Straighter teeth and an aligned bite aren’t just beautiful; they can help address multiple health concerns, including chewing and breathing difficulties, speech issues, and abnormal tooth wear. Your dental insurance may or may not cover orthodontics depending on the type of plan you purchase. Read through all of the fine print, discuss options with your insurer, and take into consideration all available coverages before making your decision.
1. Boost Your Self-Esteem
Dental insurance typically covers preventive care such as bi-annual cleanings and screenings; however, orthodontics is a separate matter. Insurance companies typically establish relationships with providers for whom they’ve negotiated discounted services at discounted rates – these are known as in-network providers.
Compare annual limits, coinsurance terms, deductibles, and waiting periods before selecting the plan that’s best for you. Furthermore, certain dental insurers require predetermination: a process by which they assess eligibility, costs, and treatment plans of services over a certain dollar threshold; typically this happens with treatments with significant costs or complexity.
2. Enhance Your Breathing
Breathing through your mouth increases your risk for oral health issues such as gum disease and tooth decay; nasal breathing reduces these risks and improves overall oral hygiene.
Nasal breathing can significantly enhance your oral health by encouraging proper posture, filtering allergens and harmful bacteria from the air, increasing nitric oxide production to improve oxygen circulation throughout the body, supporting immune function, alleviating jaw and facial tension, and preventing malocclusions, as well as providing relief from jaw and facial tension. Consultation with an orthodontist or ENT specialist may be needed in order to identify underlying issues and address them appropriately.
3. Improve Your Oral Hygiene
Oral health is an integral component ofrall well-being. Poor oral hygiene has been linked with heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy complications, and mental health concerns – practicing good oral hygiene can significantly lower your risk for these health problems and enhance quality of life.
The dental industry has made great strides forward in understanding the chemistry and biology of the mouth, leading to the creation of several effective products designed to significantly enhance oral care. These advances could not have happened without increasing public awareness that oral hygiene matters. Most full-coverage dental insurance plans cover orthodontic treatment, although limitations and waiting periods may apply; always check your plan documents and provider network to be certain.
4. Increase Your Chance of Getting a Job
Orthodontics isn’t limited to just children – adults may benefit too! Unfortunately, finding dental insurance coverage for adult braces may be more challenging, as many policies only extend coverage to cover children.
Dental policies vary significantly when it comes to their deductibles, age restrictions, and waiting periods. Furthermore, certain plans require you to use only providers within their network, while others provide a list of eligible dentists. Delta Dental provides adult orthodontic coverage through their range of dental plans, which includes Invisalign and two-phase treatment plans with retainers after completion of treatment. Some providers apply a lifetime maximum, while others don’t.
5. Enhance Your Social Life
Dental implants can provide a permanent solution that will boost your confidence and open doors to new social connections. Furthermore, their durability makes them an excellent long-term investment that will open doors to opportunities and possibilities that were otherwise out of reach.
Many employers include dental insurance as part of their benefits package, but those without it can purchase plans either individually or through the health insurance exchange. Most plans feature an annual maximum and deductible, with orthodontia coverage beginning after a specific waiting period has lapsed.
6. Increase Your Self-Confidence
Orthodontic treatment can have a dramatic impact on mental health. It can boost self-esteem by alleviating insecurities regarding the appearance of your smile, giving you more confidence to excel both professionally and socially – like Sophia, who underwent orthodontic treatment at SouthShore Orthodontics and now feels more at ease during presentations and meetings.
An attractive smile can bolster your social life, encouraging interactions with new people and building connections. It may also help secure employment by conveying professionalism and competence – you might even qualify for better dental insurance plans with lower deductibles and coverage limits!
7. Increase Your Self-Esteem
Studies have demonstrated the many ways a confident smile can enhance one’s quality of life, both personal and professional. If crookedness or misalignment of teeth has you self-conscious, orthodontics may provide a solution for improving the appearance of smiles and increasing self-confidence. Misalignment of teeth is known to lead to other health issues, including gum disease, tooth decay, and jaw pain. Orthodontic treatment corrects these issues to create a healthier smile that you can maintain throughout life.
If you are contemplating orthodontic treatment, speak to your dental insurance provider about their coverage options available to you. Inquire about annual or lifetime maximums, waiting periods, and whether they require you to visit an orthodontist from their network.
8. Improve Your Overall Health
Dental plans, like health plans, typically feature a network of providers who have agreed to accept set rates from insurance carriers for services they provide, so selecting an in-network provider is the best way to lower out-of-pocket expenses.
Be sure to review your plan’s annual coverage maximum and any waiting periods, as most dental plans set limits on what they’ll cover in any one year, and you may incur extra costs if any amounts go beyond it. If you have a flexible spending account or health savings account, use pre-tax dollars to cover the cost of orthodontic care. Keep in mind that many orthodontists offer flexible payment arrangements and installment plans.
9. Boost Your Self-Esteem
Studies show that self-esteem plays an integral part in shaping overall health. Being confident with oneself makes it easier to maintain healthy habits like brushing and flossing regularly.
Bad breath, cavities, and crookedness can have an enormously damaging impact on both your confidence and appearance, potentially leading to anxiety or depression. But by investing in your oral health and having an attractive smile that boosts self-esteem, you’ll increase self-worth by having healthy teeth that make you proud to show them off! If you want to improve both your dental hygiene and self-esteem, considering orthodontic treatment can be the key. Affordable orthodontics Stirling offers solutions for creating healthy smiles while improving overall well-being.
