Many patients have a misperception that their dental insurance works like their medical insurance. After paying a deductible, their oral needs are taken care of. The reality is your dental insurance is more like Triple A (AAA). It will help you fix a flat, but not get you new tires. The same is true of your dental insurance. They will help you fix a pressing problem, but do not help in maintaining optimum oral health. The plan will tell you how much benefit you will receive a year and what procedures are covered.
Sound OK?
The sad truth is insurance only covers what is on the contract for your plan not whether it is needed or best. The list of what is covered is negotiated between the insurance company and typically an employer’s health benefits plan administrator. Premiums are directly related to what services are covered. The more that is covered, the more the premium costs. With rapidly rising health care costs, many companies are looking for ways to lower premiums for their employee benefit packages. Moving to cheaper and cheaper dental benefits helps, but the patient unwittingly pays the price in less than optimum care.
One way of lowering dental premium costs is by dictating which dentist the patient must go to. The dentists who sign up for these plans, in essence, pays for part of the insurance premium decrease by accepting lower fees. Now the dentist must look for ways to cut costs. How do they do this? One way is the dentist can no longer afford to attend the high quality continuing education that is available. Dentistry is constantly changing and getting better but these dentists can’t take full advantage of it. These dentists must go to dental labs that charge less for their crowns and bridges. We all have heard in the news of dental labs getting crowns from China that have lead in them. You get what you pay for!!
Insurance companies, in an effort to keep down costs, deny and delay insurance claims. They are then able to keep the money they receive from premiums for a longer period of time which makes them even more money. And they are very good at it. Just look at the most beautiful buildings in a city and they are often owned by insurance companies!
An excellent option for dental health insurance is called Direct Reimbursement (DR). With DR, as much as 88 – 90 cents of every premium dollar goes toward patient care. This is in contrast to 55 cents of every dollar in other traditional dental insurance plans. In addition, you can choose the dentist and decide what care you would like. To find out more about these benefits, go to the American Dental Association website and type in “direct reimbursement” in the search area. Their number is 800-232-1890 for you or your human resources person to call to get more information. Bottom line? Freedom of choice to choose your dentist and your care.
So what can you do to help avoid costly dental bills?
The single most important part of your dental health is keeping your gums healthy. This means flossing and brushing very well at least one time a day. With healthy gums the jaw bones stay strong and can support your teeth for a lifetime.
The second most important thing is to remove large, old amalgam fillings. They break the teeth down over time. The longer they are left in place, the higher the likelihood of causing more extensive damage like cracking the tooth.
So, keep current with your dental needs and always take very good care of your mouth.
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