Reminder: Use Your Dental Benefits Before They Expire

Remember to Use Your Dental Benefits This Year

As the year draws to a close — just before the rush, excitement, and madness of the holidays set in — you may want to look at your insurance benefits, check your credits, and use your dental benefits before they expire.

In order to better understand the importance of using your dental benefits before their expire, it is a good idea to have an idea of what is covered under an annual plan.

If you have a family dental insurance policy, you are entitled to an annual maximum amount that the insurance company covers. This annual maximum amount will depend on two important things: your insurance benefits as well as the dental treatments your child has had done.

Say, for example, your annual maximum amount is $1,000. This simply means that your insurance company will have to pay $1,000 worth of treatment/s. Afterward, once you have reached this maximum amount, your insurance company will stop paying.

However, it is also important to note that insurance companies may not fully cover every type of dental procedure. Typically, insurance companies pay in full for preventive procedures like dental cleanings, x-rays, and exams. This is great because you do not have to pay anything out of your own pocket as long as your Dentist is in-network with your dental insurance company. For procedures like extractions, fillings and root canals, your insurance company will shoulder anywhere between 50 to 80 percent of the fee. For more complicated procedures like crowns, bridges, dentures, and implants, insurance companies often shoulder half of the cost. When it comes to kids, things like Dental Sealants are often covered 100%. Always check with your dental offices or insurance provider.

Again, how much the company will shoulder for a particular treatment will depend on the type of insurance plan that you took out. The important thing to remember is that your insurance company will stop paying for treatment once you have reached your annual max and you will have to pay for the treatment on your own.

Now, if you are currently undergoing treatment and you haven’t maxed out your insurance benefits, you need to take advantage of your credits before these expire. Unfortunately, if you still have some credits left, these will not be carried over to the following year. And although your annual max for the following year will be renewed. However many patients end up wasting precious money by not using their dental benefits before they expire.

Before the year ends, check how much is left in your annual maximum amount as well as your schedule. Before you get busy for the holidays, you might want to pencil in a visit to your child’s pediatric dentist so you can make full use of your benefits before the year closes out.

If you are in Elk Grove, Sacramento, Pleasant Hill, Almaden Valley, or Land Park, be sure to contact us to schedule a year-end dental cleaning for your child!

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