Discovery why student dental insurance such as University dental insurance, is an important need for all students, just as good dental care is one of the necessities of good overall wellness and a healthy life. All individuals are often advised to seek regular dental checkups every 6 months, but there are many hindrances to regular dental health maintenance, like the increasing costs of dental care. This is an especially heavy challenge for students who, like any other individual, needs regular dental care, but don’t have access to a steady income to afford the skyrocketing fees dentists charge.
The last known option is to avail of a dental insurance plan. However, the prices of dental insurance are also soaring, so most students, with financial pressures such as university fees, student loans, and several other expenses, are still not able to avail of dental coverage.
Fortunately, there are several other options that students may not know about.
More Affordable Alternatives to Student Dental Insurance
- Partial Dental Insurance Coverage
- Temporary or Short-Term Dental Insurance
- Discount Dental Plans
1. Partial Dental Insurance Coverage
Full dental insurance coverage entails costs that are still quite high for students to afford, despite the many benefits of having dental insurance. But this does not mean that students won’t have access to those benefits. If you are living on a student allowance, what you can do to be able to get dental insurance is to get partial coverage.
Partial dental insurance coverage is a regular dental insurance plan, but it does not cover all dental procedures. As the term implies, it only covers selected dental procedures. Most insurance providers offer the partial option and will allow you to choose which procedures you want.
Usually, the more expensive dental coverage plans include the major dental procedures such as bridges, root canals, dental implants, dentures, and so on. But if, as a student, you don’t really need all these but just need regular maintenance and care, occasional x-rays and exams, and minor work such as fluoride treatments, cavity filling, extractions, and the likes, then you can avail of a partial coverage covering only minor procedures. This can bring down the original price of the coverage.
2. Temporary or Short-Term Dental Insurance
Another affordable form of student dental insurance is temporary or short-term insurance. Although there are dental insurance plans specifically designed and priced for students, most of them are still considerable investments. Dental insurance is definitely worth it, but it is not practical to get full dental insurance plans since you are not going to be a student forever. In the near future, you will most likely get a job that may offer free dental coverage. Thus, you can get temporary or short term dental insurance, especially if you are nearing graduation.
Short term dental insurance is a plan that you can get to cover shorter periods of time depending on your need. You are not forced to comply with the usual annual membership. Instead, you can pay for coverage for just a single month or a couple of months, and you can terminate the coverage or extend it based on your need and situation.
3. Discount Dental Plans
Another good alternative to student dental insurance is a discount dental plan. A discount dental plan is technically not an insurance plan. Nonetheless, they also work the same way: they make dental care more affordable. Discount plans, however, use a more straightforward approach. These plans provide you with a discount card that entitles you to reduced fees on your dental procedures, provided you go to dentists who honor the organization behind the discount plan.
These are ideal for students because they are simpler. There is no need to worry about premiums and deductibles. The discount plans simply charge annual membership fees. What you pay does not correspond to the number of benefits you will get. You can pay a very minimal annual fee and get the full benefits of the plan.
University Dental Insurance
Several universities now also offer dental insurance for students, so you may want to look into this option. Most universities partner with dental insurance companies so they can provide cheaper, customized rates to their students. For example, Harvard University is known to have partnered with Delta Premier Dental Plan, while Carnegie Mellon University have partnered with United Concordia Dental Insurance. Some universities include it on their fees, while some offer it as an option.
So before you start worrying and paying for a student dental insurance, inquire about dental insurance offers from your university.