The Importance of Dental Insurance and Good Oral Health
When it comes to dental insurance, Texas residents have the choice of different plans that can meet their dental requirements as well as their budgets. As with medical insurance, dental insurance requires specific monthly premiums or payments. You will also have to visit dentists that are on the insurance providers’ plan network to reduce the dental care expenses. These dentists will charge you a lowered fee, and the insurance provider will pay a part of this while you will pay the remaining.
Depending on the plan you select, you will be able to get almost 100% dental insurance coverage for preventive care such as regular dental check-ups, routine dental cleaning, and x-rays. You can also get about 80% coverage for dental fillings, deep cleaning, and extractions. If you need to get major dental work done, like getting a root canal or having a crown or a bridge fitted, you may be able to get up to 50% of insurance coverage for that.
Here’s why it is important to get dental insurance Texas to maintain good oral health:
Affordable Care Act Does Not Cover Dental Insurance
While you can get various health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, dental insurance, unfortunately, is not one of them. You will also not get coverage for it under Medicare plans. And, without insurance, getting regular dental healthcare can turn out to be a rather expensive proposition. The cost of braces, for instance, can go up to $6,000 or more.
To keep dental costs down, you will have to get a separate insurance policy for your dental health. Here, you can choose to get group dental insurance or individual dental insurance. You can get comprehensive coverage with a group plan, but, for that, you must have a full-time position in the government or a large corporation. If not, then you will have to settle for the comparatively fewer benefits that come with individual insurance plans.
Having Dental Insurance Can Prevent Health Issues
Since having a dental insurance plan allows you from 80% to 100% coverage for routine dental work, you can get regular dental check-ups for yourself and your family without worrying about how you will pay for them. With preventive care such as having your teeth cleaned or getting fillings, you may be able to maintain good oral health and avoid health issues that would be expensive to treat.
Getting Dental Insurance
If you work full-time, your employer may provide you and your dependents with dental insurance. You will have to buy it independently if your employer doesn’t offer such coverage or if you don’t work full-time.
When getting dental insurance, it will be a good idea to check exactly which dental procedures the plan will and will not cover. Many insurance plans will not provide coverage for pre-existing conditions. For instance, if you lost a tooth before you got the plan, it will not pay for replacing it. And neither will it pay for any dental work that you are in the midst of getting done. Regular dental insurance plans also don’t cover teeth whitening procedures and getting dental implants or porcelain overlays. There may be limits too on the coverage for orthodontics.
Most dental insurance plans have waiting periods of six months to a year and will pay for your dental procedures only after the elapse of this time. You will have to pay deductibles or out-of-pocket payments before that. It will help to check what the annual maximum is on the dental plan. This is the maximum annual amount the dental insurance provider will pay in a year for your dental care treatments. If your dental care requirements are likely to cost more than the annual maximum that is given in your dental insurance in Texas, you may have to explore other alternatives to keep your medical expenses in the manageable range. These can include dental savings plans. Typically, dental savings plans do not have any waiting periods for receiving dental work payments, and neither do they have any spending limits on the dental treatments you would receive in a given year. You may want to consider these if finding the right dental insurance in Texas turns out to be problematic.