First, my apologies for the sixties throwback title. (Grooms, go watch the movie if you haven’t seen it. It will reinforce your decision to get married.) But “what’s it all about?” pretty well sums up most people’s reaction to dental insurance.

Since you will soon be a newlywed, and perhaps moving to a new city or a new job, you will likely face some questions and decisions about dental insurance (and probably other insurance as well). There are a lot of words and concepts you may not be familiar with. Here’s a short list of some you may run into:

DEDUCTIBLE–Very common with all types of insurance, it is the amount of money you pay to the doctor before your insurance kicks in. Usually about $50 or $100.

ANNUAL MAXIMUM–The total amount your insurance will pay in the year. Note: EACH of you will have this amount available, for example, a $1000 maximum means YOU have $1000 available, and YOUR SPOUSE also has $1000 available.

SUBSCRIBER–This is you. You are the employed person who signed up for the insurance, and you are the policy holder. You list your family members as DEPENDENTS on your plan.

PRIMARY/SECONDARY–This is a great source of confusion when both spouses have insurance, and each one lists the other spouse as a dependent. YOUR policy is YOUR PRIMARY insurance, and YOUR SPOUSE’S policy is YOUR SECONDARY insurance. As you might imagine, filing claims can get tricky.  Your best source of help is the staff at your dental office. They have been dealing with this for years.

If you have other questions, send a note to me, Dr. Smith, and I’ll forward it to my staff. I am definitely NOT the expert on this. Also, check out our website at MemphisLumineers.com