Gone are the days of spending your entire career with one company – of walking out of those same doors 50 years later with a pension and a gold watch.
Americans these days stay on average only 4 ½ years with an organization before looking to move on and one of the major reasons is because our job market is booming.
Better offers are abundant and as companies compete for employees, they’ve begun to offer amazing benefits packages with things like financial wellness programs, unlimited vacation days, and onsite workout classes.
But there is one extremely important benefit that’s sometimes taken for granted. Dental coverage may not be as exciting as a cold brew bar or “beer cart Fridays,” but it’s extremely important and says something equally important about the company you’re considering.
Here’s why.
Your health
Awareness around the connection between oral and overall health is growing.
Periodontal disease and tooth loss has been linked to all kinds of factors that affect your overall well-being like premature aging, diabetes, mental illness and cardiovascular disease.
We all know that the breakdown of our oral health can be prevented by practicing good oral hygiene and regularly seeing a dentist, but did you know that only 58% of uninsured individuals report seeing a dentist twice a year? Now compare that to a whopping 81% of insured individuals who see a dentist twice a year.
When you see a dentist, you’re able to catch problems before they develop into serious complications. People with dental insurance are more likely to have restorative and tooth-saving procedures like fillings and crowns done, while those without dental benefits are more likely to have extractions or dentures.
Simply put, carrying dental insurance means healthier teeth, which results in a healthier, happier you!
4 major things to look out for in your plan
- Preventative care: Most dental plans cover 100% of preventive care such as annual or semi-annual office visits for cleaning, X-rays and sometimes fluoride treatments.
- Basic procedures: Treatment for things like gum disease, extractions, and fillings. Most good policies cover 70% to 80% of these procedures, with patients paying the remainder.
- Major procedures: This is where you’ll start seeing some major differences in policies. Under weaker policies, procedures like crowns, bridges and implants are only covered at high co-payment, with the patient paying for 50% or more of the procedure out-of-pocket. That hurts. Good policies will cover for a much higher percentage.
- Yearly maximums: Some dental policies carry yearly maximums (some as low as $750) and once you’ve met it, the rest is up to you.
The takeaway
Don’t take good dental coverage for granted.
There are a lot of shiny, exciting benefits out there, but your health is all you have. Make sure your future employee takes it as seriously as you do.
Article originally published at yournewteethnow.com.