The Spirit PPO Dental Insurance plan helps cover the costs of dental care. Covered dental services include exams, cleanings, fillings and extractions, as well as crowns, root canals, bridges, and dentures.

This policy pays you for covered dental expenses for Careington (Maximum Care) PPO Provider or Non PPO providers (Out-of-Network) based on the contracted fee amount negotiated with Careington (Maximum Care) organization after the deductible has been satisfied.

The percentages are:

• 100% for Preventive Services, 40% for Basic, 20% for Major and 10% for Ortho Services in the 1st year.
• In the 2nd year of coverage, Basic Services increase to 80%, 50% for Major and 25% for Ortho Services.
• In the 3rd year, Basic Services increase to 90%, Major Services increase to 60% and Ortho Services increase to 50%.

Highlights of the plan include:

• Spirit Dental allows you to select your own Careington (Maximum Care) dentist.
• Calendar Year Maximums - $1,200, $2,500 or $3,500 per insured
• Two dental exams and three cleanings are included per calendar year
• One series of bitewing x-rays per year
• Space maintainers
• Sealants (children to age 16)
• One topical fluoride treatment per year to age 16

Major services include:

• Simple extractions
• Implants (endosteal only), up to the allowance for the lowest cost covered traditional procedure
• One diagnostic x-ray, full or panoramic in any 3 year period
• Oral surgery
• Endodontic treatment
• Periodontic services
• Restoration services; inlays, onlays and crowns
• Prosthetic services; bridges and dentures
• Basic fillings

Children Orthodontia benefits include:

• Orthodontic care for the proper alignment of teeth is provided only to dependent children who are under 19 when treatment is received
• Coverage is 10% 1st year, 25% 2nd year and 50% 3rd year with a $1200 lifetime maximum per child

Who is the most qualified health professional to perform an oral health exam?

If you said your dentist you provided the most common and correct answer. While a medical doctor is qualified to do such an exam a dentist is more familiar with the anatomy of the mouth and is specifically trained to identify abnormalities in the mouth, including oral cancer. Therefore, an oral exam by a dentist is still the preferred approach.

According to the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, most oral cancers are essentially preventable and with early diagnosis and timely treatment have a good prognosis. The key element is early diagnosis! More than 90% of oral cancers occur in individuals older than 45 years.

According to the American Cancer Society, cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality in this country. Smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the United States. Men are twice as likely to be affected as women, with the average age at diagnosis of 60 years. American consumers are living longer and therefore oral exams should be performed by dental professionals and should be part of their overall health maintenance.