Short Term Dental Insurance



When losing a job means losing job related benefits, dental insurance doesn't have to be one of them. For a reasonable monthly or yearly premium, basic procedures that include x-rays, cleaning, and exams can be covered, as well as more advanced procedures, like root canals, crowns and extractions.



Plans are offered at various amounts of coverage to handle services at the preventative, basic, major and/or and orthodontic levels. Basic services generally include exams, x-rays, cleaning, fluoride treatments, and sealers (to prevent cavities). The coverage amount for plans at the preventive level varies, but is generally very high - between 80 and 100%. For these diagnostic and preventative services, there generally is no waiting period, and coverage begins as soon as the policy becomes effective.

Insurance companies know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By lowering the cost of preventative maintenance, they'll incur lower costs for the more expensive procedures. Exams locate problems at the early stages, when the cost of dental repair is low. Cleaning removes plaque that forms on the teeth and harbors bacteria that secrete acids, attacking the tooth enamel and causing decay. Fluoride treatments significantly increase the resistance of enamel to decay, but it has to be applied to directly to the tooth because drinking fluoridated water does not strengthen the teeth. Sealing bonds a thin plastic resin to the tooth enamel. This resin fills in the grooves and pits in the back molars, smoothing them out so that the plaque that can't be removed by brushing doesn't build up. The resin is applied as a liquid, then polymerized with an UV lamp source to harden it. It does wear off over time, so needs to be replaced periodically.

For basic services, which would include fillings, the coverage rate is usually 80% and the waiting period can be up to 6 months. But some internet advertised plans are now being offered with no waiting period. Services include amalgam (mercury) fillings, composite (white) fillings, tooth extractions, root canals, and some periodontal treatments that usually include scaling and root planing. Note that there is wide controversy over whether or not the use of amalgam filling is safe. Amalgam is a mixture of mercury and silver, combined together as small particles by the dentists before they are are pushed as a resulting paste into a tooth. After the paste is inserted, the mercury and silver will dissolve together forming a hard alloy. Because the cavity that the dentist has drilled out is inside the tooth, the ball of alloy will not fall out and protects that area from further decay.