Why Dental Benefits Are Crucial for Your Overall Well-Being

Selecting and utilizing dental benefits is crucial because the condition of your teeth and gums significantly impacts your overall health. Proper oral health care can help prevent oral infections, tooth decay, gum disease, and other conditions. Not only does good oral health support your teeth and gums, but your overall health and well-being.

Here are some of the ways dental hygiene can affect your overall health:

• Help cardiovascular health. Gum disease increases inflammation in the body, including within the soft tissues of the heart. Plaque and bacteria enter the body through the gums and can clog arteries and increase your risk of a severe heart attack or stroke.
• Decrease the risk of experiencing dementia. Poor dental hygiene can cause you to suffer from tooth decay and even tooth loss. Substances entering your body through your gums can negatively impact your brain’s functions. In turn, there is a higher potential for memory loss which can develop into dementia.
• Improve respiratory conditions. Bacteria can travel from your mouth to the bloodstream and into your lungs, directly impacting your respiratory system. Good oral hygiene can help prevent unwanted bacteria from traveling further into your body.
• Lower the risk of diabetes. People with gum disease are more prone to developing diabetes. The reverse is also true; those with diabetes are more prone to gum disease. If you already have diabetes, it’s vital to maintain good oral hygiene for prevention, as you’re more likely to contract certain infections when you have diabetes.
• Prevent some infertility risks. Gum disease can cause infertility issues such as premature birth and low birth weight. Maintaining good oral hygiene can help increase your odds of a normal pregnancy.

How to Make the Most of Your Dental Plan

A good dental plan can make taking care of your teeth more financially accessible, but you should make sure to review the details of your plan before you file a claim. It’s important to review your different plan options and how in-network and out-of-network providers will affect your coverage.

For example, using an in-network dentist provides the best coverage for your dental costs without balanced billing, which is the bill for the amount of your claim that insurance did not cover when you see an out-of-network dentist.

However, many dentists take limited insurance plans, so it’s important to find the best out-of-network coverage possible. There are different types of out-of-network dental coverage, including maximum allowable charge (MAC) and Reasonable and Customary (R&C):

• Maximum Allowable Charge (MAC) — caps payment for services provided by an out-of-network dentist at a scheduled amount, the MAC. Depending on the plan, payment may be made for all or part of the MAC for different types of services.
• Reasonable & Customary (R&C) charge — plan pays out-of-network claims based on R&C charges determined for your area. The R&C charge is based on the lowest of either:

1. 1. the dentist’s actual charge,
   2. the dentist’s usual charge for the same or similar services, or
   3. the usual charge of most dentists in the same geographic area for the same or similar services as determined by the insurance provider.

Depending on the plan, payment may be made for all or part of the R&C charge for different types of services.

Good oral hygiene needs to be a top priority to maintain good overall health status. A healthy mouth is often a sign of a healthy body. To learn more about how dental insurance fits into your current benefit plan, contact us today!