Posted By 
By Wally Thompson
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
April was Oral Health Month in Canada and while we should take care of our oral hygiene year-round, past studies show that a whopping 6 million Canadians avoid the dentist because they simply can’t afford it.
When it comes to dental insurance, a new survey from Manulife revealed:
- More than one third of Canadians do not have access to private health and/or dental insurance coverage
- When choosing coverage, 42% said the most determining factor is the cost of premiums, followed by companies offering a variety of coverage options (36%)
- While 30% of Canadians make sure they visit the dentist for regular check-ups, 29% hate having to do it
- For those who have visited the dentist, 52% admit to feeling guilty about their oral care habits
A visit to the dentist may not be everyone’s idea of fun but regular visits are beneficial for our overall health. Getting dental insurance for you and your loved ones helps make sure the right care is available on a regular basis and when there is an emergency.
Here are four common misconceptions and what to look for when purchasing dental insurance in Canada:
I’m healthy so there’s no need for dental insurance
If you don’t have dental insurance, don’t wait until you need to deal with a tooth infection, a chipped tooth or to be in serious need of cleaning to start looking into your coverage options. Individuals and their families should consider a plan when they are healthy in order to protect themselves from conditions that may arise in the future. Individuals will need to do a complete assessment on their needs to determine their overall supplemental health insurance coverage. Health status, affordability and the types of coverage are a few key factors that would be part of your overall needs assessments.
If you work with a financial advisor, he or she can also help you and your family complete your overall needs assessment and complete the purchase. You should also ask your advisor how these premiums can be treated as a business expense for your annual tax returns.
I can’t afford insurance
Dental insurance, much like health insurance, shouldn’t break the bank, but it should provide you with the flexibility you need. This means, among other things, that you should only pay for the dental insurance you and your family really want.
Supplemental health and dental insurance such as FlexCare and FollowMe, part of the CoverMe umbrella, have been designed to make it affordable for Canadians to purchase insurance that fits within their budgets. As an example, the FlexCare ComboPlus Starter plan, which covers prescription drugs, dental services, vision care, and extended health care for a family composed of two adults aged 41 and 43 and one dependent aged 13 could be as low as $176.40/month. Without health or dental insurance, this family could be looking at thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses if something happens and they don’t have insurance to fall back on.
Money used for insurance premiums is better used elsewhere
You brush your teeth every day – multiple times a day – and don’t feel any pain. Your teeth seem strong enough right now. But are they? Without a professional assessment you may be misguided in thinking everything looks great when the reality may tell you otherwise. Plus, your current health won’t predict your future health. All it takes is a serious illness, injury or the need for a dentist’s intervention to make dental insurance a worthy investment.
You can always get insurance later
While you can apply for health and dental benefits at any age, there are some reasons you should apply for health insurance right now. For example, if you are leaving a job with group benefits, then guaranteed, comprehensive coverage is best applied for within 60 days of losing those group benefits. There is an array of guaranteed acceptance insurance programs available to those coming off a group plan, like FollowMe, but virtually all of them require application within a 60-day window after losing group benefits.
This consideration is especially important for those requiring coverage to manage a pre-existing condition. With a few limited exceptions, like guaranteed acceptance policies, you can’t buy insurance for a health condition you already have. That would be like trying to buy auto insurance right after you’ve had an accident. You will have more insurance choices if you purchase insurance while you are relatively young and healthy.
Wally Thompson is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Manulife.
While there are be valid points made here, I can’t help but feel the information is somewhat one-sided given it relies heavily on a study by Manulife, which obviously has a vested interest in encouraging people to buy dental insurance, and is written by an employee of Manulife. I realize one pays for insurance primarily to protect one from unexpected major expenses, but given that dental insurance premiums are often more expensive than simply paying out of pocket for regular dental care and developing an emergency fund for an unexpected dental expense that may never occur, I don’t think it’s automatically true that dental insurance is appropriate for everyone.
My dentist advised me that it would be wiser to drop our family dental insurance and save the hefty premiums. He said it would be far less expensive to pay for dental work as needed. If and when significant expenditures are required they could easily be funded from the premiums savings. He was right. Also, before purchasing dental insurance it would be wise to be informed on the precise coverage and the exclusions.