The beginner’s guide to group dental insurance

If you’re reading this right now, maybe your company is thinking about switching up their dental benefits or adding dental plans for the first time. Maybe you're looking at a quote or new dental plan and trying to make sense of it all. Whatever the case, there’s a lot of information to take in about dental benefits, and that probably includes some terms and concepts unfamiliar to you. At Beam Benefits, we’re convinced that dental care doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing, and we’re here to make things clear and easy to understand — transparency for the information generation!

Where should we dive in? That depends on what you already know and what you’d like to find out, but let’s play it safe and start with some basic terminology.

Deductible

Dental plans typically include a deductible, most likely in the range of $25 to $50. A deductible is the amount that a member is required to pay before plan benefits kick in. For example, if an individual deductible is $50, that member is required to pay for the first $50 of dental care before taking advantage of the coverage. Deductibles for family plans are often limited to a family deductible. This means that if a family plan included a family deductible of $150, coverage would begin once the $150 deductible was met, even if the individual deductibles had not yet been met. In most plans, but not all, deductibles are waived for Diagnostic & Preventive services (see below). Why? Well, providers want members to go to the dentist and get checked out to prevent major issues. Makes sense, right?

Plan maximum

Additionally, plans will include a maximum payment, usually just called a maximum. The maximum is the highest dollar amount that a dental plan will cover in a given amount of time for an individual member. With an annual maximum of $1500, the dental plan will cover up to $1500 of dental services per person each year. If the plan includes orthodontics coverage (read: braces), there will typically be two maximums: one for ortho and one for everything else. Ortho usually comes with a lifetime maximum, while the regular maximum is typically annual.

Service classes

The next important concept you’ll want to understand is dental insurance service classes and how they differ from one another. The term "service classes" refers to the four broad categories of dental care, which are usually covered at different levels by insurance. These categories are:

• Diagnostic & preventative
• Basic services
• Major services
• Orthodontics

Here’s a simple chart to give an overview of the classes:

Keep in mind that the descriptions above can differ depending on individual plan design. For instance, fillings are typically included in basic services but are sometimes considered major services. Basic X-rays are usually considered diagnostic and preventative but fall under basic services in some plans. We try to make this clear for our clients at Beam, but whichever carrier you use, be sure to understand the plan details; it never hurts to ask.

Here is some additional info on service classes

Diagnostic & preventative: For many people, the majority of visits to the dentist will fall under the category of diagnostic and preventative. Diagnostic and preventative covers many of the services a person receives during a routine visit to the dentist. Exams and cleanings are almost always included, and basic X-rays usually fall into this category as well. In many plans, sealants and fluoride treatment for children under age 14 are also considered diagnostic and preventative. If most of your visits to the dentist involve some combination of these services, you’re in luck. Diagnostic and preventative is typically covered at 100% and often does not require the deductible to be met (but read the fine print!).

Basic services: If you’ve ever seen a dentist for anything other than a routine cleaning and checkup, chances are you’ve received some form of basic service. Examples include fillings, basic gum disease treatment, and extractions; root canals are sometimes included under basic services. If you anticipate needing coverage for basic services, we have good news! Basic services are usually covered at 80% or even 90% with Beam, meaning a member could pay as little as 10% of the cost.

Major services: This service level covers more complicated procedures, such as complex oral surgeries, dentures, implants, and crowns. Coverage for major services is typically more limited, but if major services are a priority, you can find a dental plan with coverage at up to 60%.

Orthodontics: If you had braces as a teenager or are the parent of a teen with braces, this category is probably (too) familiar to you. Ortho refers to braces and associated treatments and, when it is included, is typically covered at 50%. The caveat here is that ortho often includes an age limit of 19, meaning that people older than that are not eligible for orthodontic coverage.

Side note: You might see the procedures listed above described in terms like endodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics. No need to get confused  — endodontics most commonly refers to root canals, periodontics refers to treatment of the gums, and prosthodontics refers to dentures and implants. As for orthodontics, well, we trust you know what that is.

And there you have it! If you’ve made it this far, you should be able to look over a dental plan and understand the majority of what’s going on.

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