As you might know, dental insurance is one of the best ways to cut dentistry costs. It’ll often cover much of a treatment’s price! Still, there’s a chance you aren’t using it to its full potential. A dental plan only works best when you maximize its benefits. Luckily, your New Orleans dentist can help you get the most out of your policy. To that end, here are four great ways to maximize your dental insurance benefits.
Attend Your Routine Checkups
Like many, you may think dental checkups are a hassle. Plenty of people prefer to spend their time on other things. However, attending these routine visits will save you money.
You see, dental insurance usually covers preventive care. It’ll pay for oral exams, teeth cleanings, and routine X-rays at little cost to you. Meanwhile, dental plans don’t always cover restorative or emergency work. It often has patients pay out-of-pocket for serious oral issues. As such, you’ll save more by keeping your smile healthy with checkups than by fixing it later.
Learn the Scope of Your Coverage
For some, dental insurance sounds simple. Just show documents to your dentist and save cash! Truthfully, though, you should learn your plan’s scope before getting care.
The fact is that dental policies aren’t all the same. Depending on the companies involved, they can have widely varying features. One may require a higher co-pay than another, while some plans outline shorter or longer waiting periods. Given this fact, you’ll want to learn your policy’s details before choosing a procedure. Doing so will let you plan your oral healthcare better.
Schedule Treatments Smartly
If you didn’t know, dental insurance isn’t limitless. Its benefits only apply within set timeframes and costs. As a result, you must schedule treatments smartly to get big savings.
For instance, some treatments should be booked before January. Unused dental benefits don’t “roll over” from year to year; they expire on January 1st. From there, you’ll have to pay your deductible to regain access to insurance perks. So, get any needed one-visit services done ahead of the new year!
Use Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
If you have one, apply your flexible spending account toward dentistry. You can use this account to pay for out-of-pocket health care costs.
Remember: most dental expenses are eligible FSA healthcare expenses. So, using your FSA with a dentist reduces your taxable income and puts money aside for healthcare. As a result, you’ll have more take-home pay, major tax savings, and greater control over your family budget. These things would let you plan for future expenses in the coming year.
With the tips above, you can easily maximize your dental insurance benefits. Please make use of them now while you still can!
About the Practice
Camenzuli Dental Excellence is based in New Orleans, LA. Led by Dr. Robert Camenzuli, our practice seeks to give each patient top-quality dentistry. To that end, we offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments, as well as emergency dental procedures. Our team also takes pride in being a certified provider of both traditional braces and Invisalign® clear aligners. For more details or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (504)-584-4225.