If you want to protect your kids' smiles, dental insurance is important. Each member of your family should get checkups and teeth cleanings twice a year, and x-rays once a year to prevent cavities and tooth decay. Also, many children need braces, and while they are rare, dental emergencies such as broken or knocked-out teeth also happen. Family dental policies will help you pay for the basic preventative measures, while also ensuring your financial safety should an emergency arise.
Luckily for your family, family insurance is much less expensive per person than is individual dental insurance. Often, family dental plans cost as little as 1.5 times the amount of individual insurance. But there are some other important things to consider other than cost when looking for dental insurance.
Many dental insurance plans are closed panel, which means that in order to get coverage, you must choose from the dental insurance company's pre-determined list of dentists. It's important to find a dentist that your kids like and are comfortable with, because fear of the dentist's office is a common phobia. If you already have a family dentist you trust and he is not included on the list, you may want to reconsider. There are many family insurance plans, and if one does not include your dentist, another will.
If your dental insurance plan is closed panel, you'll want to find out where the dentists that are included are located. Some family insurance plans do not include out-of-state coverage. If your family goes on vacation frequently, you'll want to be covered for dental services out of town in the event of an emergency.
Some family dental plans, rather than determining what they will cover based on the actual cost of the dental service, will only pay the UCR. This stands for usual, customary, and reasonable, and it is determined by the insurance company. In many cases, the insurance company's UCR falls far short of what the dental service actually costs, and the patient must make up the difference. If your family dental plan's payment scale is based on the UCR, find out exactly how the insurance company determines the UCR.
You should also find out whether this plan allows you the freedom to, with the aid of your dentist, determine the kinds of treatment you receive. Some dental insurance plans are only willing to pay for the LEAT, or the least expensive alternative treatment. Meaning that, if it's possible to be treated in several different ways for a dental condition, if the dentist recommends a treatment that is more expensive than one of the possible options, your insurance company will not pay for a dime unless you go against the recommendation and receive the less expensive treatment. Where this feature exists, it is a major drawback to dental insurance plans. The least expensive treatment may not be the best.
Whether or not you have dental insurance, it's essential for you and your family to receive regular dental care. Especially for families, you will likely end up spending less on dental services if you sign up for family dental plans.