Don’t Let Your Insurance Benefits Get Away! Three Tips for Getting the Most from Your Policy

Dental insurance can be an important part of keeping up with preventive oral care and ensuring that unexpected major procedures remain affordable. However, knowing how these policies work can help you get the most of your plan by maximizing your dental benefits. Here’s a brief guide to how you can get the most value from your insurance policy.

Know Your Annual Maximum and Deductible

Your maximum and your deductible are two important numbers in your insurance policy that determine when your benefits take effect. Their definitions are:

• Maximum: The greatest amount of money that your plan can pay for covered services in a single year. If you exceed this limit, you will have to pay out-of-pocket.
• Deductible: The amount of money you will need to pay before your insurance plan begins covering your expenses.

Understand the Limitations Attached to Your Policy

Most dental insurance policies are focused on preventive, restorative, and emergency care. Because of this, these plans usually place limitations on procedures such as cosmetic dental treatments, meaning they are not covered by the policy. In some cases, a plan might impose a waiting period on certain procedures, meaning that it will not pay for these treatments until a certain amount of time has passed after the beginning of the policy.

These waiting periods are usually a few months to a year, and they typically apply to major restorative procedures like crowns or root canals rather than preventative care. If your plan has higher monthly premiums, it may have shorter waiting periods.

Understand Which Providers Are In-Network

Knowing which dentists are in your plan’s network can go a long way toward keeping your oral healthcare affordable. While some plans have large networks, other policies may only include dentists in a certain geographical area. Your insurance provider may maintain a web page that allows policyholders to search for in-network providers in their area.

Dental insurance plans typically cover regular dental checkups and cleanings at 100% because they prevent the need for more intensive and expensive treatments later. Keeping up with your biannual dental visits is one of the best ways to get the greatest value from your insurance policy.

About the Practice

Sunrise Dental offers the finest oral health services in Houston. Led by Drs. Steven Chancellor, Song Ahn, Thomas Ahn, and Demi Tran, the staff ensures that each patient receives courteous and compassionate treatment in a welcoming office environment. Areas of expertise include general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry. To schedule your next dental checkup, contact the practice online or dial (713) 869-9973.