Brighten children’s smiles without emptying the wallet

Few things in the world are more endearing than a child’s smile. Yet, when we think about dental care, particularly for children, the thought process often stops at brushing teeth routinely – and maybe flossing, if you’re lucky. 

For instance, many believe temporary baby teeth don’t require the same attention as adult teeth. However, studies show that more than 1 in 5 children ages 2 to 5 experience tooth decay, compromising their oral health well before they can build good habits. Taking care of your mouth from an early age can be vital to helping prevent disease later in life, since bacteria and inflammation associated with gum disease can contribute to conditions such as endocarditis, heart disease or pneumonia.

Though the disruption of 2020 upended the usual self-care routines for some families, many are determined to get back on track as 2021 moves forward. Recognizing that employees may have concerns about their family’s oral health, advisors can work with clients to help their workers feel more secure in their ability to pay for dental care. In most cases, that process starts by reviewing company benefits offerings and educating employees on the importance of monitoring their family’s dental hygiene.

Practice makes perfect

It may not always be easy to convince children of the long-term benefits of consistently brushing their teeth, which makes it more important for parents and caregivers to stay on top of their family’s oral health checkups at the dentist or orthodontist. 

Although Americans ranked dental insurance as the second-most important benefit in their insurance packages behind health insurance,3 the rising cost of medical care may lead some to avoid recommended biannual exams and cleanings. In fact, across all of health care, 22% of Americans say they’ve delayed doctor visits due to high medical costs or bills. Unfortunately, foregoing regular care can come back to bite you, and employers should prioritize a quality insurance partner when developing benefits plans.

Related: How much do employees really know about dental health?

Most dental plans cover the full cost of doctor-recommended routine exams, cleanings and X-rays, and typically help with a percentage of costs for additional care such as fillings, extractions or crown repair. Some carriers stand out by offering additional benefits, such as a deductible that decreases over time and the ability to carry over unused portions of their annual maximum into the next year. 

If dental coverage is part of a client’s health plan, help remind them how it can help provide financial protection for employees. One way to help is assisting in developing a communications strategy as part of sharing this information.

In case of emergency

As valuable as routine checkups are, there are some events in life for which you simply can’t prepare. Between youth sports, sibling horseplay and countless other adventurous habits, children may experience a surprise mouth injury. While the majority of dental plans tend to cover the bulk of standard oral health care costs, not all plans are created equal to help with expenses associated with emergencies. Employers may want to explore dental plans  that include financial help should an oral injury occur. 

Also: New benefits trend? Combining dental and health insurance

Another option to get help with expenses related to a dental injury is supplemental accident insurance. It pays the insured directly, unless otherwise assigned, and can be offered at little to no cost to employers. As a plus, some accident plans have a wellness or health screening benefit available if an insured has a covered preventative health care test or doctor visit. Considering how difficult accidents can be for anyone, especially a child, the most important thing should be focusing on their family getting back to full strength — not the financial impact.

Something to chew on

Getting employees to spend the appropriate amount of time researching and selecting benefits is a challenging task. Though dental insurance is already a popular benefit, beginning or strengthening a communications and education cadence throughout the year can help clients maximize the effectiveness of their messaging and ensure employees and their families are better protected. 

Wendy Herndon is second vice president of Product Launch and Adoption at Aflac. With more than 20 years of experience in this field, she is responsible for providing the overall strategy for all product-related launch, promotional and educational activities.