{"id":134,"date":"2019-10-11T14:28:02","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T14:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/?p=134"},"modified":"2019-11-11T14:34:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T14:34:02","slug":"dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is It Important To Visit Your Dentist Before January 1st?"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-135\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539-300x177.jpg\" alt=\"calendar next to a dental chair\" width=\"300\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539-768x452.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nDid you know that at the beginning of the new year, most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/dental-insurance.html\">dental insurance benefits<\/a> restart, meaning any unused ones will vanish? Patients often treat their monthly investment in insurance as something to use only in case of an emergency. However, these plans are built to reward patients who get routine preventive treatment. Although dental insurance may seem like a tricky and stressful topic to navigate, with the right dentist in Bellingham by your side, it\u2019s a breeze. Read on to learn what you should know about your plan and how you can get the most out of your benefits before they expire at the beginning of the new year.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539.jpg\"><\/a>\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<h2>Saving Money by Getting Preventive Care<\/h2>\r\nBeing proactive about your oral health is what dental insurance companies want to see, which is why they cover the majority of preventive treatments. Plus, tackling issues while they\u2019re still small helps you avoid experiencing pain and severe oral health problems that could take you out of work for a few days. According to a PBS interview of Dr. James Stephens, the President of the California Dental Association, for each dollar that\u2019s spent on preventive dental services, about 50 dollars is saved on a more expensive and invasive treatment.\r\n\r\nDental insurance companies reward patients who visit their dentist routinely and take care of the minor issues by covering more of the cost of those services. They operate under a model known as 100-80-50. What this means is that your plan covers 100 percent of the cost of preventive care, which includes two free semi-annual checkups and cleanings, 80 percent of basic treatments like filling cavities, and 50 percent of major services such as root canal therapy. The sooner you act and get your oral health problems treated, the less you\u2019ll have to pay out of your own pocket.\r\n<h2>Meeting Your Yearly Maximum<\/h2>\r\nEvery year, your insurance company will place a cap on what they will pay out for your dental treatments, which is called a maximum. When that number isn\u2019t reached, the remaining amount doesn\u2019t roll over into next year. Instead, you\u2019ll just lose those benefits altogether. According to a study by the American Dental Association, the average American with dental insurance has about 323 dollars of services done each year. Since the typical insurance plan has a yearly maximum of about 1,250 dollars, that means that 164 million Americans with private dental insurance are losing 927 dollars each year because they aren\u2019t using all of their benefits.\r\n<h2>Avoiding Higher Fees<\/h2>\r\nEvery year your dental insurance benefits renew, fees like your copayment and deductible can change however they see fit. That means that one year, your out-of-pocket costs can be lower or higher than the next. Instead of gambling on a lowered deductible, it\u2019s the best idea to use your benefits before these fees rise, saving you down the road.\r\n\r\nOne of the hardest tasks is finding a dentist in Bellingham that wants to, and is willing to, help you get the most out of your dental insurance benefits and navigate the ins-and-outs of your policy. With the right team of professionals by your side, you\u2019ll be able to save yourself from steep out-of-pocket costs while keeping your smile looking and feeling healthy.\r\n\r\n<strong>About the Practice<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAt Morena &amp; Young Dental, our patients feel comfortable and confident in our care because they trust that we\u2019ll help them maximize their insurance benefits. We are an in-network provider for major dental insurance plans such as Delta Dental, Cigna, and Regence. Our team is happy to help patients learn more about their benefits and is responsible for filing all claim forms. For questions about your plan or to schedule an appointment before the start of the new year, visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/contact-us.html\">website<\/a> or call 360-676-0642.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Did you know that at the beginning of the new year, most dental insurance benefits restart, meaning any unused ones will vanish? Patients often treat their monthly investment in insurance as something to use only in case of an emergency. However, these plans are built to reward patients who get routine preventive treatment. Although dental insurance may seem like a tricky and stressful topic to navigate, with the right dentist in Bellingham by your side, it\u2019s a breeze. Read on to learn what you should know about your plan and how you can get the most out of your benefits before they expire at the beginning of the new year. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\/\">(Read More)<\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dentist in Bellingham | Maximize Dental Insurance Benefits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you scheduled a routine visit with your dentist in Bellingham? At the start of the new year, any of your unused benefits will vanish.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dentist in Bellingham | Maximize Dental Insurance Benefits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you scheduled a routine visit with your dentist in Bellingham? At the start of the new year, any of your unused benefits will vanish.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moreno &amp; Young Dental Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-11T14:28:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-11T14:34:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539-300x177.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dr_moreno\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dr_moreno\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"dr_moreno\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0a171a89d2718e39aae5ba493f7aa779\"},\"headline\":\"Why Is It Important To Visit Your Dentist Before January 1st?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-11T14:28:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-11T14:34:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":643,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539-300x177.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dentist in Bellingham | Maximize Dental Insurance Benefits\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/dental-insurance-dentist-in-bellingham\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/AdobeStock_278414345__1573482769_63539-300x177.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-11T14:28:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-11T14:34:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mydentalbellingham.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0a171a89d2718e39aae5ba493f7aa779\"},\"description\":\"Have you scheduled a routine visit with your dentist in Bellingham? 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