Dental insurance can sometimes be pretty complicated, particularly in terms of orthodontic treatment, so here’s what you need to know!
Maintaining you and your family’s oral health is undoubtedly a significant investment, and it’s unfortunate that most health insurance policies don’t provide dental coverage.
A lot of people come to the JK Orthodontics team and ask us whether or not braces can be covered through their dental insurance, and on this page we’re going to help you better understand how dental insurance and orthodontic treatment coincide with one another.
The truth is that orthodontic treatment coverage will many times vary depending upon your unique dental insurance plan, which is why your first step will always be to closely look over your dental insurance coverage in order to more thoroughly understand if braces are a viable option for you or your children.
What Exactly Is Dental Insurance?
Dental insurance is many times referred to as a supplemental insurance, and this type of insurance will typically cover all sorts of preventative care, oral surgeries, fillings, root canals, etc.
When it comes to being covered for orthodontic treatment, this type of coverage will largely depend upon your policy. A lot of people obtain dental insurance through their employer, but you’ll also have the option of purchasing dental insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace when you simultaneously purchase healthcare coverage through them.
How Exactly Does Dental Insurance Work?
Once you’ve obtained a dental insurance plan, you’ll then be fully able to reap the many rewards that your coverage provides. If you are committed to getting braces or Line-M-Up™, then you should make sure you’re doing your homework to better understand what orthodontic treatment would cost under your unique policy.
A lot of dental insurance plans won’t provide coverage for adult orthodontic treatment, but they will support families to help children under 18 obtain treatment. It’s also possible that you may need to purchase orthodontic insurance on top of your existing dental insurance to fully cover your orthodontic treatment.
Below are some of the main components associated with dental insurance that you should understand:
- Premium: This is your monthly payment.
- Deductible: These are your out-of-pocket costs for oral health services that you must pay prior to your insurance coverage kicking in.
- Coinsurance: This is the percentage that you will pay after you pay your deductible, which is based upon your policy’s covered expenses.
- Copay: This is a fixed price for certain oral health services that you would pay.
Can Myself Or My Children Obtain Braces Through Medicaid?
It’s certainly possible to obtain orthodontic treatment when you qualify for Medicaid, but you’ll have to have a licensed orthodontist determine that the treatment is medically necessary.
When you’re looking to purchase orthodontic treatment through Medicaid, you should always double-check to make sure you know the exact percentage of overall costs that will be covered.
It’s also important to note that your child must be under 21-years-old in order to be eligible for this type of benefit.
Is Orthodontic Treatment Tax Deductible?
Orthodontic treatment can be tax deductible, but the main caveat here is again if the treatment is deemed to be medically necessary. This distinction plays a major role in the overall cost of treatment in many cases, so if your treatment is medically necessary then you will be able to deduct your dental care costs.
However, there are certain conditions that you should know about with these types of tax deductions. The main condition is that your dental care and overall orthodontic treatment costs will have to equal over 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. This means you’ll need to keep up with all of your financial records and treatment co-pay/checkup receipts to verify your eligibility towards a tax deduction.
Are There Financing Options Available To Help Make Treatment More Affordable?
All of us at JK Orthodontics want each and every one of our patients to feel financially comfortable with their own or their children’s treatment, which is why we provide financing options to ease the financial burden off of families and make orthodontic treatment more manageable.
We provide both in-office financing that’s very affordable and entails low down payments with no-interest monthly payments, and we also work with CareCredit as a third-party financing provider to help our patients obtain treatment that always coincides with their unique budget.
Reach Out To JK Orthodontics To Learn More About How We Can Work With You And Your Family’s Dental Insurance Towards Your Orthodontic Treatments!
JK Orthodontics has helped countless individuals and families throughout the Columbus Metro Area for over thirty years when it comes to providing the best combination of quality and affordability towards orthodontic treatment, and we’ll always be more than happy to answer your questions about your insurance policy.
So always feel free to contact us online or call us at 614-766-0330 (Dublin office) or 614-471-6355 (Gahanna office) to get in touch with our team who can help you better understand your insurance policy, and how it will support you and your children towards a high-quality orthodontic treatment with Dr. Karpac!