understanding your medical insurance policy

Two Major Reasons You Should Get Dental Insurance

by Peppi Halko

In 2019, about 74 million Americans, about 25% of the population, did not have dental insurance. Though various reasons such as high insurance costs and a lack of full-employment were why some people lacked dental insurance, a significant number of people said they don't have dental insurance because they rarely need it.  

In most cases, if an individual has excellent dental health, they might consider dental insurance as an unnecessary expense. Nonetheless, even if you rarely need to see a dentist for treatment, there are still reasons why you should get dental insurance. Here are two reasons why you should get dental insurance even if you rarely need it.

Dental Emergencies 

Having excellent dental health doesn't make you immune to dental emergencies. For instance, there have been instances where people's teeth have been knocked out, chipped, or cracked due to accidentally slipping and falling. Thus, it is pretty easy to encounter a dental emergency while conducting your normal daily activities. Unfortunately, a dental emergency can be quite expensive to cover out of pocket. And considering that it can occur at any time without warning, you may not have the funds to pay for a dental emergency out of pocket. Thus, you may have to wait for several days or weeks before you can raise sufficient funds to pay for the dental emergency.

However, when you have active dental insurance coverage, paying for dental emergency treatment is a lot easier for you. Typically, all you have to do is pay the agreed-upon deductible, which is relatively small compared to paying for the entire emergency dental care service. After paying the deductible, your dental insurance will cater for the rest of the bill. Thus, with dental insurance, you only pay a small amount toward dental emergency care, and your dental insurance coverage handles the more significant portion of the cost.

Therefore, even if you rarely need dental care, having dental insurance coverage as a fall back plan when an emergency arises is highly recommended.

Consider Your Children

Even if you have excellent dental health, as a parent, it is essential to consider that your children's oral hygiene and eating habits may require frequent trips to the dentist's office. As children develop, they usually encounter dental issues such as misalignments and cavities on more than one occasion. If you do not have dental insurance, chances are you will have to spend a small fortune on your children's dental care from your pocket.

However, if you apply for a family dental insurance plan, you can significantly minimize the amount of money you spend out of pocket on your children's dental care and treatments. For one, preventative dental care such as regular checkups is entirely free when you have dental insurance. Thus, you have the advantage of taking your children for regular dental checkups without paying for anything out of pocket.

Additionally, if your children develop dental issues, such as misalignments, a family dental insurance plan can help you easily afford the cost of braces, root canals, and tooth extraction. Thus, enabling you to save a significant amount of money that you would otherwise have to pay out of pocket if you don't have dental insurance cover

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