Supplemental dental insurance is dental insurance that pays up to 50% of your dental care costs.
The idea behind supplemental dental insurance is that you already have some sort of dental insurance coverage in place. Supplemental dental insurance picks up the portion of your dental care that is not covered by your primary dental insurance. You must have primary dental insurance before you can purchase supplementary dental insurance coverage.
Individual Dental Needs
Each of us has different needs for dental care; some people need more expensive dental care than others. The reason for this disparity can be any one of a number of different factors. Patients who need more dental care than normal are good candidates for supplemental dental insurance
If a patient's mother had certain vitamin deficiencies while she was pregnant with the patient, these deficiencies can manifest themselves as weakness or discoloration in the patient's permanent adult teeth.
Other patients may have certain dental disorders because of inadequate nutrition while they were children, because they ate too much sugar as children, or because of excessive thumb-sucking as a child.
Some patients have a physiology that requires more dental treatment than would ordinarily have been necessary. Patients with big teeth and a small jaw will probably need to have one or more teeth extracted in preparation for the patient receiving orthodontic care.
Some patients have conditions at birth, such as a cleft palate, that requires ongoing dental and surgical treatment over the years.
Finally, some patients need supplemental dental insurance to repair damage done to their teeth due to neglect, dental malpractice, or drug use. Methamphetamine use, in particular, is devastating to the teeth, and patients who recover from methamphetamine addiction will need the kind of intensive, expensive dental care that is perfectly suited to supplemental dental insurance.
Choosing Supplemental Dental Insurance
When selecting supplemental dental insurance, ask some of the same questions as you would ask about ordinary dental insurance. Find out if you can choose your own dentist or if you have to select a dentist in a certain provider network.
Ask what kinds of services are covered by the plan. There is no sense in buying a supplemental dental insurance plan that does not cover the services you think you will need in the coming years.
Find out how the payment process works. Do you have to pay for dental services up front and seek reimbursement from the supplemental dental insurance provider, or will the provider make payments directly to the dentist?
Let's face it: Some dental plans aren't worth the paper they're printed on, and they certainly aren't worth the money you are shelling out every month for coverage. Now, if your employer is picking up the tab, there isn't much you can do. But because employers are increasingly turning to cutbacks in benefits such as dental insurance, an increasing number of people are just getting their own.
The reason that so many are joining dental networks, and getting their own dental insurance, is because it is actually a cheaper option than using the coverage provided by their employer. After all, if your dental insurance doesn't cover preventative procedures and won't pay for a root canal, what exactly is the point? Add insult to injury by being asked to pay a yearly deductible of a couple hundred bucks, with maximum annual benefits being capped at five hundred, and it's no wonder that people are seeking real dental insurance with real benefits.
So what am I looking for in dental insurance?
Honestly, the same benefits-to-cost ratio that you look for in any insurance. You should save 40-60% by using dental insurance over what you would pay if you did not have coverage. If this is not the case, then the dental insurance is all but worthless.
Great answer, but specifically, what am I looking for?
Specifically, you want to know what the maximum coverage is for the calendar year. A plan with a five hundred dollar cap may work for individuals, but it will definitely be inadequate for families. Add up your anticipated costs during the course of an average year, and make sure that it is below or close to the maximum payout for the dental insurance.
You also want to know what will be covered. A growing number of dental insurance plans are refusing to cover preventative maintenance, or cover things like root canals or even x-rays! I mean, what is the point? Plus, if you have children, make sure that braces are not considered ?cosmetic? dentistry, as this too is worthless to you. Dental insurance that fails to actually provide adequate care should be avoided like the plague.
Getting to choose their own dentist is important for many people, so see if there are any provider restrictions in your dental insurance. Dental networks are usually a good choice for people picking up the tab for their own dental insurance, as they at least offer a list of providers from which to choose.
That's only four?what else?
Finally, the deductible is an important factor to keep in mind when selecting dental insurance. Many plans ask that you pay one hundred dollars or some similar fee before your benefits for that calendar year kick in. Again, dental insurance plans that have insane deductibles are of little or no use to you. In addition, check into the waiting period of your dental insurance, because some companies have excessive ones that render the plans all but useless. After all, if you can't use the dental insurance for three months, then why pay premiums for 12?
Anything else before I go brush my teeth?
Yes ? if you follow these guidelines, you'll be well on your way to making informed and wise choices for dental coverage. Which will give you two good reasons to smile.
Both Charlie Reese & Albert Medinas are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.