At this point, you may need to get dental insurance. The service would certainly make your oral care more affordable. Still, perhaps you don’t know much about how it works. You might even worry that you’ll choose a bad policy. Luckily enough, though, learning the basics of dental insurance isn’t a hard process. Your Bergenfield dentist can even teach you a few of them. To that end, here are four crucial facts to remember when considering dental plans.
It Mainly Covers Preventive Care
As you shop for a dental plan, remember that most are prevention-focused. The typical policy fully covers oral exams, cleanings, etc. Given this fact, insurance is geared toward essential oral care.
Meanwhile, many policies don’t help much with restorative and cosmetic works. The co-pays for such procedures are high, and the annual coverage amounts are low. That means your out-of-pocket expenses will increase.
With all this in mind, consider your needed services when purchasing coverage.
HMOs are Cheaper than PPOs
At first glance, PPOs have an advantage over HMOs. The former plans let you see out-of-network dentists. However, HMOs have their own financial upside.
Ultimately, an HMO is the cheaper of the two options. That’s mainly because it restricts you to in-network dental providers. To make this reduced flexibility bearable, it offers lower monthly premiums and co-pays. The result is a policy with less wiggle room but more potential long-term savings.
Dental Plans Have Waiting Periods
Right after buying dental insurance, you may want oral care immediately. Even so, getting treatment so quickly isn’t the wisest move.
The truth is that dental plans have built-in waiting periods. In other words, you’ll have to hold back a while before your coverage takes effect. The waiting time for preventive care is normally short, while restorative or cosmetic work can extend to 3 months.
Coverage Doesn’t “Roll Over”
In a good dental plan, your annual allowance covers two six-month checkups and teeth cleanings. It’s vital that you use them all before the year’s end. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your insurance.
You see, insurance coverage doesn’t “roll over” from one year to the next. Unused allowances expire when January comes back around. That being the case, letting your benefits gather dust isn’t cost-effective.
Granted, the items above don’t cover all the basics of dental insurance. They do, though, make for a good start. Therefore, memorize them before you go looking for a new policy!
About the Practice
Washington Dental Associates is based in Bergenfield, NJ. Led by its top-tier dental team, our practice takes a personal approach to dentistry. That means we go above and beyond to ensure each patient gets their dream smile! In particular, our team offers preventive, cosmetic, and restorative services, as well as emergency dental procedures. For more information or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (201)-453-4863.