Dental insurance is an investment in a healthy mouth and body. It allows you to benefit from reduced rates for the services you need to keep your teeth and gums healthy. If you’ve recently signed up for a policy, your dental insurance may place a waiting period on your benefits. This doesn’t mean you can’t visit a dentist. Here’s why you might face a brief waiting period and how you can use your coverage during this time.
How Dental Insurance Works?
Dental insurance works a bit differently than your medical coverage. Your premiums give you access to comprehensive benefits designed to stop common oral health issues from occurring. However, if you require dental treatments, your insurance will pay some of the expenses after meeting your annual deductible. You can use your yearly allowance for medically necessary services, like root canals, fillings, dental crowns, and more. Every policy differs, but most include:
- 100% coverage for preventive dentistry
- 80% coverage for basic dental work
- 50% coverage for major dental procedures
Your dental insurance will recommend choosing a dentist in their network to benefit from more coverage. They have pre-negotiated rates with preferred dental practices for select services to reduce out-of-pocket expenses. You can still use your insurance at an out-of-network dentist, but they may cover less of the fees.
What is a Waiting Period?
Your dental insurance may place a waiting period if you’ve recently purchased your policy. They are in place to discourage people from only signing up for insurance when needing dental work and then canceling their policy after receiving treatment. Not everyone is subject to a waiting period.
Typically, you can still visit your dentist for preventive care during this time. If you require any major dental work, you may have to wait until after this period ends. Sometimes, dental insurance will still cover restorative services during a waiting period, but at a much lower rate.
Every dental insurance differs, but most waiting periods range from one month to 90 days.
Don’t Wait for Your Benefits to Expire
Don’t let a waiting period discourage you from using your benefits because they won’t last forever. Your dental benefits reset at the end of the calendar year and you’ll lose anything you do not use. You will not be reimbursed for your premiums or deductibles. With less than 3% of Americans meeting or exceeding their annual limits, billions of dollars are lost in unused dental benefits every year.
There’s still plenty of time to use your insurance, even if you have a waiting period. You’ll have the coverage you need to achieve your best smile without worrying about large bills.
About Dr. Hadi Ansari
Dr. Ansari earned his dental degree from the University of Pittsburgh and has continued his education in various specialties, including oral and maxillofacial surgery. He accepts many dental insurance plans to keep a healthy smile affordable. Request an appointment through his website or contact his office.