If you are not sure whether you need dental insurance or not, you need to understand that most health insurance coverages do not cover dental problems. Unfortunately, dental problems can occur at any time in your life, forcing you to cough up a significant amount of money. But with dental insurance, you won’t have to spend too much money treating your dental problems. In this article, you will learn the most important facts about dental insurance.
Important Facts About Dental Insurance
Dental Insurance Isn’t a Pay-All
With medical insurance, you are guaranteed to get a large chunk of medical expenses taken care of by the insurance company after the deductible or co-payment. On the other hand, dental insurance is not meant to be a pay-all option. It is only supposed to help you pay some of your dental treatment expenses. Although some insurance companies claim to offer dental covers that will cover 80 percent of your average dental care expenses, studies have shown that most of them actually cover only 40 percent of the average cost of dental treatment.
Routine Dental Check-Ups Aren’t Covered
Many dental insurance covers don’t cover routine dental check-ups. While it could be cheaper for the insurance company to cover the less costly dental procedures such as teeth cleaning and small dental fillings because they prevent major and costlier dental problems from occurring, sadly they do not. In fact, most insurance companies won’t cover your deep teeth cleaning costs until your periodontal disease progresses to the point of bone loss.
Down-Coding and Alternate Benefits
Most insurance companies often do down-coding or apply alternate benefits to procedures so that they can pay less. For example, your insurance company can decide to pay for a composite filling procedure at the rate of an amalgam filling. Therefore, you need to choose your dental coverage carefully to ensure that your insurer is not trying to cut corners.
Dental Insurance Isn’t Old in the United States
Dental insurance became acceptable in the U.S.A in 1954 when California introduced the first dental insurance plan. This insurance program only became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with annual maximum benefits of about $1,000.
Dentists Don’t Work for Insurance Companies
You need to understand that your dentist doesn’t work for the insurance company. Therefore, they are not required to submit claims on your behalf. Some dentists will ask you to pay the total amount and get reimbursed by your insurer after submitting your claims.
If you want to learn more about dental insurance, get in touch with India Hook today.
