For many people today, they either have dental insurance through their work benefits, a personal plan, or in a bundle with their medical insurance plan. Ideally, this encourages people to use the benefits that are available to them which prompts regular visits to the dentist for professional cleanings and exams.

However, not every patient is the same. Some have seen a dentist consistently throughout their childhood into adulthood and have minimal to no restorative work to be done, others may not have seen a dentist for a few years, and for others longer than that. The downside is that within these categories, there is no significant difference in the dental insurance plan that a company makes available to them. It might be possible to get an additional cleaning or two added to the plan, and maybe even get an increase in the annual maximum, but that’s probably about it. They are still only going to cover X% for a filling, crown, or SRP’s, (Scaling and Root Planing), regardless of the quantity diagnosed for the patient.

These limitations often cause hard decisions for patients and can stall/prolong treatment because patients strictly want to do what’s covered by their insurance, or only continue treatment until they reach their maximum. Sometimes things end up working out when they wait until the following year when their maximum resets, other times it causes them to get into a vicious cycle of catch-up that seems to never end.

There’s a very well-written article by Spring Hatfield, who’s a Registered Dental Hygienist, that helps add some perspective to how one should view dental insurance and the way it’s best utilized. We understand that there is not a one size fits all for almost anything, so this is meant to help educate and inform patients on things they may not have considered about dental insurance.

BSPH, Spring Hatfield, RDH. “An Open Letter to Patients about Your Dental Insurance.” Today’s RDH, 6 Mar. 2023, www.todaysrdh.com/an-open-letter-to-patients-about-your-dental-insurance/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.