For those of you who look in the mirror in the morning and see a gleaming pearly white full set of their own teeth smiling broadly back, the following guide on dental insurance may not be for you. However, for the rest of us, read on.

Nowadays in the UK, finding a dentist, especially an NHS dentist, is very similar as to looking for gold dust, very rare and very expensive. Many NHS dentists no longer take on new patients and those patients that are on the patient list, usually have to wait a long time to receive treatment even for urgent dental work. Most patients that are treated by an NHS dentist have to pay a proportion of cost for the dental work. Exceptions to this are those NHS dental patients who are below the age of eighteen years (or below the age of nineteen years in the case of a full time student), pregnant, a mother with a baby up to twelve months old, and in some cases people on benefit.

As from April 1st 2006 there are three associated dental charges raised by the NHS as follows:

1. 15.50 GBP for examination, diagnosis and preventative care including X rays, scale and polish

2. 42.40 GBP for fillings, root canal treatment, extractions

3. 189.00 GBP for complex courses of treatment and procedures including the fitting of crowns, dentures, or bridges
4. No charge will be made for writing a prescription, repairing dentures, removing stitches

NHS dentistry will only provide treatment for clinically necessary treatments and dentures, for cosmetic dentistry (i.e. tooth whitening), you will be charged for any treatment as a private patient.

Another thing to take into account when considering taking out dental insurance, is that if you have not visited your NHS dentist for over fifteen months, it is possible that you could be removed from the dentist’s patient list and the dentist (he or she) is not liable to give you any more NHS treatment. With over half the UK population not regularly going for a routine dental check up and over five million of us visiting the dentist each year with various degrees of toothache, dental insurance seems more and more like a very good idea. Those of us that already have some form of private health insurance (PMI) may already be covered for dental health insurance, however, dental insurance that is ‘added on’ as part of an overall personal health insurance policy may have a number of limitations, including specific dental cover, amount covered for, exclusions.

Various types of treatment

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Routine dental treatment, likely to include fillings, and cleaning by a hygienist.

Emergency dental treatment, this would include severe toothache, heavy bleeding, extreme pain, that warrants immediate dental treatment.

Dental accidents and injuries, including specialist fees, surgery fees, consultation fees, hospital fees and any on going dental treatment fees.

Serious dental problems, such as oral cancer, abscesses, bone replacement, and similar.

Types of Dental Insurance

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Dental Insurance Plans
As with all insurance policies, there are a number of different dental insurance policies available, covering a wide variety of treatments. Depending on how much you are prepared to pay as a premium each month will determine how much dental insurance cover you will get in return.

With the cost of dental treatment rising all the time, a dental insurance policy may well be the answer to cover the cost of regular check ups, for the unexpected accident, or range of treatment for a specific problem. You can choose which dentist you want to treat you and can make a claim for treatment regardless whether your chosen dentist is in the NHS or in private practice. Normally the way it works is that you as the patient pay your chosen dentist for any treatment that is administered by him/her, and then you claim the money back from your insurer.

You don’t have to go for a check up before you get a cost for the dental insurance premium being set. Dental insurance premiums are based on age and can differ by quite a large amount, so as always, carry out due diligence and look around at what is on offer.

Dental insurance policies don’t usually pay for the full cost of your treatment. In most cases, they set a limit on the amount covered over a twelve-month period, and some others will only pay 75% of the amount spent on treatment over a twelve-month period. Dental insurance cover only starts some three to six months after you have arranged it.
What Dental Treatment is covered?

The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ springs to mind, because that is exactly right in the case of dental treatment insurance, the more you pay in premiums the broader the dental insurance cover. It is very much up to the individual, in consultation with their dentist to agree on just exactly what type of dental insurance cover and how much dental insurance cover is required or needed.

In general, dental insurance will pay for treatment such as crowns, root canal work, bridges, dentures and other laboratory work up to dental insurance policy yearly limits. Emergency treatment can also be covered through dental insurance plans. However, treatment for cosmetic work and orthodontic treatment such as braces and implants may not be eligible for dental insurance cover as well as oral cancer, and serious dental infections including abscesses.

Dental maintenance plans (Sometimes referred to as a Capitation Scheme)
Rather than pay for your dental treatment each time you visit your dentist, with a dental maintenance plan (capitation scheme) you pay a monthly premium. The agreement for dental maintenance is between you and your chosen dentist with the dental insurance policy provider only acting in a promotional sales capacity as well as in an administrative capacity. The amount you pay in a monthly premium is determined by what state ‘health wise’ you teeth are in when you take out the dental maintenance plan, the ‘state of health’ of your teeth being determined by your chosen dentist.
What Dental Treatment is covered?
Dental maintenance plans provide dental insurance cover for check ups, fillings, X rays, and extractions. This type of dental insurance cover is most suited to people who have healthy teeth and just need treatment to keep them that way.

Health cash plans
For those of you who do not need full cover for dental care, a health cash plan that includes within it, dental treatment may be the answer. With this type of health care plan, instead of claiming for the cost of dental treatment, the policy holder of a health cash plan receives a lump sum payment that goes towards the cost of treatment, the type and amount of which depends on what exactly the health cash plan covers.

They are designed to allow you to receive early medical treatment and advice and some health plans can be catered to suit your particular needs.

Cost of health premiums vary on the amount of cash payback insured and the range of cover the Health Cash Plan provides for the policy holder.

Whereas Dental insurance and dental maintenance provide cover for dental treatment, a health cash plan pays out a lump sum towards the cost of visiting the dentist, in fact, the cash lump sum can be used to pay a number of health related costs provided they are covered within the health cash plan policy. Premium payments are usually paid on a monthly basis and collected via direct debit. Many health cash plans include cover for additional insurance for other associated medical benefits including critical illness, funeral benefits and accidental death benefits.

Dental implant cover insurance

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There are many people in the UK that have only a few teeth or even no teeth at all. For these poor souls, dental implants are the answer. Dental implants allow for replacement teeth to be provided that look and act like the real thing and are replacing the traditional denture.
The treatment is through private practice and can be expensive both in the provision and in the repair or replacement of them, but what a small price to pay for having that fantastic smile on your face again.

Dental Insurance for Children

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Although under the NHS children get free dental heath care, it may not exactly be the best treatment for the individual child. In some instances, dental insurance cover for children is provided under existing dental insurance plans, dental maintenance plans or health cash plans. So, if you already have a form of dental insurance, it is well worth checking to see what cover, if any, is provided for your children. Alternatively, you could take out dental insurance for your child. Dental insurance for children is very much like dental insurance for adults, but there can be specific types of treatment added on to the dental insurance to cater for the specific needs of a child.

Summary

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It is worth pointing out that with dental insurance there is no ‘standard’ dental insurance cover. Virtually every dental insurance policy is different from the next
There will no doubt be a lot of small print associated with a dental insurance policy, so as always, take the approach of ‘buyer beware’ and make sure you understand just exactly what you are covered and not covered for under the proposed dental insurance policy. There will most probably be a long list of limits to the amount that is paid out for a particular dental treatment along with a limit on how much will be paid out on a particular dental treatment within a twelve month period.
I cannot stress enough that as with all insurance, due diligence and a thorough understanding in what you are signing for is vital.
I hope you found this guide of interest and just remember one final thing
Keep Smiling

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