Dental insurance covers dental care, but not every insurance plan operates the same way. Learn how to find a dentist who accepts your insurance and what else you should consider when selecting a new dentist in Tampa.
1. Know Your Dental Benefits
Different dentists accept different insurance plans. What’s more, different insurance plans come with different incentives for seeking care. Thus, the first step to finding the right dentist is to actually look at your insurance plan.
If you have a dental HMO, it will work similar to a health HMO, in that you have to see a dental provider who is within the HMO network. This may be easy for routine cleanings, but can be trickier if you need advanced dental care or specialty services, like cosmetic dentistry. PPO plans come with copayment tiers, which will affect your out of pocket pay. By understanding how the payment tiers work, you can schedule dental care and avoid unexpected costs associated with copayment amounts.
2. Get Recommendations
Once you understand what type of care your dental plan covers, it’s time to get recommendations. Look to family or friends, neighbors or coworkers, or your doctor. These people can recommend trusted local dentists who are accepting new patients.
Dental professional associations, such as the American Dental Association, are other places to look for dentists near you. You should be able to search the provider directories of these organizations to identify dentists within your zip code who are affiliated with the American Dental Association or its affiliate organizations.
Why do we suggest getting recommendations? Simply put, there are a range of dentists out there, and it can help narrow down your options if you can get names of trusted providers.
3. Consider What’s Convenient
While there may be times when you need to travel for a specialty dental provider, you should be able to find a dentist that fits conveniently into your life. Assuming you have a list of recommended dentists who accept your health care, a good next step is to consider which of the names on your list are convenient for you.
People often like to select a dentist that is near their home or work, so they can get to appointments without traveling out of their way. Another option is to select a dentist that’s near a place you often go, such as a store. If your schedule is tight, consider which dental providers work best with your existing schedule. Many dentists are flexible with openings, so if you have particular requirements around the time of day, or the day of the week, they will be able to accommodate you without you needing to take a day off of work to see the dentist.
Make an Appointment With a Tampa Dentist
At Weninger Dentistry, we accept most dental insurance plans, and we welcome new patients of all ages. To reserve your appointment at a time that works for you, call us at 813-501-6864.