Will Your Dental Insurance Help Pay for Dental Implants?

Recently, you’ve been trying to figure out the best way to fill in the gaps in your smile left by your missing teeth. You’ve been thinking about getting dental implants in order to enjoy the unique benefits they have to offer, but you have concerns about the cost. Can you expect your dental insurance plan to help cover dental implants, or will you need to pursue other payment options? Below is the information you need to make an informed decision that’s right for your smile and your bank account.

Dental Insurance and Dental Implants

Not all insurance plans are exactly alike. The coverage available for dental implants can vary depending on what plan you have. Some insurance carriers may be willing to pay part of the cost of dental implants. In other cases, your plan might not cover the dental implants themselves, but it may still help pay for specific parts of the process such as:

• The extraction of any damaged teeth that are still in your mouth.
• The treatment of gum disease (which may be necessary since gum disease is a major risk factor for dental implant failure).
• The final crown, bridge, or denture that will be attached to your dental implants in order to act as your new tooth or teeth.

If you’re not sure how your own plan handles dental implants and related procedures, give your dental insurance company a call; they can answer any questions you might have and clarify your benefits.

Taking Advantage of Your Dental Insurance Coverage

In the event that your dental insurance does indeed provide coverage for dental implants or services related to the dental implant process, you’ll want to utilize your current benefits while you still have them. Many dental insurance plans reset at the end of the calendar year; when that happens, if you haven’t met your annual maximum yet, the remaining amount will effectively be lost. Thus, it’s often best for your wallet if you start the dental implant process before the end of the year.

Other Ways to Make Dental Implants Affordable

If your dental insurance doesn’t cover dental implants (or if you don’t have dental insurance to begin with), your dentist can help you find other ways to fit the procedure into your budget. For example, they may suggest CareCredit financing, which lets you pay for your treatment in monthly installments instead of a single lump sum.

Whether you plan on using dental insurance or not, it’s worth figuring out how you can make dental implants as affordable as possible so that you can replace your entire smile from the roots up.

About the Practice

At Anderson Dental Center, we have a team of dentists and specialists who are well-respected for the quality of their work. We offer start-to-finish implant procedures to rebuild our patients’ smiles, and we accept a wide range of dental insurance plans including Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield. To schedule a consultation at our office in Hackensack, visit our website or call (201) 546-7435.