Use it or lose it: Making the Most of Your Child’s Dental Insurance Benefits

With Halloween behind us and the winter holidays right around the corner, now is the time to take advantage of your remaining dental insurance benefits for 2024. If your child is on your plan, you may have unused treatments to take advantage of before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Here are a few important ways to take advantage of your benefits, and why it’s so important to use them before the start of 2025!

Use it or lose it

When it comes to your child’s dental insurance benefits, if you don’t use them, you’ll lose them. That’s because if there are any services or treatments you don’t take advantage of in 2024, they won’t roll over into 2025. If you’ve already met your deductible, it will reset on January 1, 2025, so any money you’ve used towards it in 2024 will no longer be applied. Thus, any new treatments in 2025 will require you to spend more out of pocket.

Important Treatments

If you’ve been putting off important treatments for your child like a filling, extraction, or braces, you can save money now by taking care of it before the new year. Furthermore, most plans will cover two exams and cleanings per year, and some will even cover dental sealants and fluoride treatments. Thus, if you aren’t taking advantage of these, you are essentially throwing your money away by paying for coverage you don’t use.

Increased Fees

In addition to your deductible resetting, Jan 1 is also the time that some policies increase in cost, so you may be paying more up front for the same services in 2025. This means it may be more affordable to pay for treatments with copays now before they increase in price next year.

When to Cover Kids

If you are planning to continue your dental coverage in 2025, be sure to add your kids during your plan’s open enrollment. Children should begin seeing the dentist regularly between six months to a year old, even if they do not yet have teeth. This not only helps get them comfortable with your family dentist, but it also helps your dentist keep a close eye on their oral health and the growth and development of their teeth and jaw.

Remember, with 2025 right around the corner, now is the time to schedule the rest of your child’s dental appointments for 2024. Make the most of your benefits by ensuring that they have had all their exams and cleanings and take care of any untreated oral health problems before the clock strikes midnight on January 1!

About Our Practice

At Chicago Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, we want what’s best for your child’s oral health, which is why we want to make sure that you use your dental insurance benefits before the new year. Protecting their teeth and gums isn’t just good for your wallet, but it’s good for their overall health and well-being. Don’t delay important preventive and restorative oral health care. Schedule an appointment on our website or by calling us at 312-766-0995 before 2025 so your child can start the new year with a smile!