Many people had to postpone necessary dental care due to COVID-19, and it is time to review your annual dental benefits before they are lost. Waiting longer will adversely affect your oral and overall health, and you will lose your yearly benefit.

Most employer-sponsored health insurance plans are on a calendar year. This means that the current year plan expires the last day of each year, renews in January, and any unused benefits for the current year will be lost. Unused dental benefits in your employer-sponsored health insurance plan are available to you and your family. If you have unfinished dental treatment, including orthodontic and cosmetic treatment, you may want to consider using these benefits. It may be possible to phase bigger treatment plans over two years of coverage, doing some treatment this year and some next year. This way, you get two years of benefits in a short time, maximizing your benefits, minimizing your out-of-pocket expenses, and optimizing your dental health.

Traditional health insurance plans often include dental benefits. The medical side is designed as insurance; it covers the possible catastrophically high expenses of some medical illnesses. The dental side is not insurance; it is a defined benefit. Employers and insurance companies determine how much money will be available and what treatment areas are covered. Over the last 30 years, the cost of health insurance has skyrocketed to keep their costs down employers have increased deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums and decreased dental benefits. Several years ago, it was common to have $2,500 of dental benefits, and now $1,000 is more common. The decreased benefit and increase in the cost of living have left patients with more out-of-pocket expenses.

If your employer is interested in saving money in the area of employee benefits, they may want to consider two alternatives to offering dental benefits tied to a health insurance plan. These alternatives are health savings accounts and cafeteria plans that use pre-taxed money. Employers usually have an option to offer different types of coverage for their employees. The health savings account option raises the deductibles and out of pocket maximums but allows you and your employer to contribute to a health savings account. This account is owned by the employee and can be used for medical and dental expenses. The money is not lost at the end of the year; it carries over and is usually held in an interest-bearing or investment type account owned by the employee that can grow over the years. For healthy young people, this is a great way to save for cosmetic procedures or expenses that may be incurred later in life when health and dental expenses usually go up. Cafeteria plans are another way employers can offer less expensive benefits to employees. The employer funds cafeteria plans for each employee on an annual basis, and they are usually using it or lose it annually. If these funds are not used, they go back to the employer. Both health savings accounts and cafeteria plans give the employee much more latitude on how to use these funds; they are not limited by what the insurance company defines as a covered benefit, so services like cosmetic care are covered.

Look at your current health care or cafeteria plan to determine if you have unused dental benefits that expire in December. If you have delayed going back to the dentist due to COVID-19, have unfinished dental treatment, or consider some cosmetic treatment, now is the time to address this with your dentist.

If you do not have dental benefits, ask your dentist about in-house financing or other plans that may help you get the care you deserve. Maximizing your oral health and your dental benefits work together for your best overall health.

Dr. Robert A. Gallegos is a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry, visiting faculty at Spear Education, alumnus of Pankey Institute, a member the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the American Dental Association. Dr. Gallegos practices dentistry in Middleburg, VA. www.MiddleburgSmiles.com.