Dental Insurance FAQ: The Basics

Dental Insurance

Oral health is one of the important aspects to be considered while one is dreaming of overall wellbeing. Poor dental hygiene if not cured properly gives rise to serious infections and ailments. Not everybody is capable of handling medical expenses. For the patients, who need to visit doctors frequently in order to heal their pain, dental insurance is a perfect choice.

What is dental insurance?

In general, dental insurance is the same as that of health insurance, wherein a patient buys a dental insurance plan against which a monthly or annual premium is to be paid to dental insurance provider company. These plans are designed in a manner to cover the expenses incurred on dental care, thereby safeguarding you and your family from financial hardships.

What do dental insurance plans cover?

These plans can cover:

• Preventive – Include routine check-ups and cleaning, x-rays and have 100 percent coverage.
• Basic/restorative – Include decayed tooth extractions and cavity filling and give 80 percent coverage.
• Major-cover oral surgeries – Include dental crowns, bridges, dental implants with 50 percent coverage.

What are premiums, co-payments, deductibles, and maximums?

Premiums generally cover the monthly or yearly amount paid against your opted dental insurance plan.

Co-payments often referred to as copays, help in reducing pocket expenses. It is the amount paid at the time of dental services rendered to you. It can also be defined as per visit payment of total appointment cost.

Deductibles are generally the amount of money you need to pay annually for your dental care services before the plan actually starts. After the deductible paid by you, the rest amount is being taken care of by your dental insurance provider.

Plan maximums are the limit of the amount set for your dental care expenses. Beyond this limit, expenses are to be borne by you.

When do benefits renew?

Generally, the benefits get evaluated and renewed yearly on every 1st of January. However, in most of the plans, any balance or unused coverage is not carry forward to the next year.