Most people carry a wide variety of insurance, although you may not often think about your coverage. It’s fairly normal for the average American to have insurance covering their home, cars, health, unemployment and life. Many people even carry more. You may find yourself noticing that you haven’t actually had to use some of these. Perhaps you’ve never had a car accident and have never had to use your auto insurance. You still have it though. If you’re still alive it’s a good bet you haven’t actually had to use your life insurance right? So what about dental insurance? Do you really need another insurance bill in your budget?
Do you need dental insurance?
Everyone should see a dentist on a regular basis whether you like it or not. We all know that brushing our teeth isn’t enough, but what about dental insurance? Is it enough? In some cases dental insurance might not be a good deal. Under certain circumstances it could be cheaper to pay for your dental care out of pocket. You have the best chance at your dental insurance being worth while if it is an employer plan and you go to a dentist that is in network. But what if your dentist isn’t in network for your employer offered dental insurance? You could end up paying a lot more money to see that dentist even after paying your premiums. What if your employer doesn’t offer a dental plan? Buying dental insurance on your own could cost you even more and you may not get near as good of negotiated discounts on some procedures. In a case such as this, if you have a healthy mouth you may want to consider paying for your maintenance visits yourself rather than having insurance.
What Can Dental Insurance Do For Me?
A good dental plan can help defray the costs of many regular maintenance procedures. You are going to need cleanings every 6 months. During these cleanings many problems can present themselves. You may find that you have a cavity hiding in the back somewhere and need to have it drilled and filled. Even if you don’t find a cavity you may want to opt for preventive sealants in the deeper recesses of your back teeth so that you lower your chances of developing decay or a root canal scenario. Dental insurance can help to cover the costs of these regularly occurring procedures.
Braces
There are so many reasons to cringe at the word braces. A teenager may cringe at the thought of the social stigmata. A parent may cringe at the thought of paying for braces. Everyone cringes at the thought of the pain associated with braces. Dental insurance cannot help with the pain of braces or the cruelness that teenagers inflict upon each other socially, but it can help with the cost of braces. If you or a family member are going to need braces, it would be a good idea to have a dental plan that covers braces.
Research Before You Buy
Only you can determine whether you should carry a dental plan. You’ll need to study the options closely and of course consider what you need covered. Are your considerations for yourself alone, or do you have family members such as children that you need to cover? Decide how much you’ll use it and look at what plans are available to you, then make an informed decision.