The Role of Dental Insurance in Implant Tooth Replacement

More patients than ever are replacing missing teeth using dental implant supported tooth replacement. Dentists recommend these solutions because they look, feel, and function more like healthy, natural teeth, ensuring patients maintain the optimal level of oral health for life. While dental insurance doesn’t typically cover the cost of dental implant posts or their placement, your dentist may be able to use insurance coverage for other aspects of your tooth replacement plan. In this post, we’ll review the ways that dental insurance impacts the costs of implant supported tooth replacement.

Dental Insurance Doesn’t Typically Cover the Implant Posts

Dental insurance plans are notoriously slow to change. Orthodontic treatment was still considered purely cosmetic until the 1980s or 90s by the majority of insurers. Most dental insurance plans have had the same annual coverage maximums, between $1000 and $1500, since the 1960s. Dentists and dental researchers agree that implant supported tooth replacement is the best option to restore damaged smiles, but the majority of dental insurance plans still don’t provide coverage for these services. In recent years, more insurers have started offering benefits for dental implants, and hopefully, more policy providers will join them soon. In the meantime, some insurance policies allow patients to apply for coverage and receive a credit that can be applied to any part of the implant tooth replacement plan. Your dentist will help you receive the maximum coverage and utilize it as necessary to keep the costs of dental implant treatment to a minimum.

Insurance Benefits can be Used for Other Aspects of Care

While dental implants and their surgical placement are still not covered by most dental insurance policies, other parts of dental care may be covered by your insurer. This includes the following treatments:

• Preparatory tooth extractions, bone and gum tissue grafts, and other procedures
• Dental sedation to ensure comfort throughout your treatment plan
• The replacement dental crowns, bridges, or dentures

Meet Dr. Philip

At the Sunnyvale dentistry office of George T. Philip, DMD, we offer affordable dental implant supported tooth replacement plans. For your convenience, we’re happy to process and file dental insurance claims to offset the costs of your implant tooth replacement. To start budgeting for your implant treatment plan, call to schedule an appointment in our Sunnyvale dentistry office. We’ll review each step of your dental implant process, including the costs, and our team will partner with you to ensure this treatment plan fits your budget.