Dental insurance is often an afterthought when obtaining
health insurance for a number of reasons. Some people may simply dislike the
dentist and use the lack of dental insurance as a reason to not visit the
dentist; others may feel that dental insurance is not worth the added cost to
their monthly health insurance premium. Still others may simply feel that their
teeth are in good shape and there is little need to spend the extra money to
cover a part of their body that does not currently have any problems.
Nevertheless, dental insurance is important because of several benefits.
When people think of the cost of dental work or procedures,
they often think of costly bills. Even simple procedures like getting your
wisdom teeth removed can average in the hundreds of dollars per tooth! However,
one obvious benefit to dental insurance is the coverage of simple but costly
dental procedures such as getting a tooth removed. In the end, the slight
increase in a monthly premium may be worth it to avoid a high dental bill.
Moreover, dental insurance also helps financially if a dental emergency
develops. Perhaps you are in need of a root canal or dental implants – both
extremely costly procedures that you often do not anticipate. Dental insurance
will most likely cover a portion, if not all of these expensive procedures.
Also, while many feel that brushing and flossing daily is
all the dental care they need this is simply not true – even for young, healthy
adults. Dental disease is common and can affect your body in a number of ways.
For instance, some dental diseases left untreated can lead to more serious
medical issues such as kidney infections or even diabetes. Most people do now
know of the connection between dental diseases and other illnesses. Thus,
having dental insurance that covers routine visits to the dentist, which can
help uncover dental diseases early, is extremely important. Dental insurance is
designed to encourage preventative care, because spotting dental diseases or
dental problems early reduces the overall cost of treatment.
Dental insurance may seem like just another gimmick to get a
few more dollars out of you, but it is essential for your health. Your regular
health insurance plan, whether it is through your employer as a group plan or
an individual plan, should offer you the option of buying dental insurance
coverage, and you should consider this piece of the plan thoroughly when
purchasing health insurance.