Dental Insurance; Use it or Lose it before Year’s End

You pay money for dental insurance coverage, why not use it! As the year winds to a close consider using any remaining dental insurance benefits or Flex plan allowance to complete needed care before they expire.

If your dental insurance runs on a traditional calendar year, you may be able to save yourself money by using your dental benefits towards dental work. Below are some reasons why you should schedule a dental appointment now.

Yearly Maximum

The yearly insurance maximum is the total money that dental insurance will pay for your dental work within one full year. This max amount varies greatly by the insurance carrier, but the average tends to be around $1,500 per year, per person. This means the yearly maximum, as a rule, renews every year on January 1st. If you have unused benefits, these benefit dollars will not roll over, so you must utilize all of the benefits while they are still active. If you don’t utilize your insurance benefits, they expire!

Availability

Many dental offices are faced with an increase in workload as the year ends as patients try to squeeze in for one last appointment before the New Year. This end of year time crunch reduces appointment availability for your care especially if your treatment requires multiple visits. By scheduling ahead of the rush, convenient appointments are still feasible -but don’t put off that call much longer otherwise you will be left with lost dental benefits and possible unanticipated out of pocket expenses to complete dental care.

Premiums

If you are paying for dental insurance coverage, it makes sense to use your insurance benefits. Even if you don’t need any major dental treatment, you should always visit your dentist biannually for a professional cleaning and checkup. This may help prevent and detect any early signs of gum disease, cavities, oral cancer, and other dental problems requiring treatment.

Very often, when dental issues are ignored and left to develop, they end up becoming much worse than whatever the original issue was. By delaying dental treatment, you are risking more extensive and expensive treatment down the road. What may be a simple cavity now, could turn painful and become more urgent later. With only a few months remaining don’t let dental problems worse by not seeking care. Use your dental insurance benefits before the year end expiration. Be sure to contact Dr. Leppo and his fabulous team to schedule an appointment to use those benefits.