Each year, your dental insurance benefits “expire” and reset to the next calendar year. For most insurance plans, that’s December 31st/January 1st. For some carriers, the date is a different time in the year, but most are January to December.
Did you know that compared to medical insurance, dental insurance hasn’t adjusted to normal cost of living increases since the 1970-80s? That means your dental “benefits” are stuck on a budget from 40+ years ago! This huge roadblock in the insurance industry makes it seem as if dental care is more expensive than it should be, rather than carriers adjusting their benefit packages to fit modern times.
Long story short, you can still save a lot of money by utilizing your dental insurance’s preventative care perks. By scheduling regular checkups and exams every six months, you’ll keep your teeth and gums on track for success. But skip a few visits or avoid treating that new cavity, and you’re back to playing catch up when it comes to your overall dental costs.
Let’s say that you have a modest-sized cavity in one of your teeth. It doesn’t hurt, so you decide not to schedule the filling appointment right away. By the next checkup, the cavity is a little larger, but it still doesn’t hurt. Wait one more visit, and now the decay is so large that a filling isn’t an option anymore. Instead, your dentist recommends a crown. You’re still pain free. Fast-forward a year later and now you have an abscessed tooth and need a root canal.
Even if your insurance only pays 60-80% of fillings, it would have been far cheaper (and better for your tooth) to have gone ahead and filled the cavity as soon as it was detected. But now, the major treatment is reduced to 50% coverage, the overall cost is more, and you’re about to go past your yearly maximum, meaning you’ll have to pay the remaining balance out of pocket.
Early care:
In pain? Ask our Encino emergency dentist for a same-day appointment. Flexible payment plans are available.
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Each year, your dental insurance benefits “expire” and reset to the next calendar year. For most insurance plans, that’s December 31st/January 1st. For some carriers, the date is a different time in the year, but most are January to December.
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