As and when an individual start aging, there are rising needs for health care. With more than 25% of expenses moving towards dental services, it is of utmost importance to take dental care more seriously. Some of the recent reports show that many seniors avoid dental care due to heavy expenses that come with it.

It is always advisable that dental maintenance should be at par with other health checkups. Secondly, senior citizens require special dental care as they are susceptible to dry mouth, root decay, thrush which is the overgrowth of fungus in the mouth, loss of the structure of the teeth caused by mechanical forces, etc. These specific dental problems can lead to further health issues that affect the ability of a senior citizen to sustain a healthy lifestyle. The dental problems also adversely affect the ability to chew or eat, pain in the gums, cavities and tooth decay. Therefore, it is must to have a good quality and comprehensive dental insurance for senior citizens.

It is interesting to know that dental insurance is not typically a part of most of the medical policies. You can choose a separate dental plan to cover your dental expenses but you might not get one included in your health insurance cover.

Types of dental plans for seniors
Out of all, there are two major types of dental plans that can be opted by seniors. These are:

Indemnity plans
Indemnity plans have a pool of providers and you can choose from a list of dentists to go to. Here, the dental plan acts as a reimbursement plan where the patient has to pay the entire amount of the dental treatment or services. This amount gets reimbursed once you file a claim for the covered dental process.

Managed-care plans
These plans are a part of health insurance where the in-network providers help you with dental services at reduced costs. The in-network providers also help in sorting out necessary paperwork on your behalf.

There are a few dental plans that enroll you into your spouse’s dental plan. If this is the case with you as well, then see if you are eligible to do so.
You can also research on the internet and look for an alternative to dental plans for seniors such as dental saving plan, which is also called a discount dental and is not an insurance plan. These plans are pre-negotiated rate plan with dentists, which act as a substitute to costlier plans.