A little known fact about oral hygiene is that it affects more than just your mouth. In fact – your oral hygiene has a huge role to play in your overall wellness. Ignoring warnings signs something is wrong with your tooth/gums etc could later cause respiratory infections, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, erectile dysfunction and a few other alarming health issues. Shockingly as of 2016, 74 million Americans had no dental insurance at all.
Unlike medical insurance which often pays a large portion after deductible or co-payment, dental insurance is not meant to be a pay-all. It’s only meant to be an aid. Most plans cover about 40% to 60% of an average fee. Average annual cost of dental insurance for an individual at about $360 a year. Think of this type of coverage as structured to be a safety net, easing the burden of a full payment.
There are a few key factors to always make sure to speak with your agent and provider about (if they apply to you). Coinsurance is the first. This is the percentage of the charges that you are responsible for paying. For example, a 70/30 plan would mean your provider would cover 70% of the charges for a service and you would cover the remaining 30%.
Second, you will have something called an “Annual Maximum” which is the limit your plan will pay up to each year. Typically this is between $1,000-$3,000. This number is very important to know as if you go over, it’s 100% your responsibility to cover it. Last is the Least Expensive Alternative Treatment (LEAT). If your plan has this, it means if there is more than one option for treatment the plan will cover the least expensive one. If you are not aware of this it may come as a shock to you the day of your visit.
As you can see it’s extremely important to talk to your agent about your options! It’s even possible that some procedures recommended by your dentist won’t be covered at all by your dental benefits plan.
While I can sit here and type away facts, let’s allow the numbers to do the talking. Wisdom tooth extraction without insurance can cost up to $750- per tooth. With insurance? $416. While that might not seem like such a huge discount, when you do the math on 4 extractions that’s a $1,336 savings for having coverage. Other typical procedures like a root canal even come out to be a significant savings. Without coverage you’re looking at $1,150 and with coverage is around $600.
Let math do the convincing for you that your health is worth the phone call to one of our agents. Speaking to someone is free, and there is no pressure for a sale as we operate under a no obligation mindset. We truly want to help you (YES you!) feel comfortable and feel that your needs will be met. We know how aggravating and stressful purchasing insurance can be – we hope to make this process a LOT easier for you so you think of us next time you need us!
