The estimated costs of getting dental implants can easily make you drowsy. Implants are known for their effectiveness and durability as tooth replacements despite their high initial prices. Are they worth the high charges? Absolutely!
Our guess is you are now probably asking yourself if your dental insurance plan will cover at least part of the implants’ costs. While many people anticipate for a simple yes or no answer, it’s never the case. Many medical insurance covers categorize implants under cosmetic procedures and could turn down your request for coverage. However, in some tidy cases, your procedure could be covered by your dental plans as some insurance companies are starting to see the effectiveness of implants. The following are some dental insurance plans that you may consider when looking for implant coverage.
Dental Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
These are managed care organizations in coordination with a network of dentists working under contracts with a dental insurance provider. The dentists under these plans are bound by a contract to provide PPO insurance cover members with unprecedented rates on dental care plans. Consider putting these networks into good use by talking to your insurance provider and asking them to refer you to a dentist who will attend to your implant needs. You might just get lucky and get charged low rates for the implant procedure.
Dental Health Maintenance Organizations Insurance (DHMO)
Like PPO insurance plans, dental health maintenance organizations offer cheaper dental care rates and work together with the dental insurance company to attract clients. However, in this case, the services are provided at pre-determined prices. DHMO insurance plans are also known to be more restrictive as an insured member cannot see a dentist that’s not in their network. Depending on what services the dentists in your PPO insurance plans cover, you may get lucky and find one which includes implant services as part of the package that can be covered under the insurance plan.
The costs charged under dental health maintenance organizations are undeniably the lowest when compared to PPO dental insurance covers and dental indemnity insurance plans. This takes us to the next dental insurance cover that may interest you.
Dental Indemnity Insurance Plans
Also known as traditional insurance, it runs on a rather funny system that directs you to pay your implants bills from your pocket fully. Your insurance company will then later reimburse the charges for the treatment back to you. This is the most common form of dental insurance plan that covers for implants. To make the process less taxing and more affordable, you could talk to your dentist about setting up a payment plan that spreads the bills throughout the treatment period.
The best thing about indemnity dental insurance plans covering for implants, is that it doesn’t restrict you from visiting any particular clinic or dentist of your choice. Be sure to confirm the deductible policy and ensure that you are on the same page with the insurance company. They should cover about 50 to 80% of the initial costs determined by your dentist for the implant procedure.
Dental Savings Plans
As the name suggests, it is a term that provides clients with discounts on most dental services. These discounts range anywhere from 10 to 60% on average, depending on the location and quality of dental services. Unlike other arrangements, dental savings plans do not have any waiting periods, deductibles, annual limits, restrictions, paperwork, and insurance pre-authorizations as they are not necessarily insurance covers.
If you are looking to slash your expenses when trying to acquire implant services, dental savings plans are recommendable. The best thing about dental savings plans is that they offer discounts on certain dental specialties, including cosmetic dentistry services such as teeth whitening. You shouldn’t find it hard covering for your dental implants’ services with a reasonable dental savings plan.
What Is The Cost Of Implants With Insurance Cover?
A single tooth implant can fetch about $3000 on average without dental insurance for the entire treatment. This might be a little too much out of the pocket money for an unplanned treatment procedure. An ideal dental plan should cover about half the cost of the treatment and probably step in for all the preventative charges in the process. You might want to talk to your dentist for an initial consultation session to help you understand the process and all the costs incurred in the implant treatment procedure.
Visit your insurance company and let them explain your options for getting an affordable implant treatment. Compare and contrast the quotes handed in by various dentists ready to offer the implant services. Save that extra dollar and get the perfect tooth replacement you have always desired.
So now, you know how critical insurance covers are in paying up for some of the expensive treatments, including dental implants. Contact us today to talk to our experts and let us enlighten you on all favorable dental plans in the market.
