Dental Coverage in 2020: Why Retirees Should Be Insured

After thinking about it for a couple of years, speaking with your friends and family, and taking a close look at your finances, you have made a monumental decision: you are going to retire.

While you are excited to enter this new phase of your life and tackle a myriad of projects and hobbies that have waited for you for years—not to mention get to spend more time with that cute new grand baby—you know you have to be smart about your finances.

As you go through your expenses and decide what to keep and what you can eliminate, you may wonder if you should skip having dental coverage. Your teeth seem to be healthy and strong, and so you may be pondering eliminating this benefit to save money.

The Importance of Keeping Dental Coverage

Aging can be hard on teeth and many older adults experience receding gums, worn out tooth enamel, dry mouth, tooth pain and more. If your oral health is not at its best, you may be self-conscious about smiling, and eating and speaking can become difficult. If you don’t have dental insurance, you may put off some of these painful issues and not get proper care until the problems worsen, which means you may end up paying far more for an emergency visit and root canal. Paying out of pocket for routine checkups may seem like a reasonable option if you have great teeth—and hopefully this will continue to be the case—but suddenly needing to shell out thousands of dollars for a crown can make this plan seem foolhardy.

Budget-Friendly Options for Dental Coverage

Fortunately, you do have options when it comes to your dental coverage. The first is a regular dental insurance plan. Since you won’t be covered by your employer anymore in retirement, you can buy a plan on your own. If you like your current dentist, you can select a plan based on which companies he or she accepts. If you are ho-hum about your dentist and are fine with getting a new provider, you can really focus on choosing an in-network dentist in the most budget-friendly plan. No matter which plan you have, keep in mind that you can always ask for a discount on the proposed work. Dental work costs are rarely set in stone and if you explain to your dentist that you are newly retired and trying to cut costs, he or she may reduce the amount that is charged to your plan. In addition, if your dentist’s office has a hygienist or two on staff that you really like and trust, you may find that they are able to do most of the work you need at a reduced price.

Research Medicare Dental Plans

If you have enrolled in Original Medicare, you probably know that it does not include dental coverage. However, there are ways to access Medicare plans that do have dental coverage as a built-in feature. For example, Anthem offers Medicare dental plans, as well as cost-effective dental insurance that can be added on to your existing Medicare plan. These plans often include low or zero co-pays for your regular checkups, as well as X-rays and other more intensive dental services. By looking into one of these options and choosing a dental package, you may find it to be the most cost-effective option while also allowing you to continue to get great care from your dentist.

Enjoy Your Retirement!

After working hard for decades, you definitely deserve to enjoy your retirement years as much as possible. By continuing to cover your oral health through some form of dental coverage, you can help ensure that you are smiling your way through retirement with a healthy set of teeth and gums.