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The month is coming to a close, as is the year, and so is a memorable decade. Using your dental insurance now is a bigger deal than ever. It’s time to use your dental benefits while you still can.

Your Insurance Benefits Will Likely Expire on December 31st

Most insurance plans correspond to the calendar year, which means you and your family only have a few more days to take advantage of your dental insurance coverage. Most plans offer majority or complete coverage for dental cleanings, which we recommend you schedule with us twice a year. By offering coverage, your provider encourages you to come to our South Houston dentists so we can examine your mouth. When we closely examine your mouth, we can also spot any developing problems in your teeth, as well as the earliest hints of other health problems, such as diabetes and even different cancers.

Additionally, dental insurance plans also typically offer coverage for any treatments that can prevent your oral health condition from worsening. For example, dentures and partials are essential for our patients who are missing their permanent teeth. They can help improve our patients’ facial structure, help them speak more clearly, and help them eat all the healthy foods they need to. This means that they are crucial to overall health, so it’s likely that your insurance plan will offer some coverage for them. Similarly, dental crowns, bridges, and fillings help protect and preserve teeth that have experienced severe decay. By protecting the damaged tooth or teeth, crowns, bridges, and fillings can help protect the remaining healthy teeth, so there is a good chance your dental insurance plan offers coverage for these procedures as well.

Get Your Money’s Worth in Dental Benefits

Because your benefits expire on the 31st, your remaining benefits will not roll over and be added to next year’s benefits. Most dental insurance plans require a premium and/or a deductible before your benefits kick in, and these out-of-pocket costs will go to waste if you don’t redeem your benefits.

Most of Centra Dental’s Services are Covered by Your Dental Insurance

We want our south Houston patients to use all of their Dental benefits so they can be exceptionally healthy. This is why we are in-network with several insurance plans, such as Aetna, Cigna, Delta, Guardian, Lincoln, United, and much more. If you have any outstanding treatment or dental check-up please book an appointment with us so we can schedule a visit with you before the end of the year.

When working, most people receive dental benefits through their employers but may forget about the premium that both employer and employee must pay in order to keep a dental insurance plan. This premium is paid upfront, so the money is completely wasted if you don’t visit the dentist enough throughout the year. If you don’t go to the dentist before the end of the year, then you will lose the chance to use your benefits.

How Do Your South Houston Dental Benefits Work?

There are different kinds of dental insurance plans, each with different benefits. "Benefits" is the term we use to refer to coverage for different dental treatments, meaning your insurance will pay a portion of your treatments. Which dental insurance plan and benefits you get depends on your employer. However, most plans will offer substantial coverage for your routine dental cleanings, which should take place every 6 months. Other benefits you may have include coverage for root canals, crowns or bridges, dentures, and more, but this will depend on the plan you buy.

Dental Benefits Will Expire by the End of the Year

Insurance providers set a deadline of December 31st of each year. If you do not use your benefits by then, there is no roll-over, so you are unable to save multiple treatments for the next year when your insurance and premium reset. On the other hand, there is still some time to take advantage of your benefits. If you or your family have any of the aforementioned treatments outstanding, now is the perfect time to schedule an appointment with our South Houston dentists to get those treatments completed. We want to make sure you get your money’s worth and can take advantage of all the benefits you have so you can be as healthy as possible.

Centra Dental Accepts Many In-Network Insurance Plans

We want our south Houston patients to get the most out of their dental insurance so they can take the best care of their teeth. This is why we make sure we are in-network with several insurance plans, such as Aetna, Cigna, Delta, Guardian, Lincoln, United, and much more. If you have an outstanding treatment or dental check-up please book an appointment with us so we can see you before the end of the year.

Did you know that your dental insurance benefits reset each year? Most dental insurance plans last for the calendar year, meaning you will use all of your unused benefits after December 31, 2019. It’s also important to be aware that what is left of your benefits does not carry into the new year, so you will have to pay your insurance premium once again in order to gain access to new benefits. There is still some time left before your benefits expire, so here are just some of the services you should prioritize before the deadline.

Dental Services to Take Advantage of at Centra Dental in South Houston

Dental Cleanings

Most dental insurance plans offer some or complete coverage for two dental cleanings a year because they are the most important treatment you can get to keep your teeth and gums healthy. If you haven’t received a cleaning in over six months, now is the perfect time. When you come in for your dental cleaning at Centra, we do a deep cleaning while carefully checking your teeth and gums. Many patients are surprised to find out that plenty of illnesses and diseases first show signs in the mouth, so we can catch the earliest symptoms and act accordingly.

Major Dental Treatments

Some treatments, such as dentures, partials, dental crowns, and dental bridges, may take at least two visits to complete. Now is the perfect time to get started on those treatments, especially if you have already met your deductible. A deductible is the amount of money you have to pay in treatments before your dental benefits kick in. Once it’s paid, your coverage will take care of a portion of your treatment costs. This is ideal for these bigger treatments you may have been holding off on.

Centra Dental in South Houston Wants You to Enjoy Your Benefits

Don’t let your insurance premium or deductible go to waste. If you would like to receive any of these treatments before December 31st, please book an appointment with us. We will gladly fit you in so you can have maximize your benefits and have a healthy smile to show for it.

Your dental insurance comes with benefits. These benefits are available in the form of coverage for a variety of dental procedures and treatments. However, it’s important to use your coverage before the end of the year, or else you and your family will lose it.

Dental Insurance Benefits For Your Family

Most insurance plans offer impressive coverage for procedures and treatments that are preventative in order to maintain proper dental health. These procedures typically include your dental cleanings, and your insurance covers two a year for everyone in your family. Your annual x-rays are most likely also covered as preventative care.

Other procedures, such as dental crowns, may also have substantial coverage with your insurance plan because they protect and strengthen a damaged tooth so that it doesn’t need to be extracted. Missing teeth can negatively impact your jaw and even your facial structure if not addressed in a timely manner.

Understand Your Dental Insurance Limitations

Most insurance companies may set a limit on how much they will pay out per year, per person. If you haven’t used their money’s worth of treatments by December 31, there is no rollover.

In addition to knowing your insurance’s limit, it’s also important to understand the deductible. With a deductible, your insurance will not offer coverage until you’ve spent the amount of your deductible. After it’s been paid, your coverage is good for the calendar year. Essentially, you’re paying a premium, so you must use your coverage benefits in order to get the most out of the money you have paid. 

Don’t Procrastinate on Treatments

We highly recommend that now that it’s December, you don’t avoid essential dental treatments. In doing so you not only waste money by having to deal with paying an all-new deductible to regain your benefits, but you also lose out on the opportunity to have your treatments at least partially paid for by your insurance. Not using your benefits before the end of the year also puts your overall dental health at risk by avoiding necessary treatments such as dental crowns, bridges, or root canals.

Centra Dental Accepts Different Insurances For Your Family Dental Needs

We want our south Houston patients to get the most out of their insurance so they can take the best care of their teeth. This is why we accept many in-network dental insurance plans, such as Aetna, Cigna, Delta, Guardian, Lincoln, United, and much more. If you and your family have any outstanding dental treatments, then please book an appointment with us so we can schedule a visit with you before the end of the year.