Know Your Dental Insurance Plan

Dental Insurance makes it easy for many Canadians to enjoy healthy teeth and gums but do you know what your dental insurance covers?

Each insurance plan is unique and offers varying amounts, percentages covered, deductibles, and types of procedures covered. Many dental plans work on an annual basis, meaning your dental benefits are forfeited at the close of the year.

Things to know about your Dental Insurance Plan:

• What is covered each year?
• Is there a deductible?
• Is there a total dollar limit on my coverage?
• Can I choose a procedure other than the one my plan covers?
• Will I still be covered if I change jobs?
• To what extent am I covered for cleanings and x-rays?
• To what extent am I covered for dental treatments such as fillings and root canals?
• What about other treatments such as bridges and crowns, dentures and oral surgery?

Yearly Maximum for Dental Insurance

Most dental insurance plans have a yearly maximum. This amount can vary so if you are going to get expensive work done, it is wise to get a predetermination before the work is started so you can decide which treatment options are best for you. The staff at Alexandra Park Dental will be happy to guide you in getting this information from your insurance company.

Dental Coverage Can Vary Based on Treatment

Your dental coverage can vary depending on whether the treatment you are receiving is preventative, restorative, or elective; knowing what your plan covers will help you work with the dentist to determine what the right steps are for you. It is also important to remember that the coverage offered by your dental insurance is mostly a percentage of the dental fee schedule your particular insurance plan will recognise, and not necessarily the costs incurred at the dental clinic. The dental fee schedule recognised by your insurance plan can differ from one plan product to another depending on the plan you or your employer have subscribed to. Dental clinics have the freedom to evaluate their individual business overheads incurred by the level of equipment, quality of materials, and service they wish to maintain and provide in the care of their patients when they are setting their service fees. This may differ from the fee schedule dictated by the particular insurance plan that a patient may be subscribed to. At Alexandra Park Dental, we aim to provide affordable but quality care and focus strongly on prevention, therefore we provide preventative care such as exams and cleanings at the suggested ALBERTA DENTAL FEE GUIDE.

Direct Billing to Insurance

At Alexandra Park Dental, we provide a courtesy service to our patients to do the paperwork for you and submit insurance claims on your behalf to your dental insurance provider. Hence what you pay at the time of treatment is only the portion you would be paying after your insurance claim has been approved. This process saves you from the hassle of filing your claim and waiting to be reimbursed, as well as the need to pay in full especially when the amount is relatively higher.

Dental Insurance Privacy Act

Another important thing to know is that due to the Privacy Act, patients always have access to the same, or even more information than the dental office. There are instances where dental insurance companies will only communicate with the patient due to the Privacy Act. So your dentist cannot know more than what you can find out about your dental insurance plan. The staff at Alexandra Park Dental will surely help you and also guide you so that we can obtain information from your insurance company together. There may be some instances where your insurance company's privacy act will allow them to only send information to you via a letter or email, and you will need to share it with our office to be able to work with it.