Is a dental health insurance plan necessary?
Whether or not dental health insurance plans are necessary or not depends on who you talk to. For dentists and many health care providers the answer is yes. For those looking to save money, the answer is often no. Dental coverage is not a common health insurance benefit and must be purchased separately.
While dental insurance is important, it is not as important as good health insurance coverage. If you are looking for health insurance rates, simply input your ZIP code in the FREE search tool on this page to begin!
A variety of things come into play when people are considering dental health insurance plans. For some individuals dental coverage is very important while for others it is not. Often it depends on whether or not dental care was emphasized in the home you grew up in.
Your dental care history will largely impact how necessary you feel such coverage is to carry. If your dental checkups are typically incident-free and you take good care of your teeth, you may find that dental health insurance is unnecessary. The cost of premiums may easily rival the cost of discounted checkups. However, if you have invested heavily in dental care in the past, you are likely to want future coverage.
What things are covered by dental insurance?
In exchange for your monthly premium, most dental health insurance plans will cover yearly or twice yearly checkups, X-rays and dental cleaning. They will also at least partially cover restorations and repairs to your teeth. Preventative procedures such as sealants on children’s teeth are also usually partially covered.
Some of the things that are usually not covered by dental health insurance plans are orthodontics and dentures, and other procedures deemed elective. Cosmetic procedures such as caps and teeth whitening, as well as oral surgery, are typically not covered, depending on the reason. As with other forms of health insurance preexisting conditions are excluded from coverage, so if you know you need a root canal it is too late to start looking for dental insurance.
Why should I get a dental insurance plan?
Families with children may want to consider carrying dental health insurance, as children are more likely to need dental care more often than adults. In fact, if preventative dental care is regularly done with children, they can successfully avoid large dental bills later in life.
Many dental health issues can transform into more serious medical problems. Neck and face injuries can even result from severe dental problems. For these reasons, dental care is very important, yet often neglected by those who do not have dental health insurance.
If you work for a company that offers group dental health insurance plans, you may want to combine dental and health insurance plans. If they supplement such coverage, it is definitely a good deal. If you need to purchase individual dental insurance coverage, you may want to compare anticipated yearly costs and premiums for coverage before making a decision.
How can I save without dental health insurance?
Maybe you’re wondering if your regular health insurance company covers dental work. Your regular health insurance will not cover your dental bills. Dental health insurance tends to be rather costly. For this reason, many people opt to not carry it. If you are one of those individuals there are still ways to save some money while getting good dental care.
Seek out dental discount cards. Such programs have established agreements with dentists who provide services at a lower price to card holders. While this is not insurance and you do not have the option of choosing any dentist you wish, these cards do provide significant savings with no waiting period.
You may also want to consider speaking with your dentist about the possibility of paying in cash. Many dentists will give a discounted rate to those willing to pay cash up front.
When should I forgo dental insurance coverage?
If you have to choose between dental insurance and health insurance, it is definitely time to forget about dental coverage. Dental problems are rarely considered emergencies and dental bills are much more manageable than healthcare bills. Therefore always choose a health insurance plan over dental insurance when in doubt.
There are an abundance of resources to help you understand health insurance and choose between the different dental health insurance companies. The Insurance Information Institute has answers to practically any question on the subject. The Better Business Bureau and the independent insurance ratings companies can help you choose the best health insurance company for your needs.
Ready to shop around for coverage? Compare health insurance quotes immediately with the FREE search tool by simply typing in your ZIP code!
