When Seniors Try To Get Dental Care, Medicare Only Bares Its Teeth And Snarls

Almost everyone dreads going to the dentist, but you must admit that the advances in dentistry over the past decades have made the experience less pleasant than it used to be when you were young.  If you have to do extensive dental work, dentists will use intravenous sedation, so you will only fall asleep in the dentist chair and wake up with a renovated mouth, instead of sitting there for hours with the nitrous oxide making you feel lightheaded but somehow not making the drilling hurt less.  One aspect of dentistry that still hurts as much as ever is the bills.  Even if you have dental insurance, the amount you pay out of pocket is nothing to smile about.  Unfortunately, even though Medicare covers many types of routine screening and treatment for seniors over the age of 65, it only pays for dentistry in truly dire circumstances.  This policy is penny wise and pound foolish, though, because good oral hygiene is essential to helping seniors stay healthy.  All of these means that you should work dental expenses into your retirement budget, and you can do this with the help of a Tampa estate planning lawyer.

What Is Worse Than Paying for Your Dental Treatment Out of Pocket?

Looking after your dental health is an easy way to reduce your risk of serious chronic diseases of old age, such as cardiovascular disease and dementia.  You can do this by brushing and flossing your teeth every day, getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist every six months, getting a dental exam every year, and undergoing treatment promptly when your dentist recommends an intervention such as a periodontal cleaning or a root canal.  Employer-provided dental insurance covers routine preventive care, even though it is less than generous when it comes to paying for interventions.  The longer you wait, though, the more the germs in your mouth reproduce and sabotage your plans for a happy and healthy retirement.

When you retire, you are on your own to pay for preventive dental care as well as treatment.  Medicare only pays if the dentistry services are part of your treatment plan for a serious illness.  It will not pay for a periodontal cleaning or the removal of an abscessed tooth unless your oncologist recommends it before you start chemotherapy.  It also will not pay for cleanings unless your surgeon refuses to clear you for surgery in your current state of dental hygiene.  If you are already hospitalized for traumatic facial injuries or oral cancer, then Medicare will pay for a dentist to attend to your teeth while you are in the hospital, but that is the extent of Medicare’s generosity when it comes to dentistry.

Contact David Toback About Keeping Your Teeth Healthy in Retirement

A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you make financial plans to approach retirement with a healthy smile.  Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.

Source:

medicare.gov/coverage/dental-services