Group Dental Tips

Group Dental Plans and Braces

A group dental plan costs less per person than individual plans, the coverage offered by both types is about the same, and a group plan can cost a small business next to nothing (as little as $15 per person per month) to offer. So what's the catch?

Aside from the obvious and unavoidable disadvantage that group dental insurance cannot be tailored to every individual in your organization, it is also unlikely to provide as much coverage for certain procedures. For example, a group plan will typically cover a lower percentage of the cost of orthodontic treatment or not cover it at all.

If your employer offers a group dental plan, you should read the plan's details carefully to decide if you want to opt out. For instance, if you're planning on getting braces and your group policy doesn't cover them, then you need to find either supplemental coverage or a way to supplement your current coverage in order to make braces affordable. Many employers allow an employee to enroll in his or her own dental insurance and will then reimburse the employee whatever the company would pay for inclusion in the group policy, so you can potentially have your own policy and still have it partially covered by your employer.

If your employer's group dental plan is insufficient for your needs, you should consider this to plug in the missing coverage gaps.

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Group Dental Insurance Saves Employees Money

Looking to provide your employees with dental health coverage?

A group dental plan, from an employee's point of view, should work just like most normal dental health plans. The advantage to using a group dental plan is that the per-person rate is typically much less than if each employee were insured individually.

If you're an employer of a small business looking to provide your employees with dental health coverage, you should consider the variety of group dental plans on the market, from the traditional group dental insurance to group discount dental plans, to find one best suited to your company's finances. If you already provide a group health insurance plan, most companies offer very good, discounted values on a combined health/dental package, so you should start your search with your current provider to see what they can offer you.

You don't have to provide the most comprehensive coverage as even the meekest plan will be much appreciated by your workers, so setting one up for your organization is well worth looking into.

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Chew Your Way to Healthy Teeth

You can actually chew your way to good health with sugarless gum. Although the sugar content in most gums can be brutal on your enamel and cause tooth decay, chewing sugarless gum after meals can stimulate your mouth to produce saliva which, in turn, reduces the acidity in your mouth and the damage that food will do to your enamel.

If you're an employer, a cheap way to supplement your company's group dental plan, or to make up somewhat for not having one, is to make sure there's some sugarless gum around for your employees to chew on after meals. What's more, it could also help supplement any anti-smoking program your company might be offering.

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Supplement Your Group Dental Plan

Is your employer's group dental coverage insufficient for your family? If you have pre-teens who may need braces and a group dental plan from your employer that doesn't cover it, then you may need to seek supplemental coverage elsewhere. Without coverage, an orthodontist's charges are simply overwhelming for most people.

With the wide variety of dental plans available on the market, you may want to purchase an individual dental plan for the member of your family who will most likely need the extra coverage or an entire family plan. With whatever coverage strategy you choose, purchasing a supplemental dental plan could save you money in the long run.

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Floss Type Doesn't Matter

Waxed, un-waxed, woven, shred resistant, mint-flavored, thin, colored, or Harry Potter themed; what is really the best kind of dental floss?

Studies have shown that it doesn't matter what kind of floss you use on your teeth, just that you use it. Brushing simply doesn't remove enough plaque alone to constitute good oral hygiene. Make sure you floss at least once daily to ensure that your teeth and gum lines stay plaque-free and healthy.

If your child isn't very excited about flossing, this means that you can comfortably allow him or her to select even the most ludicrous-seeming flosses on the shelf, so long as it means that they start flossing as young as possible. Flossing is a central part of any family's group dental health strategy.

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Affordable Group Dental Coverage for Small Businesses

Is your small business looking to provide it's employees with group dental insurance?

Then you've made a big step. Most small businesses do not even consider enrolling their employees in a group dental plan, as they are intimidated by the associated cost. Fortunately, there are many plans on the market catered especially to the small business, such as BlueCross BlueShield's EmployeeElect Plus plan, which only requires your business to pay $15 per employee per month.

Even by footing such a modest portion of your employees' dental coverage, you can save them quite a bit of money, as group dental plans offered to businesses come at a much better rate than plans purchased by individual or families outside the auspices of a business.

Your employees will appreciate the gesture, and you'll be doing them a good turn in providing dental coverage for them.

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Common Law Marriage and Dental Insurance

One of the great things about getting group dental coverage from your employer, is that your spouse and family will usually get covered as well. However, the same is not necessarily true for your same-sex or lifetime partner with whom you are not married.

If you're in a heterosexual relationship in which you have lived with your partner for several years, you should consult the common law marriage rules for your state. After some period of time, specific to each state, your partner legally and automatically becomes your spouse, no ceremony or “I Do” required. As soon as this happens, he or she should be covered under your employer's group dental plan, though the burden is on you to let your employer know of the change in your marriage status.

If you're in a homosexual relationship, however, there is no such equivalent law and many states do not recognize same-sex marriages at all. Fortunately, some employers choose to recognize same-sex marriages regardless of state law, so you should inquire as to your employer's benefits policies regarding same-sex couples, even if your state doesn't recognize such unions.

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Group Dental and Employee Retention

Think there's no reason to provide group dental insurance to your employees? Think again.

Studies have shown that employees place a high value on both health and dental coverage, and that providing both leads to a much higher employee retention rate over time. The cost of training new employees and losing the experience of a veteran can far outweigh the costs of providing a group dental plan, especially with the range of affordable options on the market today.

With just a couple hours of work you can have a good idea of what group dental would cost your organization, so it's well worth enrolling in one to help keep your valuable employees around longer.

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