What’s the drill on dental health insurance?
Waiting in the dentist chair can be daunting for some of us. But, the cost of visiting your dentist and getting the treatment you need shouldn’t!
That’s if you have great value dental health insurance.
Being covered for dental care is an important part of your Extras cover.
We’ve put together this quick guide to help you learn more about dental health insurance and how RT Health can help take away the pain of dental costs … and help you create a smile to last a lifetime.
Why have dental health insurance?
A trip to the dentist can be expensive. Having good quality Extras cover, including dental health insurance, helps you plan ahead, knowing you’re covered for regular dental treatments.
You can get benefits for all sorts of dental treatments, from a regular check-up through to more complex procedures like fillings and crowns (of course the benefit you receive will be based on the level of cover you choose).
What does it mean to have good dental health insurance?
When you’re thinking about your Extras cover, you’ll think about health insurance with dental, what you can be covered for and how well you’d like to be covered.
That’s when you’ll think about the level of cover you’ll need.
Some common terms are ‘general dental’ (the more basic treatments like check-ups, scale and cleans, preventative treatment, extractions, fillings and x-rays) and ‘major dental’ for more complex treatments (like crowns, bridges and dentures, root fillings, restoration and oral appliances).
General dental & Major dental. What do I need?
Just like every decision you make around your health cover, your decision will come down to your needs.
You’ll want to be sure you have the best cover you can afford. That way you’ll be able to get more value (and be able to look after your wellbeing) by claiming on a greater range of treatments.
And, if you have a family, there’s often others to consider – especially when the kids are young, and you want to set them up for good oral health habits.
Here’s a couple of things to think about when choosing your dental health insurance cover.
General dental:
If you choose a basic Extras cover, it will usually include general dental cover, and you’ll be able to claim for things like check-ups, regular cleaning, small fillings and x-rays. Being able to claim these things will save you some money … and you’ll be in the driver’s seat knowing you’re on track with your (and your family’s) oral health.
Major dental:
The better your Extras cover, the more you’ll be covered for (and the more you’ll be able to claim). It’s important to use your private health insurance, especially Extras cover, to look after your health and wellbeing. Having cover for major dental means you can claim for more complex (and therefore more expensive) procedures like crowns, removing wisdom teeth, bridges and root canals.
Extras cover can be hard to compare across all insurers, so it’s important to look into the finer details of your policy so you know you what’s included.
Dental health cover. Other things you need to know.
Waiting periods:
There are Extras waiting periods you’ll need to serve when you get your first policy. Generally, you’ll need to wait two months for general dental and 12 months for more expensive procedures. If you are switching to RT Health from another fund then you won’t need to serve any waiting periods you’ve already served (on the same level of cover).
Benefit limits:
Often there’s a maximum amount your policy will pay for certain treatments each year, and there may be a lifetime limit on the number of treatments or amount paid for certain items. For families and couples, make sure you check for limits for individuals and overall limits for everyone covered by your policy.
RT Health’s dental health insurance
At RT Health, we know that good oral health is important to your overall health and wellbeing. That’s why we offer a range of dental insurance options as part of our range of Extras covers.
Here’s a quick guide to each.
Value Extras provides cover for general dental including x-rays, preventative dentistry, fillings, cleaning, extractions, mouthguard and fluoride application with a $500 annual limit per person and $1000 per membership (and a two-month waiting period).
With Smart Extras you’ll be covered for:
- general dental as outlined in ‘Value Extras’, with a higher annual limit per person of $1000 and $2,000 per membership and a two-month waiting period.
- major dental including periodontics, endodontics, crowns and bridges and dentures with a $1,200 per person and $2,400 per membership annual limit (dentures only claimable every two years) and a 12-month waiting period.
Top Extras will cover you for:
- general dental as outlined in ‘Value Extras’ with no annual limit and a two-month waiting period
- major dental as outlined in ‘Smart Extras’ with a $1,500 annual limit (dentures only claimable every two years) and a 12-month waiting period
- orthodontics including all orthodontic treatment (treatment plan required): 100% of the cost with a $1,000 annual limit ($3000 lifetime limit) and a 12-month waiting period.
The dental health cover advantage for RT Health members
We help our members with great dental providers to help curb the cost of dental treatments. RT Health members can visit HCF Dental Clinics and receive no-gap dental services across a range of general services plus fixed price dental work for other services.
Another reason to take Extras cover with RT Health
Extras cover helps you stay well and healthy. You can use your Extras benefits to make sure your eyes stay their best. There are also other services like physio, chiro and remedial massage to make your cover worth it.
How do I get covered?
We know that navigating private health insurance options, including Extras cover and costs, can be confusing. But we’re here to help you.
If you need some advice on your Extras cover, just call our friendly team on 1300 886 123 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm AEDT/AEST) or reach out via email to help@rthealth.com.au