A smile can brighten the day, lift your spirits, it might even help eliminate stress.
Unless, of course, your smile is stressing you out.
Time to turn that frown upside down.
Bill Chase, Vice President of Marketing for Dental Plans is here with details on how to
improve our dental health.
Good morning.
Thanks for having me.
Thanks for being here.
Smiles can make a big difference, right?
Absolutely.
You walk into a room, somebody smiles, and you know what you might be depressed and all
of a sudden...
Yeah, it changes.
It does.
Your mood lifts.
And it's not just the smile.
Because some people just have that perfect Tom Cruise smile, you know?
Yeah.
But it's our dental health as well.
I'm really about flossing, making sure my girls brush their teeth really good every
day, and it really is important, isn't it Bill?
It is.
And it's also not enough, though.
Right?
It's not?
Getting the dentist every 6 months is very important.
It's really the key to oral health.
We know that that leads to the overall health of the body as well.
So, getting to the dentist for preventative procedures like cleanings, checkups, and x-rays
is super important.
And why are we falling short, if you will, on our dental health?
I think that there's really three main reasons.
One, is that we really do not pay enough attention to dental care.
We do not treat it on the same playing field as healthcare, and we also tend to wait until
something goes wrong.
Right?
Maybe one of your daughters falls or eats something she shouldn't...
And a cracked tooth occurs.
Exactly.
And a lot of people aren't prepared for something like that.
We really want people to be proactive and really pay more attention to their dental
care needs.
Accessibility is another big factor.
There's over 100 million Americans who do not have access to dental care for various
reasons.
Part-time?
Part-time workers, seniors, maybe they're retired.
There's lots of difference factors, but it's a big problem, and we're looking to find a
way to bring that number down.
And the last thing is probably the biggest challenge that we see.
It's really the affordability of dental care.
Many people cannot afford the preventative procedures they need let alone the restorative
procedures they need, and that's a problem that at Dental Plans we're trying to solve.
And you said a lot of people may put it aside and say, "No, my health is more important."
But let's be honest.
Taking care of the mouth is just as important because I believe it leads to diseases.
Yes, it really does.
I mean, heart disease has been connected to dental care, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis.
There's lots of different things that can be impacted by your dental care.
So what are some options for people out there who maybe say, "Well, I can't afford a dental
plan insurance."
or "I don't have access.
I can't pay the out-the-pocket."
A dental savings plan is really the best option for those people.
And what are those?
It's an alternative to traditional dental insurance.
A member pays one low annual fee, and when they go to the dentist they pay a lower rate
on the procedures they need whether that's for cleanings and check-ups, fillings, root
canals, even braces and cosmetic procedures.
There's over 100,000 dentists nationwide, so there's a good chance that your dentist
already accepts dental savings plans.
It really is a great option for a family who doesn't have dental insurance, maybe maxes
out their dental insurance each year, or for those families who cannot really afford to
pay full price at the dentist office.
And when you apply for it, how soon can you eligible for it?
If you sign up today, you can go ahead and use the plan within days.
There's no long waiting periods like there is with many traditional dental insurance
plans.
And with this dental savings plan, you're including things like x-rays, cleaning...
Most dental savings plans cover preventative procedures, restorative procedures, even things
that dental insurance typically doesn't cover like braces and cosmetic procedures.
There's savings on those types of procedures as well.
Oh goodness, and I'm looking into braces for my kids, and I already got the number in my
head.
They're expensive.
Ouch.
Thousands, thousands of dollars there.
I wasn't very happy.
I was ready here about DP's Smile Index Annual Survey.
What's that?
It's a survey we do every year, and we pull both our member base and a national respondent
base to kind of really judge them and survey them on their dental care and know their overall
healthcare as well.
One of the big things we found was that 62% of the national respondent base reported that
they did have dental coverage, while 87% said they had healthcare coverage.
So, a pretty big gap.
A pretty big one.
And again, it goes back to the fact that we're not treating dental care like a health factor
when we know that it really is.
Also, of the respondents who said they did not have dental coverage, nearly 60% of them
said that affordability was the main issue.
A dental savings plan is helping people do this.
It's making them go to the dentist to get their preventative procedures because they
can afford it.
Dental Savings Plans.
Where can we go for more information?
You can go to DentalPlans.com.
Type in your zip code and find the right plan in your area that fits your needs.
Or you can go ahead and call somebody at our DP At Your Service Team, and a consultant
can help you find the right plan for what you need.
It's really that simple.
I love it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
And now we have more to smile about this morning.
And if you'd like more information on today's segment, you can visit us at TheBalancingAct.com.
You can also logon to Facebook/TheBalancingActFans.
I don't even have a cavity.
(music).