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If you are old enough to have been employed in the 1960s, you might remember when it began to provide dental insurance as part of your health benefits package. Like many consumers, you may have thought, and maybe still believe-that the medical and dental coverage were similar, but it is not the case. Understanding the differences between these types of insurance can be a valuable tool as you continue to seek the highest quality, lowest cost oral care.
General Medical vs. Oral Health Concerns
To understand why health insurance and dental coverage are different from each other, it is useful to think about the nature of the problems each addresses.
Most non-dentists, diseases that we encounter can not be predicted, and can be considered uncertain or random. Often, their occurrence resulting in significant and even catastrophic costs. Take a look at an itemized hospital bill or receipt showing how much your insurance drop when the need MRI or extensive blood tests, and you will understand how fast health costs can spiral out of control, as well as the key role of insurance coverage plays in suspension many of us from bankruptcy.
Contrast this with dental health issues such as tooth decay and gum disease. While oral disease is found in people from all walks of life, races and creeds, their incidence has significantly decreased in recent years. This positive trend is due in part to community water fluoridation, as well as more people see a dentist regularly for preventive care. But unlike many health problems that may disappear unexpectedly, dental problems such as tooth decay and gum disease only worsened over time, resulting in high and costly care.
How Dental System Structure is Unique
Interestingly, the average person spending for dental care in 2002 was $ 513.06, compared with $ 3,302 per person in the same year spent to standard medical care.
These figures indicate that these systems work very different from each other. Technological advances in dentistry have made oral practitioners to be more efficient and to bring their cost down. New features in the standard drugs, however, tend to result in higher costs.
When you visit the dentist, he or she can handle most of your needs right in his office. In fact, 80% of dentists are practitioners, specialists like surgeons with intake make up the other 20%.
This stands in direct contrast to the medical profession, where experts comprise 80% of the field. In addition, most if not all dental care you ever get in your life will be on an outpatient basis, but a good part of the primary care takes place in hospitals or other in-patient settings. Finally, a much lower percentage of dentists are allied in larger groups or partnerships but are doctors. All these factors combine to separate dentistry from general medicine.
Dental Insurance vs Health Insurance
There is one final factor that sets dental pieces. Because most oral conditions are not life-threatening nature, you as a patient can have the luxury of time and choice. You can go online and consult family and friends or get a second opinion to find a dentist that best meet your needs.
This time to shop around for the oral care may give you the opportunity to research useful coverage option known as discount dental plans. These benefits to dental insurance enables patients to save significant because large groups of dental band together and offer quality care at reduced prices. Insurance has come a long way since 1960, and getting coverage that will save you the most money for the best care is one of the best things you can do for you.
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Source by Susan Braden