policy benefits amounts for work that requires extensive and multiple treatments.