Don't Let Your Dental Benefits Expire

How dental benefits actually work

Most plans give you an annual maximum — a ceiling on what the insurer will pay in a benefit year. Whatever you do not use is gone when the year turns over. Unlike a bank balance, none of it carries forward.

That means if you have treatment that has been sitting on your plan — a crown that was recommended, a filling that keeps getting postponed, a cleaning you skipped — having it done before the reset uses money that would otherwise vanish.

One honest caveat: not every plan runs on the calendar year. Some reset on your employment anniversary or another date entirely. Give us a call and we will help you find out which applies to you rather than guessing.

If your maximum will not stretch far enough

This happens often with larger restorative work, and there are usually ways around it.

• Stage it across two years. Start treatment before the reset and complete it after, so it draws on two annual maximums instead of one.
• Payment options. We offer financing so larger treatment can be spread out rather than paid all at once. Ask reception and we will walk you through what is available — see our payment options.
• CDCP. If you do not have private insurance, you may be covered under the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
• Know first, decide after. A pre-determination tells you the real number before you agree to anything.

And if treatment genuinely can wait, we will tell you that too. We would rather you trusted our advice than felt pushed into using up a maximum.