Safeguard Insurance - In Your Local Area

My Dental Plan: Maximizing the Benefits of Your Dental Plan

The new dentistry brings together a unique complement of skills, knowledge, and capabilities with one primary focus: ensuring your dental health. Working as a team, your dentist and the dental team he or she has assembled wants to recruit you to join them in making sure this focus on new dentistry is maintained you get full value from your dental health plan.

The dental team has two major parts that you may hear referenced during your visits: the "back" and the "front." These terms refer to two very specific functions of your dental team. The front office handles all the administration, scheduling, dental plans, insurance and financial details, and the back office provides the treatment.

Your front office team makes sure you know about scheduling opportunities, handles finances, files with your dental plans and keeps the administrative details under control to provide you efficient services and support. The back office team is thus free to do what they do best: provide the best care and service for you. You'll find the dentist, dental hygienist, and dental assistant ready to assist you during your appointments.

The key component for success of any team is each member's commitment to do their part. As a consumer and team member, your commitment to new dentistry involves three things:

1. Maintaining your commitment to your dental health through regular hygiene appointments and the daily practice of flossing and brushing.
2. Asking questions and getting the essential information you need about your teeth and gums or to understand any treatment plans.
3. Staying open to options and opportunities that the new dentistry offers you by thinking about the information and feedback that your dentist provides you about the status of your dental health and dental plans.

You can maximize the dental plan benefits with the skills and expertise of your dental team by deciding for yourself what kind of relationship you want with your dentist and the dental team and how they can help you achieve a positive outcome for your dental future.

By Brian DesRoches, PhD

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Dental Fees

Fortunately, in these times, a lot of patients have dental insurance. Insurance is, on the face of it, a good thing. It minimizes out-of-pocket expenses for treatment and encourages people to keep up with the dental care they need. But most dental insurance plans do not pay 100%. There simply is no perfect insurance plan.

Part of the problem is what's called "usual and customary fees." Insurers have come up with a fee structure intended to reflect the "average" cost of "average" dental care. Urban residents may be allowed different compensation than people who live in rural areas. Reimbursement for a crown may be a certain percentage of the actual cost (the dentist's charge to you), and another percentage for a cleaning. Patients are sometimes puzzled at the discrepancy between insurer reimbursement and actual dental fees.

Of course your dentist can't dictate the amount your dental insurance plan decides is "average." And they don't ask your dentist what cost he or she thinks is fair. The dilemma is this: your dentist can't, in good conscience, recommend less than quality dentistry, even though your insurer may impose an unreasonable ceiling on treatment. It's a rock and a hard place.

For this reason, you should take objections directly to the insurer or compare dental plans with your employer. If enough people make enough noise, the reimbursement picture might improve.

Ask your dentist to sit down with you and go over your dental plan and your dental financing options. He or she will try to make your dental insurance plan work to your advantage. Your dentist cares about your finances, and your health.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.