Date Archives January 2020

It’s the Year You Use Your Benefits Wisely

read Insurance Resources and Dental Benefits
It’s easier than you think to get started on this pledge to your health. Here are a few tips to kick off living wisely in the new year:

*Updated January 2022

It’s natural at the start of a new year to set resolutions to change bad habits or improve our health. Small talk at the office is peppered with questions about how that New Year’s resolution is coming along. Unfortunately, most New Year’s resolutions fail in the first six weeks. Instead of an impractical resolution, why not commit to fully reviewing and using your benefits?

Now’s the time to discover everything your benefits package has to offer, schedule annual appointments, and determine how to maximize your investment. And with our user-friendly online member portal, doing so has never been easier. Take control of your dental experience and access your claims, ID card, settings, and more when it’s convenient for you. Take control on your computer or mobile device, whichever you prefer. A wise use of your benefits is less a resolution and more of a commitment to your oral and overall health!

It’s easier than you think to get started on this pledge. Here are a few tips to kick off living wisely in the new year:

  1. Gather all your health benefit information in one place – physical or virtual – for easy access. We’ve collected your dental benefits information online in your personalized member portal. Easily review your explanation of benefits and see how Delta Dental covers your care. Email ID cards to your dentist’s office or to family members on your plan right from your mobile device. New to the portal? Click here to register.
  2. Set aside 15 minutes each day for one to two weeks to review your medical and dental plans. Look for any new details or changes. Make a list of all the questions that you have. Log in to your online member account (in the top right corner) to securely message or chat for answers. You can also review your online dashboards to see if you or anyone on your plan is overdue for a cleaning or other service. Browse our blog, Facebook, or Twitter to learn how oral health impacts your lives every day.
  3. Schedule an annual physical exam with your family physician. Your physician should run a few blood tests to manage your overall health.
  4. Call your optometrist and schedule your vision exam. Determine, if necessary, if you are eligible to order contacts or glasses this year. Remember that regular eye exams can detect small changes to eye health and give the optometrist a chance to investigate potential issues. Log in to your DeltaVision online member account to find a vision provider near you. Don’t have vision benefits? Click here.
  5. Schedule your annual dental exams. Regular preventive exams with your dentist can identify more than 120 different diseases in other parts of the body including the brain, lungs, heart, kidneys, and more. That’s in addition to early oral health issues your dentist can detect like cavities or gum disease. Find a dentist in your area, and use our handy cost estimator tool to avoid feeling uncertain about your dental expenses!
  6. Schedule required diagnostic tests like mammograms, colonoscopies, gynecological exams, and other specialties now.

Getting answers and scheduling exams takes effort, but these actions will pay off with early detection of illness or, better yet, the peace of mind that everything is fine. Make this year the year you resolve to understand and use your health benefits wisely!

The role a dentist plays in your child’s oral health

read Children's Oral Health
Each year we set New Year’s resolutions to improve our health, but working with your insurance benefits is often forgotten. Review these ideas to learn about your benefits and make sure you're getting the most out of them this year.

Schedules may get hectic with school, extracurriculars, and homework, but making it to the dentist is always worth it. Dentists play a central role in children’s oral health that goes beyond checking teeth for cavities.

The most obvious benefit dentists provide is preventive care through regular exams and cleanings. During these appointments, dentists or hygienists remove plaque and tartar to prevent the formation of cavities, which is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. For additional cavity prevention, they can place sealants on teeth that have the highest risk for tooth decay. This preventive care and consistent monitoring helps dentists prevent or curb the effects of dental threats like thumb sucking, teeth crowding, fluorosis, neglecting oral health, and more.

Dentists are a meaningful part of educating kids on proper oral health habits. While smile maintenance might be straightforward to adults, children have to learn it all from scratch. Dentists understand how their cognition develops and how to properly explain dental care principles in kid-friendly language. They can help convey the importance of brushing, flossing, eating healthy and visiting the dentist. And because parents and guardians have the most important role in establishing healthy smiles, dentists advise them on providing proper instruction and how to model good oral health habits.

