Insurance for Dental Emergencies
Did you know that you can knock your tooth out, sign up for a dental plan and be eligible for savings in time to visit the dentist – all in the same day? If you are one of 145 million Americans without dental insurance… read on to find out how to be prepared for dental emergencies even without insurance.
With the price of dental work these days, most people can’t afford to simply waltz into the office and pay the full cost upfront for emergency oral care.
You need something you can afford, and one way to make this happen is through insurance. You have several choices of insurance for dental emergencies. You have to know which one will get you the benefits you need, and fast. Most plans don’t offer truly immediate coverage.
Usually dental insurance plans have some kind of waiting period. Here are your typical options among types of insurance for dental care:
Immediate Insurance Options
- Many dental plans, like United Healthcare, require you to wait at least six months and sometimes more than a year for most procedures. Most provide immediate preventive coverage, but a teeth cleaning will not help you if you need a root canal.
- Some plans, like HumanaOne, only make you wait a few days for coverage. This speeds things up a lot, but it’s not helpful if you need something done today or tomorrow.
- A few plans, like the Careington 500 Series, are effective immediately after you sign up. This means you can take care of your oral pain now, and possibly prevent further complications. Whether for minor or major emergency care, you’re able to receive all of the discounts as soon as you activate your account.
Dental insurance is one of the first benefits employers are looking to cut back, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. You don’t want to be stuck without protection, because we all know how Murphy’s Law works: the only time you really need coverage is when you don’t have it. And that’s not helpful at all.
What Will My Dental Plan Cover?
Reading the fine print makes all the difference with dental insurance. In addition to making sure the insurance really is effective immediately, you also must know exactly what it’s going to cover. Most insurance for dental procedures covers three basic categories of dental treatment.
- Preventive – This category usually includes diagnostic methods as well. This group encompasses things like cleanings, oral exams and X-rays.
- Basic – This covers straightforward procedures like fillings, basic extractions and root canals.
- Major – These procedures are typically more complex (and more expensive), often involving lab work as well. Items in this section include procedures like bridges, crowns, dentures and orthodontic work.
Coverage varies based on category. You often get the most coverage for preventive procedures, whereas the insurance company will typically provide less coverage for the more expensive procedures within the “major” category.
Will I Have a Yearly Maximum?
You typically must pay a certain amount yourself before insurance will contribute anything. Most insurance policies have a yearly maximum, which means that they will only put a certain amount of money toward your dental work. This means that if you’ve already hit your yearly maximum, or you haven’t yet contributed the full portion that you owe, insurance for dental issues will not help you at all.
A dental discount plan typically gives you access to the full range of discounts as often as you want. The Careington 500 Series discount plan, for example, has no yearly maximum and provides discounts on a full range of procedures, from preventive all the way to major. And how does this benefit you? It eases your financial burden whether you need to cap a broken tooth or you simply want your teeth cleaned.
You may have a simple toothache, or you may have to reconstruct your entire mouth. Either way, dental accidents are painful and can consume your entire attention. Sign up for affordable dental care and eliminate those painful distractions so you can get on with your life.
