That comes as a very unpleasant surprise to lots of people — but sad to say it is true. Whether you buy your dental insurance yourself or get it from your employer (probably instead of a bigger paycheck,) if you haven’t used it up to the maximum amount by the end of the year, it’s gone for good.

What is more, it’s all perfectly legal. Back when you signed up for you plan, your insurance company or em-ployer probably spelled out exactly how it worked in page after page of tiny type. So, you can’t say you weren’t warned. But that was probably months ago. And, odds are, your insurance company is not planning on telling you again NOW, when you can actually do something to hang on to those benefits.

Every year thousands of people get caught by the year end deadline because they do not understand that, un-like other forms of insurance, dental benefits are a “use it or lose it” situation.
Car insurance, for example, does not cover the routine things like oil changes that you do to keep your car in good shape. But if you are in an accident, it’s there to cover the high costs of getting your car repaired. In other words, it only kicks in when you need it most. Dental insurance, on the other hand provides a maximum yearly benefit to help cover routine things like check-ups, cleanings, and exams, plus it usually contributes a portion towards cavity treatment– and may give you some help with more expensive pro-cedures.

That maximum benefit isn’t exactly generous, but it can help you keep your mouth healthy – if you remember to actually use it. Look at it this way. Somebody – either you or your employer – paid for that maximum benefit. That makes it YOUR money – and the last thing you want to do is let it slip away.

We can help you keep that from happening.
When you schedule an appointment to use what remains of your dental benefit on the care you need, it saves you money right away. And, using your benefit on good routine care helps prevent more serious (not to mention more expensive) problems in the future.

Plus, we can help you get the most from your dental plan with strategies like using what is left of your benefit to start care now, then complete treatment once the next benefit year begins.