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If you hire a financial adviser to help with retirement planning, you’ll undoubtedly spend many hours examining the potential costs that crop up for seniors. From housing to food to rising utility bills, it’s a long list.
But there’s one high-ticket item that’s especially easy to overlook. Your teeth.
“Dental expenses are at the top of the list,” said David Haas, a certified financial planner in Franklin Lakes, N.J. “For younger retirees, dental is the top unexpected expense.”
Implants and crowns can cost well over $10,000. The bill for a gum tissue graft for just one tooth can cost $3,000. Even repairing a chipped or cracked tooth—or replacing decades-old fillings with tooth-colored composite fillings—can run upwards of $400. (Costs vary widely based on the going rate where you live and other factors.)
Read: Confused about Medicare enrollment? How to get help.
So how can retirees brace for steep dental bills?
“If you live long enough, you will probably need expensive dental work and Medicare does not cover it,” Haas said. “There are really only two ways to pay for it: commercial dental insurance or savings.”
Dental insurance has its limits. The policies come with annual caps—the maximum amount they will pay out—that usually hover between $1,500 and $2,500. Other coverage restrictions can add to your out-of-pocket cost.
Don’t count on Medicare Advantage plans for dental coverage. While these plans may include some benefit for basic preventive care, they do not chip in if you incur a hefty bill for non-routine work.
Read: Medicare: Here is what’s covered and what’s not
That leaves savings. Well-heeled seniors can tap their emergency cash to pay the bill. Others who have accumulated funds in a Health Savings Account (HSA) can use it to pay dentists, periodontists and oral surgeons.
During your working years, try to fill your HSA bucket to cover future dental expenses. Maximizing your annual HSA contribution—and investing the money in a diversified stock index fund—enables the account to grow over time. And you won’t pay taxes when you withdraw the money if you use it for qualified medical expenses — such as dental work.
For some retirees, steep dental bills come as a surprise. They managed to get through their working years with little or no gum- or teeth-related issues.
Others prepare for problems. Perhaps they grew up with a bad bite—a malocclusion that has created jaw pain or gum disease. Or they have an uneven jaw from a long-ago accident that leaves them more apt to need corrective dental procedures as they age.
For these individuals, saving for big dental bills becomes more important. In providing cash flow planning to his clients, Haas might recommend that they sock away a significant sum, perhaps $5,000 a year during their peak earning years, for future uncovered medical/dental/vision expenses.
“Some people are genetically predisposed to bad teeth,” said Catherine Valega, a certified financial planner in Winchester, Mass. “It’s not typically something that pops up as soon as you’re retired. It’s something you’ve been dealing with for years or even decades.”
Valega is particularly attuned to how dental needs can affect retirement planning because her sister is a dentist. As a result, she encourages clients to book regular cleanings and checkups to avoid nasty surprises later.
“Tooth decay is not something that can self-heal,” Valega said. “It’s not like a cold or a scab or wound. By putting off preventive care and maintenance work along the way, you risk problems later.”
Some people resist seeing the dentist even if they know they should. If they made it through the pandemic without any teeth or gum issues, they may conclude they can continue to skip routine dental care.
Valega warns against taking a laissez-faire approach. She notes that our dental health is intertwined with our overall health and well-being.
“Your dentist can test for all kinds of things,” she said. Examples include using a tongue depressor to perform an oral cancer screening and treating bad breath caused by too much bacteria or plaque on teeth.
People over 60 may even get cavities for the first time in decades due to dry mouth caused by certain medications. The American Dental Association offers information about various dental diagnoses and how retirees can pay for them.
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