Dental Insurance Plans

Hitting Medicare Age What Are My Dental Options

Are you approaching Medicare age or are you currently enrolled in Medicare and wondering what your options are for senior dental insurance coverage? Medicare will not cover dental care that you need primarily for the health of your teeth, such as cleanings fillings, root canals and dentures – Medicare covered dental services. This is a very common question as seniors retire, and are required to take care of your own dental expenses. There are basically 3 options: Buy your own personal dental insurance plan, possible have coverage as part of your Medicare Advantage plan, or self insure.

For those seniors that have greater dental insurance needs or simply want the peace of mind that comes with having coverage for major services, senior dental insurance can be a great option. Most plans will have immediate coverage for preventative and diagnostic services including cleanings and x-rays. These services will often be covered at 100%. In addition to the preventative services, dental insurance plans will have coverage for basic and major services; fillings, extractions, oral surgery, root canals, dentures and implants as examples. These services can often cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars and there are plans available that can help pay these services. It is important to compare plan cover, dentists and waiting period (if applicable) to ensure that you get the best plan for your specific needs. If you are not certain which plan is best for you, be sure to ask one of the Dental Insurance Shop’s expert dental representatives for assistance.

Some Medicare supplement plans, or Medicare Advantage plans have can have some included coverage for dental or have an option to purchase dental coverage. Medicare plans can either offer this dental coverage as a built in benefit to the Medicare plan or have the coverage available as a rider and/or separate stand alone dental insurance plan. If the dental insurance plan is a separate or stand alone plan, it is always a good idea to compare cost and befits to other dental insurance options. You can use the Dental Insurance Shop’s online comparison tool to compare plans and benefits. If there is a specific dentist that you want to continue to see, be sure that any new plan you choose will allow you to continue to use that dentist. Also, be sure to check to see if there are waiting periods for major services.

Lastly, seniors could choose to go without dental insurance and self insure. That is to say that they would pay for any and all dental expenses out of their own pocket. For those seniors that do not have a high need for dental services that can be a good option.