Dental Friends with Benefits

At Brewer Family Dental, our goal is to make your dental visits as pleasant as possible. Part of this effort includes taking the complication out of utilizing your insurance benefits. Dr. Kevin Brewer knows there can be confusing terms and stipulations in insurance plans that can be a barrier between you and the care you need. We aim to remove that barrier by filing paperwork for our Lexington patients and providing the details necessary for you to make the best decisions possible for your oral and overall health.

Am I covered?

Similar to medical coverage, there are numerous types of dental plans, typically with a focus on prevention. What does this mean? It means Dr. Brewer wants to keep your mouth free of infection and pain, and your smile bright and beautiful. If you are insured, your dental plan can help us achieve this goal. How? Usually with 100% coverage of preventive services, such as professional cleanings (known as prophylaxis in the dental world), x-rays, and checkups.

If your employer offers dental coverage, you might wonder if it’s worth buying into. We know the costs can seem steep, but when you consider how important your oral health is to your overall health, and the fact that you want to keep all of the teeth you have, its significance becomes a bit easier to recognize.

What else is included?

When you wind up in need of more than a cleaning (it can happen to the best of us), most carriers will pay 80% of the cost for cavity fillings, tooth extractions, and/or root canals. If you’ve suffered a dental injury or an infection that’s caused the need for more extensive restorative services, such as crowns, bridges, or dental implants, these may be covered up to 50%. When it comes to cosmetic treatments such as Invisalign®, teeth whitening, or veneers, we’re sorry to say that insurance rarely covers these expenses and you will have to pay out of pocket.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t look into these options if you desire a confidence boost in the form of a brighter, more beautiful smile. Many dental offices accept payment from financing companies like CareCredit®.

Common Insurance Terms

  1. Premiums – Your premium is the annual or monthly cost of your insurance. If you’re insured through your employer, this is often extracted from your pay. Your premium does not include copayments or deductibles.
  2. Copayments – Your copay is either a predetermined flat rate per visit or a percentage of the total appointment cost. This will vary plan by plan.
  3. Deductibles – This is probably the most confusing part of insurance coverage for most people. Insurers are used to answering the question: “Why do I have a deductible when I already pay a premium?” Although it seems superfluous, it’s to keep the monthly or annual costs lower, as well as the copay. When you’ve met your deductible, your insurance plan will kick in and cover the percentages as outlined in your plan.
  4. Plan Maximums – With the focus on prevention when it comes to oral health and dental insurance, the majority of dental coverage plans have maximums, and they tend to run low. If you’ve met your annual maximum, additional services will require out-of-pocket payment. This is another instance when financing plans can come in handy, but even more importantly: your diligent oral hygiene routine, a healthy diet, and a healthy lifestyle.

What if I don’t use my benefits?

Unfortunately, there are no rollovers in dental insurance. If you’re paying a premium, it makes sense to take advantage of preventive care at 100% of the cost, or other services at a discount. Besides, Dr. Brewer loves seeing your smile and takes pride in making visits pleasant!

The more you see us, the more we’re able to note what is and isn’t normal for your teeth, gums, tongue, saliva production, jawbone… the list is longer than most suspect at first! If we do catch a problem, it’s easier on your health, schedule, and wallet to treat it at the earliest stage possible. It’s also hard to beat the feeling of a professional cleaning. Our hygienists are gentle but thorough when it comes to removing tough tartar, which forms rather quickly if plaque is left to harden.

How can Brewer Family Dental help?

If you have additional questions about your dental insurance, you may be able to find the answers you need on the carrier’s website, by calling them directly, or reaching out to us, your Lexington dentist. We are happy to help you get the most from your benefits, and we can provide pre-treatment estimates so you can budget accordingly.

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

The post Dental Friends with Benefits appeared first on Brewer Family Dental.



from Brewer Family Dental https://dentistinlexingtonky.com/blog/dental-friends-with-benefits/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH
Read more