Use It or Lose It: A Double Edged Sword
As the end of the year approaches, you hear dental providers proclaiming “use it or lose it” but you may be wondering what that means. Let’s explore this call to action, and how to utilize insurance benefits, without jeopardizing your oral health.
First, what do we mean by “use it or lose it”? This is referring to your dental insurance benefits, so if you do not have dental insurance, this would not apply to you, but the negative implications are still worth reading. Dental insurance does not work like medical, where you reach your deductible and then they start paying more. Instead, every year you have a set amount of benefits, for example $1000, that your insurance will contribute to services. There are other stipulations you may have, such as a set number of procedures you can have performed during the year. We love to see our patients maximize their benefits, however what we see in the last quarter of the year is patients putting off necessary treatment, waiting for their benefits to renew in the new year.
Some things to consider when deciding to postpone treatment diagnosed by your dentist:
Will the decay, disease or infection spread if you wait?
What will it cost if the treatment plan changes because the condition worsens?
Will tooth structure be damaged beyond repair, as there is only so much tooth structure per tooth?
We know it can seem like the easy decision to put off treatment to wait for benefits to renew, but it’s imperative you weigh the risks, including losing more tooth structure than necessary, and a more costly treatment plan associated with waiting. The best thing you can do is ask your dentist their professional opinion regarding waiting, rather than making that decision on your own.