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Employer-sponsored dental plans
actually encourage you and your family to make an annual
or even semi-annual dental office visit. To promote
preventive care, most dental plans pay all or most of
the cost of routine dental checkups, including cleanings
and exams. Additionally, exercising preventive care can
help you avoid more costly dental problems that can
develop or be worsened by lack of basic preventive care.
For example, for non-preventive
services, the patient's share of the costs - referred to
as your "co-payment" - frequently increases as
the type of dental procedure becomes more involved. For
instance, it is not uncommon for many dental plans to
require a 20 percent co-payment if you need a cavity
filled. A root canal, crown, bridge or periodontal work
(to treat gum disease) can require a 50 percent patient
co-payment. Such procedures can cost upwards of $1,200.
Annual maximums, which are the
monetary limits which a dental program will pay toward
covered dental care in the benefit year, are frequently
in the range of $1,000 to $1,500. As a result, you can
find yourself running out of benefits altogether if you
or your family needs extensive dental work.
That's why, regardless of what
kind of dental plan you have, it pays to see the dentist
for routine check ups in order to save yourself the
cost, as well as the pain, of advanced dental disease.
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