Why offer dental insurance?

The value of dental insurance is powerful and undisputed.

It is the third most requested benefit by employees. This means that offering great benefits from the national leader – Delta Dental – help you get and keep your best employees.

In addition, it can help keep your employees’ smile and whole body healthier resulting in real business benefits for you: better productivity, fewer lost hours and work days.

Check out our 5 simple reasons to offer dental insurance.
 
Here are some of the benefits of offering dental coverage:
 

Unleash Their Smile Power

A healthy smile is strongly linked with overall well-being. And it’s no wonder. When your smile is healthy, you feel confident. You can light up a room, win a promotion on the job, and bring people together. That’s the power of a healthy smile.

• 59% of adults say having good oral health helps them feel confident.^[1]
• 56% of adults say the quality of a person’s smile has some bearing on overall success.^[1]
• Confident employees are successful employees, and successful employees make a successful company.

 

The Mouth-Body Connection

Brushing, flossing and regular trips to the dentist can protect you from far more than cavities. Oral health is connected to overall health. In fact, dentists can recognize the signs and symptoms of more than 120 diseases in or around your mouth, including diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease.^[2]

• 64.7 million adults have gum disease.^[6]
• Gum disease is linked to a variety of health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke and pre-term labor.^[4]
• People without dental benefits are more likely to have heart disease, osteoporosis or diabetes.^[5]

 

Dental Coverage Is linked to Well-Being

One of the most cited barriers to good oral health is cost. Dental insurance makes oral health care more affordable for employees, who in turn use their benefits to maintain a healthy smile. In fact, nearly 80% of employees participate in benefit programs if dental care is part of the program.^[6]

• Adults with dental coverage are 50% more likely to visit the dentist at least once a year.^[7]
• Adults who visit the dentist once a year are 37% more likely to report good or better oral health.^[7]
• Adults who report good oral health are two times as likely to report good or better overall well-being.^[7]

 

---

1. Delta Dental Plans Association, Adult Oral Health and Well-being Survey, 2017.
2. Steven L. Bricker, Robert P. Langlais, and Craig S. Miller, “Oral Diagnosis, Oral Medicine and Treatment Planning,” 1994.
3. The American Academy of Periodontology, http://loveyourgums.tumblr.com/post/143181881906/gum-disease-is-one-of-the-most-prevalent-yet
4. US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and National Institutes of Health, Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General—Part Three: What is the Relationship Between Oral Health and General Health and Well-being?, 2000.
5. National Association of Dental Providers, http://www.nadp.org/Dental_Benefits_Basics/Dental_BB_1.aspx
6. LIMRA, 2009.
7. Delta Dental Plans Association, Adult Oral Health and Well-being Survey, 2014.