Dr. Koo is the best! His staff is amazing and so friendly. My family loves him too. Great with kids. Dr. Koo is very fast, efficient and painless. I’m very sensitive and going to the dentist has always been so scary for me. Not with Dr. Koo, he’s a master at the painless novocaine shot!
![Use Your Dental Insurance Benefits Now! [Blog]](https://jahyunkoodds.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2021/08/veneers_3.jpg)
Seattle dentist Dr. Jahyun Koo loves helping families get better smiles. One way he does this is by making excellent dental care affordable. Our patients take advantage of their dental insurance at our office, especially starting this time of year. That’s because most benefits start all over in January.
If you haven’t been to our office in at least six months, need multiple appointments, or want to stop putting off a needed treatment, call today to see us before 2018 is gone! We work with many of the best dental insurance companies, including Washington Dental Service, Delta Dental, and MetLife. We’ll file your claim and accept payment on your behalf for a hassle-free experience.
What Does My Dental Insurance Cover?
This is a good question, but the answer isn’t so straightforward. Basically, coverage differs from plan to plan, but there are some services just about all plans cover at 100 percent. This includes dental cleanings and exams.
Dental Cleanings & Exams Save Time, Money, & Smiles
Dentists aren’t the only ones who encourage you to get checkups twice a year. Insurance companies do too! That’s because regular cleanings greatly reduce your risk of cavities, gum disease, and other complications. By doing so, they ultimately lower costs for everyone involved, because you’ll be less likely to need restorative care and treatments like root canals.
Regular exams go hand-in-hand with cleanings, and they’re almost always done at the same appointment. Your hygienist will first clean your teeth and look for any trouble areas, and then Dr. Koo will check out those areas as well as search for any other signs of problems. This includes gum disease, cavities, abnormal wear and tear, oral cancer, and more. By discovering any of these problems early, your likelihood of permanent damage, pain, and more expensive care is diminished. Also, you’re more likely to keep your teeth for life!
Supplemental Treatments Can Help Keep Smiles Decay-Free
Some plans will completely cover supplemental preventive treatments too, which we often do at your checkup appointments. These include fluoride and sealants. Now, before you assume those are just for kids, think again! These are proven to reduce tooth decay in both children and adults, particularly adults at higher risk for decay. Be sure to ask us about these at your next checkup or your child’s next checkup. We’ll let you know if they can help and whether insurance will cover them.
Restorative Care Repairs Smiles
Perhaps you’ve suffered from dental damage, even if you regularly visit us and take care of your teeth at home. That’s normal. Decay can still harm teeth, but so can things like trauma or accidents, teeth grinding, and genetics, to some extent. What’s considered restorative varies by insurance – even down to specifics such as materials used and when/why damage occured, in some cases. However, the list often includes anything that can restore your tooth or teeth’s functionality, like:
- Tooth fillings
- Dental crowns
- Inlays and onlays (between fillings and crowns)
- Veneers, for some situations that aren’t cosmetic
Again, we’ll check with your insurance to see what’s covered. Most will pay 50 percent or so of these costs, even for non-metal restorations like ours. Many plans will pay up to 100 percent of filling costs.
Tooth Replacement Restores Your Entire Smile
Each plan varies for replacing teeth. Like restorations, there are some situations that will cause the provider to either approve or deny coverage. We’ll help you sort that out at your appointment, and if there’s anything they won’t pay, you may be eligible for no-interest financing through CareCredit.
Our tooth replacement options include:
- Dental bridges
- Dentures
- Implant restorations
Other Treatments That Keep Smiles Healthy
If you have existing problems like gum disease or teeth infections, a simple cleaning or filling may not be enough to repair your smile and keep it healthy. Here are a few ways we can help all in our Seattle dentist office:
- Root canal treatment
- Gum disease treatment
- Tooth extractions
- Wisdom tooth extractions
Many of these are partially covered by insurance, but you can often get maximum value by visiting a skilled general dentist rather than a specialist.
Make an Appointment Now
Appointments fill up fast as we approach the holidays, so we encourage you to schedule before time slips away. After all, you’ve already paid for coverage throughout the year, so you might as well take advantage of your hard-earned benefits!
Call 206-922-4573 now and ask about your dental insurance too. Dr. Koo sees family members of all ages and offers Saturday hours to make scheduling appointments convenient.