The holidays are coming up, but before you’re caught up in the whirlwind of shopping and planning, you should take the time to make sure that you’ve tied up all your loose ends for the year. If you have a dental insurance plan that runs on a calendar year, then one task on your to-do list should be to make sure you’ve used your benefits to the fullest extent possible before they reset. Read on to learn more about how taking the time to visit your dentist in Kent now could end up saving you hundreds – if not thousands – on your smile.
How Does Dental Insurance Work?
Every insurance plan has a yearly maximum, which is the amount of money set aside for your dental care every year. As long as you keep up the premiums and have met the deductible for the year, this money will be used to help cover specific dental treatments, with preventive services such as checkups usually getting the most coverage. (Elective procedures such as teeth whitening usually aren’t covered at all.) At the end of the year, any remaining money is returned to the insurance company, and the maximum will reset. Basically, the leftover money will be lost to you at that point.
Why Use Your Dental Insurance Benefits?
Instead of letting your insurance benefits expire and reset, you should definitely make the effort to use them while you still have them. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t let your benefits expire if you can help it:
- If you’ve already paid the premiums, there’s no sense in letting your benefits go to waste. You can only save money if you use your plan to pay for dental care.
- Your deductible will reset next year as well, meaning you’ll have to pay it again.
- You might not receive the same coverage next year, and your dentist’s fees might be higher due to the rising costs of living.
- If you don’t use your insurance to pay for preventive care now, you’re more likely to need to pay for a more complex treatment later as your dental problems grow worse.
How to Use Your Insurance
If you haven’t paid for two dental checkups this year, you should try to make time for at least one before January arrives. This will let you use your benefits while also protecting your smile. If you’re undergoing an extensive procedure that will take more than one visit, you should make sure to schedule at least the first visit now; that way you can use this year’s benefits to pay for the treatment and leave next year’s annual maximum to help pay for the second half.
Every plan is slightly different, and everyone has their own dental needs to worry about. Call the team at your dental practice with your insurance information to learn more about your current policy and start forming ideas for getting the most out of your plan.
About Kent Dental Care
Here at Kent Dental Care, we want to make sure our patients have every advantage when it comes to protecting their smiles for life. That means making sure we’re using the latest techniques and technology as well as taking the time to make sure their care is as affordable as possible. If you have any questions about using insurance at our Kent practice – or about other financing options such as CareCredit – visit our website or call (253) 852-4508.