As the last few months wind down, you’ll want to schedule appointments with us here at Las Cruces Dental Solutions for anything you might have forgotten over the year. Most dental plans expire and start a new term on December 31st. If you don’t use up allowed benefits during the year, they won’t roll over and add up over time. Since you’ve earned the coverage you have, make the most of it before the year ends!
Invest in Treatments You’ve Been Waiting On
If you’ve been waiting to get specific dental treatments done, measure up what benefits you have left that could apply to those procedures. Crowns, dental implants, and cosmetic treatments are not usually covered in full by dental insurance plans. However, you may have flexible coverage that could be applied at least in part to this kind of care. Using up your leftover dental benefits to cut down the cost of a larger treatment can make it much easier to afford. Consider your dental goals when exploring what benefits you have left.
Hitting your deductible can be tricky if you don’t have a lot of dental emergencies in a year. But if you did already get quite a bit of treatment this year and are within a small distance of reaching your deductible, you could save a ton of money on a major treatment like a root canal or gum grafting. See how close you are to reducing or eliminating your part of the co-pay for dental care before planning what treatments you want to fit into the rest of the year.
Does Dental Insurance Rollover?
Very few policies offer any kind of rollover or accumulation in benefits from year to year. In general, insurance policies of all kinds simply offer a new set of benefits for the new year. You'll lose anything from this current year that you don't use before December 31st or your policy's personal reset date. If your insurance company does offer some kind of rollover of benefits, they'll make it fairly clear in the documentation for your policy because it's an unusual arrangement.
Catch Up on Routine Cleanings
Make sure you’ve used up your two regular teeth cleanings visits that are included with almost all dental plans. If you’re not keeping up with your routine cleanings, you could develop more serious oral health issues later on. It’s easy to miss at least one cleaning per year when you’re busy. Use your remaining dental benefits as a reminder that you need to stick to a more regular routine. Insurance companies tend to offer some of the best coverage for preventative procedures like cleanings. If you have low-cost or free preventative benefits that you forget about, you’re basically leaving money on the table for the year.
Don’t Forget Essential X-Rays
See if your insurance company covers a specific amount of X-rays and other imaging per year. Most insurance companies include at least a few X-rays per year so you can check out how your teeth are doing below the surface when necessary. While you don’t need to maximize your X-ray usage per year, you should get a new set of images made if it’s been a few years since your last few were taken. A lot can change with the health of the roots of your teeth and their alignment between imaging visits. Getting routine X-rays done with the rest of this year’s coverage can keep your imaging benefits intact for the next year in case they’re needed for an emergency situation. Depending on the insurance coverage dental companies provide, you may be able to get a full set of X-rays at least once every few years for only your usual copay.
Consider Extended Preventative Care
Depending on how close you are to reaching your deductible and the kind of dental benefits you receive, you may have an opportunity to get a good deal on extended preventative care. Using up the last of a year’s dental coverage on treatments like sealants, root planing or scaling, and adjustments to the frenulum can help prevent serious decay or gum disease in the future. Your dentist can tell you if you would benefit from any of these preventative care measures, helping you make the most of the rest of this year’s benefits. Discuss your dental health history with us and we can provide custom recommendations on a care package that maximizes your remaining coverage.
Reach out to our team here at Las Cruces Dental Solutions to assess your remaining dental benefits and find services we offer to fit the bill! Let us help you upgrade your dental health in the next few years to come with routine treatments and specialty care alike.
