Important Things to Know When Purchasing Dental Insurance

Unless you’re lucky enough to have it covered by your employer, you will probably need to purchase dental insurance at some time in your life.  Even if your teeth are in great shape now, well, people get old and teeth eventually start to fail.  Or you might start a family and need coverage for your kids.  It’s best to contact a dental insurance agency sooner, rather than later, to get the best deals.

Dental insurance products are similar to regular medical insurance, but they do have their own quirks and specific differences.  Here are a few of the most important things you should know when you go shopping.

What You Should Know About Typical Policies from A Dental Insurance Agency

Understanding 100/80/50 coverage

There’s less variety in dental insurance policies, and most of them (although not all) follow a system that’s commonly abbreviated to 100/80/50.  That means:

• 100% of bi-annual preventative care is typically covered, including cleanings and X-rays.

• 80% of typical minor dental work is covered, such as fillings or extractions.
• 50% of major work, like root canals or implants, is covered.  Or potentially less, in the case of purely cosmetic work.

What this means is that, as someone with dental insurance, you are strongly encouraged to get bi-annual checkups to prevent major problems.  Make good use of those free examinations!

Fancier work is typically covered less

Dentists usually have a wide range of options in terms of matters like what filling material is used.  In general, insurance will only provide the best coverage for the more basic options.  As a hypothetical example, a particular policy might cover 80% of fillings made of silver but would only cover 50% of more expensive tooth-colored specialty materials.

Orthodontics usually require a rider

Do you or does someone in your family need major corrective work, such as braces or other orthodontic appliances?  These are typically not covered in a basic dental insurance policy.  You’ll want to ask about this work specifically, and you’ll probably need to pay for a rider at a slightly higher fee adding this coverage.

However, given how expensive orthodontic work can be, this is well worth it if you know such work is on the horizon!

Good and Associates Brings Comprehensive Dental Insurance

We are a dental insurance agency that specializes in matching Californians up with their perfect dental policies.  Click here for a free quote!