Dental Insurance Information

This the total amount your insurance company will issue in checks to your provider during a 12 month period, if you have a $1500 maximum it doesn’t mean you can go out and get two treatments for $750 each. Your insurance covers a percentage of each treatment; they will continue to pay on approved treatments until they reach the maximum within the time allowed. The benefit year doesn’t always run from December to January, you should be aware of when your coverage year ends in order to coordinate your treatments in a timely manner and not loose any of your yearly benefits. Remember, if you don’t use your maximum, you loose it. Some plans allow a separate maximum for orthodontic treatments.

This is a yearly fee paid by you and must be met before your insurance starts paying your treatment claims. The dental office generally collects this during your visit. Understand what your individual and family deductible is. If you’re a family of 3 and your family deductible is $150, each family member will pay $50, until the $150 is met. Most plans do not require you to pay this deductible during your initial diagnostic and preventative visit (routine cleaning, x-rays, exams), but when you have an actual treatment performed.

This is the number of times you can have a certain procedure performed during your coverage year. Many plans allow 2 cleanings a year. You must really understand whether you can have 2 cleanings “anytime” during the year or exactly 6 months apart. If for any reason you were to go to a dentist and in less than 6 months go to a different dentist and have a cleaning done. You will get the statement in the mail to pay for a visit.

Many plans will not pay for all composite fillings, they downgrade any fillings done on posterior (back) teeth to Amalgam (black/metal) fillings. If your insurance plan covers 80% of fillings, your co-pay is 20% of the Amalgam fee and you are also responsible for the difference in fees between the two types of fillings. Generally, an insurance company will pay for a filling on the same tooth every two years. Obviously, this doesn’t apply if you switch insurance companies.

Many plans have what they call “prior placement”, this means that if your crown is to replace an existing crown, they want to know when the existing crown was placed in your mouth. The insurance company will not pay for a replacement crown if the existing one is less than 5 years old. If the original crown was done at a different dental office, the doctor will rely on your statement of when you think it was originally done and notify the insurance company. Many plans will only pay for a certain type of crown (metal, porcelain over metal). If you want a cosmetic rated product, such as full Ceramic and Zirconia crowns, you will be responsible for your co-pay plus the difference in the product fee.

Let’s say years ago you had a tooth extracted and you left that spot open because you couldn’t afford a bridge or implant. Now you have dental insurance, you’re excited and you go to see your dentist, you’re finally going to have a bridge placed to fill that gap right?, well, I hate to burst your bubble but if your insurance plan has a missing tooth clause, it means that if the tooth was not extracted in the last 6 months, they will not authorize your claim for a bridge and you will be responsible for the entire treatment.

Many insurance plans have a waiting period on major services, the amount of times varies, but what this means is for a period of time, your insurance will only pay for diagnostic, preventative and basic services (x-ray, cleaning, exam, fillings). You can only use your insurance for major services (crown, bridge, etc.) after you’ve had the plan for a period of time. You need to be aware of this.

Explanation of Benefits. Please check your mail for the statements from your insurance company. Call your insurance company with any questions regarding payments made. Remember that patients are responsible for any unpaid balance from the insurance company.