Dental Insurance -

When it comes to looking after our health, teeth can quite often be at the bottom end of the list.  With the rising cost of treatment and lack of NHS dentists around the country, it is easy to forgo a trip to the dentist to save those hard earned pennies, but this could prove to be a costly mistake and not just in a financial sense.

Our teeth are intrinsically linked to the health of our whole body, meaning they can have quite an impact on our general wellbeing and in particular, our cardiovascular system, if we don’t take good care of them.

Poor oral hygiene can lead to conditions such as gingivitis, gum disease and periodontal disease, the latter of which has a high correlation with medical conditions such as heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.

Dental insurance can help to alleviate the worry of costly bills, or suffering needlessly with dental pain, by paying for or towards the cost of treatment (depending on policy type).

Dental plans can be taken out to cover you as an individual, a couple, or for your whole family (some companies provide cover for children up to university age) to make sure that the dental health of your loved ones is kept in tip-top condition.

Dental cover aims to help you cover the cost of routine treatment (such as check-ups and fillings), dental emergencies (such as abscesses or acute pain), dental injuries (such as a tooth knocked out during sport) and a number serious dental problems (such as oral cancer or removal of teeth roots).

Another plus point of a dental insurance policy is that it allows you to choose which dentist you visit, regardless of whether this is as an NHS or private patient.  You will usually find that your insurance plan pays out for the full cost (or the majority of it) when you use an NHS dentist and up to around 75% towards the cost of treatment from a private dentist.

Common exclusions are; plan must be taken out 2-4 months before needing any treatment, no payout if you haven’t received a check-up in a long period of time and claims will be limited to a specific number in any one year.

Under a dental plan, you can usually claim for 2 check-ups and 2 scale and polish treatments in a year to make sure your teeth are kept in good health and there is no need for a medical.  Another added bonus is that premiums do not usually increase with age unlike other insurance policies.

It is certainly worth considering a dental insurance policy as prices usually start from as little as £6-10 a month for an individual and around £30-40 for a family.  With the average price on the NHS for a routine examination at £16, £45.60 for a filling and £31 for an x-ray, the costs soon add up, making it more important than ever to ensure you are covered.

Read More :

Health Insurance – Terminology And Importance Overview
Medical Insurance Cover – Types And Benefits

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