Did you know that your dental benefits don’t roll over from year to year? Once you reach the end of the calendar year, your annual dental benefits disappear for good, whether or not you’ve used them. If your dental insurance plan, like most is on a calendar year, you will lose out on all unused benefits after December 31st. That means this is a great time of year to take advantage of everything your dental insurance provides, especially if you have outstanding treatments.
One of the best examples of a dental insurance benefit are the preventive care services that are usually covered between 80% to 100%, meaning the insurance company pays 80%-100% of the cost of the service. For example, most dental insurance plans give you two teeth cleaning visits each year covered at 100%, meaning you pay nothing out-of-pocket for your dental hygiene visit. Most insurance plans also fully cover at least one set of full mouth x-rays each year.
Another example of your insurance benefits is your annual maximum, meaning the maximum amount that your dental insurance company will pay toward your dental care each year. Annual maximums vary greatly, but say your plan’s maximum is $2,000. If you’ve only used $500 of that $2,000 by the end of the year, the remaining $1,500 disappears & you never get to use it.
So what should you do if the year is almost up and you still have some of your annual maximum left? Here are just a few of the services you want to use before you lose the opportunity:
Routine Checkups - many dental insurance plans provide coverage for two checkups a year at six-month intervals. So, if you haven’t had a cleaning in the last six months, now is an excellent time to schedule an appointment at Advanced Dental Center, PC. Getting a regular checkup ensures your teeth and gums are in tip top shape, and gives your dentist a chance to review your oral health to make sure problems aren’t developing. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a professionally cleaned and polished smile.
Large Treatments - if you need more extensive dental treatments involving multiple visits, the end of the year is the perfect time to get started. This is especially true if you’ve already met your deductible and haven’t hit your annual maximum. Once your deductible is paid, your out-of-pocket expenses can decrease dramatically, making it an ideal situation for larger dental treatments.
There is one final reason you may need to use up your health insurance and dental benefits before the end of the year – if you have not been to the doctor or dentist at all. Failing to be pre-emptive with your health is the same as failing to be pre-emptive with your finances. Nothing good ever happens in that case.
In short, take care of yourself and use all the health care and dental benefits available to you. That is just plain common sense.
So after professional dentist has reviewed your situation and developed a treatment plan, professional team at Advanced Dental Center, PC can come up with a financial arrangement that allows you to maximize your dental insurance benefits, and achieve optimal oral health and the beautiful smile of your dreams.
Don’t let your dental benefits go to waste by making sure you use them before December 31. Schedule an appointment at Advanced Dental Center, PC today to get started.
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