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Do you dread the thought of needing a root canal? You’re certainly not alone! A 2019 survey of 1,000 American adults found that 53% would rather have a snake in their lap for 15 minutes and 41% would rather go swimming with sharks than get this tooth-saving procedure! While modern day root canal therapy is nothing to be scared of, you still want to avoid one and keep your smile healthy. Thankfully, your dental insurance coverage in North Shores can help you do just that! Read on to find out how.
When Is Root Canal Therapy Necessary?
To discover the best way to avoid root canal therapy, it’s important to understand when one is necessary. This treatment is designed to save decayed, damaged, or infected teeth from extraction. Remember, teeth can’t heal themselves like the rest of your body. If the inner pulp or nerve of a tooth becomes infected, the only way to keep that infection from spreading to the surrounding teeth and even throughout your body is with root canal therapy or an extraction. While an extraction may seem like a simple solution, removing the tooth entirely requires a longer recover time, and you’ll need to deal with the complications and expenses of tooth loss. A root canal aims to quickly relieve pain, stop infection in its tracks, and preserve as much of your natural tooth as possible.
How Can Insurance Help You Avoid Root Canal Therapy?
Dental insurance coverage focuses on preventive care. In most cases, your biannual checkups and cleanings as well as diagnostic services, screenings, and sometimes simple cavity treatments receive 90-100% coverage. So how can you use your preventive dentistry benefits to avoid needing a root canal?
Infected teeth don’t develop overnight, even though they may appear to at first. Typically these issues start with an untreated cavity or crack in the enamel, which exposes the inner layers of the tooth to air and bacteria. You may not realize your tooth is infected until its incredibly painful!
However, if you see your dentist for routine checkups and cleanings every six months, they will be able to spot the earliest warning signs of problems that could lead to needing a root canal. Then, the issue can be fixed before causing you any unnecessary pain or damage. Not only will your treatment likely cost far less than root canal therapy, but you’ll receive 90-100% insurance coverage instead of 50% or less!
Remember, Insurance Benefits May Reset in January
While every insurance policy differs slightly, they all typically reset in January. When this happens, any benefits you haven’t used expire, and whatever coverage you didn’t take advantage of goes to waste. If you want to avoid needing a root canal, make sure you get your second dental checkup and cleaning of the year before December 31st!
About the Practice
The knowledgeable team of Laketown Family Dental has years of experience helping their patients in North Shores and the surrounding communities maximize their dental insurance benefits. They’ll file claims on your behalf and review the details of your policy with you so you can understand them better. For our uninsured patients or those with lacking coverage, we also offer flexible financing options through CareCredit that can help break up the cost of your dental care. To learn how to best avoid a root canal and make the most of your dental insurance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with them online or at (231) 737-2273.