Dental Insurance – Fort Worth, TX
Making High-Quality Dentistry Affordable
Instead of fearing that regular dental care will leave you with an empty bank account, you can rest assured that your dental insurance benefits will be put to good use at Distinguished Dental. Dr. McIntosh remains committed to providing accessible and affordable dentistry to all patients, even if we’re out-of-network with your dental insurance plan. If you’re insured but need help to better understand the details of your plan, call our Fort Worth dental office today and let us be of assistance.
How Dental Insurance Works
Preventive and restorative dentistry are the two main categories of care that dental insurance companies include in their list of available benefits. You are unlikely to find cosmetic dental treatments as part of any plan simply because most companies view these services as luxury procedures (though there are exceptions).
The typical breakdown of benefits might look something like the following:
- 100% coverage for preventive care
- 80% coverage for minor restorative care
- 50% coverage for major restorative care
What Is the Difference Between Dental & Medical Insurance?
Medical insurance provides coverage for general health issues as they come up. You wouldn’t use your medical insurance benefits before breaking a bone, for example, but you would use it to offset your treatment costs after breaking a bone.
In contrast, dental insurance plans focus on prevention and reducing the chances of needing more serious and extensive restorative care. It rewards patients who commit to biannual dental checkups and teeth cleanings and undergo other forms of preventive care by agreeing to cover most or all of the costs (80-100%). When oral problems do arise, most dental insurance companies will pay between 50-80% of the total treatment costs.
In-Network VS. Out-of-Network
If a dental practice is “in-network” with your plan, that means they’ve negotiated with your insurance company and have a contract with them that dictates service prices and certain standards of care. While visiting an in-network dentist enables you to use the fullest extent of your benefits, your treatment options could be restricted due to this contract. In some cases, patients are unable to receive the dental care they truly need.
What is sometimes overlooked is the fact that you can still receive good coverage when visiting an “out-of-network” dentist. Our patients often remark that our out-of-network rates are comparable to what they would pay out-of-pocket with a dentist in their network. Plus, not having a contract with your insurance company means we’re completely free to focus on your treatment needs, rather than the preferences of a third party who isn’t familiar with your situation!