The Importance of Dental Coverage in Employee Benefits Packages

In today’s competitive job market, having Employee Benefits is practically a necessity to attract and retain talent. However, even though most companies have some form of group insurance for their employees, the coverage may be lacking in certain areas. Dental coverage is one which often tends to get overlooked as employers tend to prioritise Group Hospital and Surgical (GHS) and Outpatient (General Practitioner & Specialist) coverages. 

While it is understandable to prioritise the coverages mentioned above, we still strongly encourage employers to consider purchasing a dental coverage for their employees, and we’ll elaborate on the importance of it below. Before that, we will first go through what the key considerations are when it comes to dental coverage.

What are the key aspects of dental coverage?

While it may differ from insurer to insurer, there are two broad categories of dental coverage: preventive care and specialised treatment. 

Preventive care is usually covered in dental insurance. It refers to dental services which identify potential issues (cavities, gum diseases etc) early, and provide treatment to prevent severe conditions. This helps to promote overall health by reducing the risks associated with poor oral hygiene. Some examples of preventive care include:

• Oral examination
• Scaling and polishing
• Routine X-rays

Specialised treatment on the other hand, is usually not covered in dental insurance. These include but are not limited to:

• Orthodontic work for misaligned teeth
• Periodontal treatments for advanced gum disease
• Prosthodontics for missing teeth (dentures, implants)

Additionally, treatment or beautification that is cosmetic in nature will typically not be covered as well. If you are ever in doubt, be sure to check your policy’s schedule of benefits to ascertain what is covered.

Why the need for dental coverage?

According to this article from The Straits Times, the dental group Q&M, which has over 100 clinics in Singapore, reports that only around 10% of its clients utilise employer-covered insurance to offset treatment costs. 

This is particularly concerning as dental costs have been rising steadily over the years due to higher business costs and inflation. Figures from the Singapore Department of Statistics show that in 2023, the CPI for dental services by public institutions, specialist clinics and hospitals, and private dental clinics, rose by nearly 7.5% when compared with the CPI in 2019. 

Due to the constant increase in dental costs, we strongly encourage employers to include dental coverage in their employee benefits package. Ensuring that your dental coverage is keeping up with the rising costs of dental services can be crucial to maintaining employees’ job satisfaction and overall happiness.

Finding dental coverage that suits your needs 

Other than the cost, there are other key considerations such as coverage limits as well as copayment. As every company’s needs are different, we are more than happy to assist you here at eazy. We are an experienced insurance broker that is dedicated to providing your business with the most suitable insurance plans based on your specific requirements. Please feel free to contact us today so that we may better assist you.