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3 Financial Reasons to Get Fillings As Soon As Possible

Filed under: Uncategorized — spdentistry @ 1:55 pm
woman smiling after getting a filling

With inflation and other economic issues, this year has been tough on everyone. At your dental checkup and cleaning appointment, your dentist finds a small cavity in one of your teeth. Although they recommend dealing with it right away with a dental filling, you wonder whether you should wait until next time to treat it to save you a little bit of money. This would be a costly mistake!

Financially, it actually makes much more sense to get fillings sooner rather than try to wait. How can handling the problem now save you money in the long run? Here are three reasons!

Reason #1: Fillings Are Mostly Covered by Dental Insurance.

Not all insurance plans look exactly alike; however, some concepts apply across the board. Overall, prevention and early treatment are strongly encouraged, which means these companies focus most of the coverage on these services. As a result, most plans cover all preventive care and most of the cost of minor restorative work (i.e., fillings).

Because filling require less invasive treatment than crowns and other services, insurance is willing to contribute more money. In fact, most of the time, insurance companies pay about 70 to 80 percent of the cost of fillings; whereas dental crowns are typically only 50 percent covered!

Reason #2: Fillings Cost Less.

With or without dental insurance, fillings are the cheapest restorative treatment. Instead of an entire crown or the entire tooth, fillings only have to compensate for a small portion of tooth structure. As a result, it’s better to address tooth decay as soon as possible—while the damage can be repaired using the least invasive and most affordable procedure.

Reason #3: You May Not Have Reached Your Yearly Maximum.

Every dental insurance policy comes with a yearly or annual maximum, which is the limit that the company will pay toward procedures within the calendar year. This amount is usually between $1,000 and $1,500. Once you have met your maximum amount, you’re responsible for paying everything else out-of-pocket.

If you have not used your dental insurance this year, it means you have funds available for caring for your smile. Unfortunately, any money you do not use before December 31 does not carry over into the new year, meaning that if you do not use this money in time, it is gone!

In the end, if you are concerned about your oral healthcare expenses, you need to take care of cavities as early as possible. Fillings are much more affordable, and insurance pitches in more with this minor procedure than with more invasive ones. So take care of your small cavity today!

About the Author

Since graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. David Thomas has completed an Advanced Education of General Dentistry residency program, during which he was trained in complex procedures. However, he prefers to prevent problems from occurring in the first place and believes in conservative treatment. Do you have a cavity that needs to be treated? Contact Seahurst Park Dentistry of Burien at 206-244-4622 and schedule an appointment today!

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