Annual Dental Benefits: Use Them Or Lose Them
The majority of dental insurance plans renew on a yearly basis, which means that on December 31st you may miss out on any unused dental benefits. Making your dental appointment is important now more than ever to ensure that your dental benefits don’t go to waste. Here are some other reasons why using your dental benefits before the end of the year is important.
What Happens If My Dental Benefits Expire?
Any unused benefits will be wasted
Every dental insurance plan will have a set amount of treatments that they will cover throughout the year. They can range from cleanings every 6 months to specific treatments that address more serious dental work.
This amount will vary by insurance company and the plan that you chose, but they all have something in common: they reset at the end of the year. If you have any unused benefits left for the year, they will be lost.
Using Your Regular Checkups
You have already been paying for dental insurance, so you might as well get your money’s worth. Most insurance plans aren’t cheap and it only makes sense to get the most out of your investment. Many dental insurance plans offer a set number of free checkups throughout the year. At the very least, you should be using the checkups to maintain your oral health. These checkups are essential for identifying problems early and finding quick, easy solutions, before a small issue turns into a time-consuming, expensive procedure.
Think of it as an investment that will likely save you time and money in the future. Would you rather have two quick checkup appointments per year that are covered by insurance or need surgery for an abscess tooth and be forced to pay large deductibles to cover the cost of the treatment? Prevention is one of the most important tools in medicine and using your dental insurance benefits is a great way to stay vigilant.
If you have waited until the end of the year to get your dental checkup, be sure to schedule an appointment soon, because other patients will likely have the same idea as we get closer to the end of the calendar year.
Your annual deductible will reset
Dental insurance deductibles are the amount of money you need to pay out of pocket before the insurance company covers your dental services. This amount varies by company and the type of plan you have. For example, you may be required to pay $1,000 out of pocket before the insurance company covers any amount above that.
These annual deductible amounts reset every year, which means that the money you’ve already paid towards the deductible will no longer be valid for next year’s coverage. It’s essential to take advantage of the money you’ve already used for your treatment and seek treatment for any dental needs you need.
How do I take advantage of my deductible?
If you have reached or exceeded your deductible for the year, it could be the perfect time to get major dental work that you have been putting off. Big ticket procedures and treatments like dental implants and full mouth reconstruction can be expensive, unless you have insurance and have already reached your deductible. Depending on your insurance, your major dental treatment may be fully covered!
If you are planning to take advantage of your post-deductible dental insurance plan for a major procedure, be sure to schedule your appointment sooner that later, because other patients will likely have the same idea and appointments for time consuming treatments can be limited and fill up quickly.
Postponing treatment might require more dental work
By neglecting to visit your dentist you might be placing yourself at risk for more extensive treatment later. Whether you’re planning on going on a holiday trip or not, it’s best to make a quick appointment with Lakeway Cosmetic Dentistry to ensure that your dental health is good to go before the end of the year.
For example, if you know that you need a dental implant but don’t want to go through the hassle, you could find yourself in a bind next year if your tooth becomes infected. Now you have to deal with your infected tooth right away, but your dental insurance situation may have changed. Now removing an abscess tooth and adding a dental implant will need to come out of your refreshed deductible, costing you more money, on top of the extra cost of quickly removing the abscess tooth, on top of the already needed dental implant costs. What started as a dental implant, that was covered post-deductible, now costs thousands of dollars more than if you had taken care of it at the end of this year.
We all know how tempting it can be the put off medical procedures to save time or money, but it’s important to take advantage of insurance safety nets whenever possible or else you may end up wasting more time and money in the future.
Make Your Dental Appointment Today To Use Your Dental Benefits
Are you due for a 6 month checkup or are you interested in more extensive teeth work? Now is the perfect time to act! Lakeway Cosmetic Dentistry offers a variety of dental services such as basic teeth cleanings or more extensive work such as dental implants and Invisalign, just in time for dental insurance benefit renewal. Schedule your appointment today to learn more and see why we’re Austin’s first choice for dental work.