ALT="Dental Insurance with The Insurance Problem Solver"During open enrollment and at other times, myriad companies offer dental insurance.

By “myriad companies” I mean not just employers that offer health and dental insurance options to employees, but also to dental insurance companies themselves.

Open Enrollment 2016 runs from November 1, 2015, until January 31, 2016. This is when individuals can make changes from their 2015 health plans. For the purpose of open enrollment, dental insurance changes can be made, too. Since dental insurance is sometimes an afterthought, this is a good time to discuss it. If you don’t work for an employer that offers insurance, or if you are not otherwise subject to open enrollment’s time limitations, you can buy dental insurance for yourself.

Although my father was a dentist and I got care at no charge (mostly on Sunday mornings, nice…), not everybody is as “fortunate.” I did not have to face the issues of dental insurance until he retired. Although I am not pushing the product (or any particular dental insurance provider), I’d like to help you understand dental insurance including its varieties and generally, how it works.

What Dental Insurance Isn’t

Often, and incorrectly, people believe that when they have health insurance (sometimes called medical insurance), dental benefits are included. Not so, except in limited circumstances when health/medical insurance may apply to dental issues. Those circumstances can arise in situations such as when someone is injured or develops a systemic illness that is covered by health insurance, and the injury or illness implicates the head, gums, or teeth. An example might be when he or she is in an automobile collision resulting in jaw or mouth injuries. If teeth are lost because of the impact and there is a need for restoration of the jaw, mouth, and teeth for the person to be able to function, the health/medical insurance may apply to the restorative care. But each situation is fact-driven and the terms of the health/medical insurance policy control.

What Dental Insurance Is

What we are really discussing when we talk about dental insurance is insurance coverage for cavities, root canals (OUCH!), bridges, crowns, cleanings and similar aspects of dental health. The term “dental health” (sometimes called “oral health”) refers to the day-to-day care of the mouth and teeth that is important to overall health. It touches every aspect of life but is often taken for granted.

The mouth, in a major way, reflects the overall health of an individual’s body. For example, it can show signs of nutritional deficiencies or general infection. Systemic diseases that affect the entire body may first appear as anomalies in the mouth, such as lesions or other oral problems.  While dental insurance doesn’t apply to correction of those nutritional deficiencies or infections, it may apply to the dental implications of them.

There are several kinds of dental insurance. To some degree, they correspond with varieties of health insurance. But remember, dental insurance is NOT health insurance.