Dental Insurance – Brenham, TX
Enjoy Quality Dental Care at Reduced Rates
Regular oral care from a qualified professional such as one of the team members at Smile Keepers is a crucial part of maintaining a healthy and beautiful smile for life, and dental insurance can be a great way to make the dental services you need more affordable. While understanding your policy may seem frustrating at first, our staff will be happy to help you get the most out of your benefits so your grin can stay gorgeous. Here’s a quick look at how dental insurance works, but please contact our staff if you’d like to know more or want to schedule an appointment.
How Dental Insurance Works
Most dental insurance plans work something like this:
- 100% coverage for preventive oral care such as checkups, cleanings, and X-rays.
- 80% coverage for minor restorative treatments like fillings and gum disease treatments.
- 50% coverage for major restorative work like dentures, bridges, and root canals.
- Most dental insurance plans do not cover medically unnecessary elective treatments like cosmetic dental procedures.
- Orthodontic services may be covered in some cases.
PPO insurance plans usually impose restrictions like waiting periods before coverage takes effect, an annual maximum that defines how much money the policy will pay in a year, or a deductible that must be met before benefits kick in. HMO plans, on the other hand, don’t usually impose any of these restrictions but require patients to see in-network providers to receive any coverage. We’ll be happy to help you understand how your insurance works and what it will pay for when we see you at our office in Brenham.
What Is the Difference Between Dental & Medical Insurance?
Medical insurance plans are usually designed to help policyholders get emergency care when a crisis happens as well as routine checkups. Dental insurance plans, on the other hand, typically incentivize policyholders to seek preventive care that can make costly restorative treatments unnecessary, which helps keep patients healthy and rates low. The best way to make sure you get the most out of your dental insurance benefits is to schedule routine dental appointments at our office every six months.
In-network vs. Out-of-network
People covered by PPO dental plans are usually able to see providers who are out of their insurance network, but it may cost more money. Here are brief breakdowns of the benefits of seeing in-network and out-of-network dentists.
In-network Coverage
A dentist who is in network with your plan has negotiated a pricing structure with your dental insurance provider, which allows you to receive more coverage at their office. At Smile Keepers, we are proud to be in network with:
- Cigna
- BlueCross BlueShield
- Metlife
- Delta Dental
- Guardian
- Sunlife
- United Healthcare
- Aetna
- Humana
- Geha
Out-of-Network
A dentist who is out of network with your insurance provider has not negotiated a pricing structure with them. While most PPO patients will still receive some coverage when seeing an out-of-network dentist, their plans might not pay as much as if they had seen in-network providers. We’ll be happy to help you understand what your insurance will cover if you contact our office.