Children’s attitudes toward dental care begin taking shape in early childhood, and dentists can help ensure those attitudes are pleasant. Dentists provide positive reinforcement that creates enjoyable memories of appointments. When the exam is over, dentists often give kids toys or other rewards, and they build a rapport to establish trusting relationships. On the flip side, by preventing cavities and toothaches, the dentist minimizes unpleasant experiences, helping children avoid anxiety toward dental appointments.

Finding a dentist you trust early on and maintaining regular visits is an important part of a child’s dental care. It not only helps teeth stay healthy, but it also teaches children the proper way to take care of their smile for years to come.

Winter Sports that Need Mouthguards: The Complete List

read Lifestyle, Uncategorized
Do you or your child need to wear a mouthguard for your artic athletic activity? Here are all of the winter sports that require mouthguards:

Helmets, gloves, and goggles are synonymous with winter sports — but what about mouthguards? Do you or your child need to wear a mouthguard for your Arctic athletic activity? Here are all of the winter sports that require mouthguards:

Hockey

Hockey has a stereotype of players missing teeth, and although the NHL does not require players to wear mouthguards, school sports and recreational hockey leagues do require players to wear them. Hard contact and flying pucks are all dangerous to your pearly whites. Wearing a mouthguard protects the teeth, gums, and tongue.

Skiing and Snowboarding

Flying down the slopes with the risk of running into someone, hitting the hard-packed snow, or crashing into something are all risky for your teeth. Wearing a mouthguard while you ski or snowboard can help prevent damage in the event that you incur facial injury.

Basketball and Wrestling

These winter sports are sans snow but pose all the risks for a facial injury. Close contact (like a flying elbow) with opponents can result in knocking out a tooth. Wear a mouthguard to reduce your risk.

Winter sports that need mouthguards don’t all involve snow or ice. Whether you want to protect your child’s mouth or your own, it’s always best to wear a mouthguard for any sport (competitive or not) that poses a risk for facial injury.

Delta Dental Protects Your Eyes with DeltaVision® Coverage

read Insurance Resources and Dental Benefits, Vision Benefits
Learn about why we provide vision coverage - and why eye exams matter even if you don’t wear glasses

Millions of Americans deal with eye-related diseases, impairments, and injuries. At Delta Dental of Wisconsin, we can help with that with employer-sponsored vision plans.

Many see Delta Dental only as their dental benefits provider. But, we also offer insurance plans to help cover your vision care costs through our DeltaVision® plans. Providing comprehensive vision benefits gets us closer to our goal of supporting your overall health.

Vision disorders are actually the second-most prevalent health condition in the U.S. Chances are, you or someone you know is in need of vision correction, proving vision insurance is just as important as medical or dental. If your employer elects to offer DeltaVision, you’ll be able to access great vision benefit plans for most savings.

Vision Care Can Impact Overall Health

What if your vision is fine? Do you still need vision coverage? Just like dental benefits, our vision benefits allow our members to maintain preventive care. That means that our vision benefits make it easier for you to get regular eye exams, which help recognize any developing eye problems to prevent your vision health from getting worse.

Our eyesight changes all the time. Even if you’ve never had glasses, you may develop a need for them at some point in life. There are also reasons to visit the eye doctor that are not directly related to our vision. Regular eye exams can help a doctor spot a health problem sooner. During an eye exam, your doctor can detect:

How Vision Coverage Makes Eye Care Easy

DeltaVision coverage makes it easy to care for your vision, find an eye doctor, and make an appointment. Our network has more than 88,000 providers at over 27,000 locations nationwide.

We partner with popular providers like LensCrafters® and Target Optical℠ in addition to many smaller, independent doctors. These retailers offer conveniences such as multiple locations and extended hours to help members get the service they need, when they need it.

Click here to learn more about our vision coverage.

Find out more on why vision care matters.