Dental News

Are Dental Implants in Your Future? Start Planning Now to Pay for Them

November 12, 2015

Dental implants are not covered by all insurance plans so be sure to do your research early.

Are Dental Implants in Your Future? Start Planning Now to Pay for ThemDental implants are the best solution to missing teeth. They are also quite costly, especially if you need multiple implants. So, if you suspect that dental implants may be a necessity in your future, it would be wise to start planning today to make sure you are prepared for the expense.

Signs You Might Need Dental Implants

Have you already lost a tooth due to decay, disease, or accident? You obviously need to replace it, both for the sake of your appearance and for your health. Even if the gap left by the missing tooth is in the back of your mouth, unless you get an implant the bone in the area of the missing tooth will shrink, potentially destabilizing other teeth and contributing to a sunken look in your face.

Even if you have not actually lost a tooth yet, if you have had significant restoration work done such as a crown or a root canal, you need to realize that these restorations do not last forever. They may fail someday, necessitating the removal of the tooth. You could use a bridge as a stop gap measure, but bridges also have a limited lifespan and you may still eventually end up wishing you had a dental implant.

Of course, you do have to be a good candidate for surgery in order to get a dental implant. If you smoke or have very poor oral hygiene, and you can’t imagine changing your habits, you are not a good candidate for implants. These habits would only make the implant fail and waste your money.

How to Maximize Insurance Coverage for Dental Implants

Unfortunately, dental insurance coverage for dental implants can be spotty at best. Many plans to not cover any portion of the procedure, and others will only cover certain percentages of certain steps.

Here is an example of the average benefits you might see:

  • Tooth extraction—covered at 60 to 80 percent
  • Bone graft—not covered
  • Dental implant surgery—not covered
  • Crown placement—possibly covered at 40 to 50 percent

Of course, you would still have to deal with the annaul benefit limit on your insurance plan, which may cut you off at $1,000 of care. One way to get around this is to schedule your dental implant procedure at the end of the year, so you get your extraction in one calendar year and your crown the next. This basically doubles your coverage.

Before deciding to get dental implants, you should review your insurance benefits carefully. If you don’t have any coverage, consider switching to a different plan. If you like, you can visit California Dental Group for an initial evaluation and estimate of the cost of your implants. Our office staff can help you review your current dental coverage to see how much you might expect to pay out of pocket for your implants and introduce you to dental care financing options such as CareCredit or HSA accounts.

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