In today’s highly competitive dental insurance landscape, smaller plans and regional Medicare Advantage providers often struggle to differentiate themselves. Many rely on third-party dental networks that prioritize size over quality, which can lead to a poor member experience, increased disenrollment, and higher costs. Enter dental navigation – a modern solution that empowers members to make better decisions, strengthens plan value, and fills the gaps left by generic dental networks.
What Is Dental Navigation?
Dental navigation is a digital or concierge-style service that helps insurance members make informed decisions about their dental care. This includes:
- Helping members choose a high-quality dentist in their area
- Educating them about treatment options and what to expect
- Offering guidance on preventive care to improve long-term outcomes
For smaller dental insurance companies and Medicare Advantage plans that don’t have the resources to build proprietary dental networks, dental navigation becomes a critical differentiator.
1. Helps Members Choose Desirable Dentists to Reduce Friction and Disenrollment
One of the biggest challenges facing smaller plans is member satisfaction. Many rely on dental networks that prioritize having the largest number of contracted providers, but these networks often include dentists with poor reviews, rushed care, or long wait times.
Dental navigation tools help members identify top-rated, desirable providers in their area based on real data, not just who’s in-network. By connecting members with dentists they actually want to see, plans reduce frustration, eliminate the guesswork, and decrease dental-related disenrollment.
This is particularly important for smaller Medicare Advantage plans, where retention is key and even minor frustrations can lead to CMS complaints or plan-switching during open enrollment.
2. Helps Members Understand Treatment Options Before They Visit the Dentist
DenScore’s dental navigation acts like a symptom checker for oral health, giving members guidance before they even step into the dental office. By collecting basic information about their concerns or goals, the tool helps reduce confusion and anxiety around dental visits.
Members receive guidance on:
- Common causes of symptoms like toothaches, gum issues, or tooth discoloration
- Potential treatment options based on their specific concern or interest (ex. whitening, orthodontics)
- Typical price ranges for those treatments
- Smart questions to ask their dentist during the visit
This approach empowers members to make informed choices, reduces the risk of overtreatment, and fosters better communication between patients and providers.
3. Guides Members on At-Home Preventive Care
In today’s digital age, misinformation about oral health is everywhere, from TikTok hacks to influencer-endorsed products that can do more harm than good.
Dental navigation helps cut through the noise by giving members trustworthy, evidence-based guidance on how to care for their teeth and gums at home. This includes:
- Proper brushing and flossing techniques
- How diet impacts oral health
- When to seek care and what issues to monitor
Over time, this results in better oral health outcomes, reduced emergency visits, and improved overall well-being. It also aligns with CMS and commercial quality metrics around preventive care and patient education.
Why It Matters for Medicare Advantage and Small Dental Plans
For plans without proprietary networks or in-house dental support teams, dental navigation acts as a virtual extension of your team. It improves the member experience while driving measurable value:
- Higher retention and satisfaction scores
- Smarter use of benefits and reduced overtreatment
- Improved clinical outcomes and preventive care utilization
By investing in dental navigation solutions like DenScore, smaller plans can punch above their weight and deliver a better experience than larger competitors that rely solely on expansive but impersonal networks.
Interested in learning more? Go to our “Contact Us” page and let us know how we can help. We’d be happy to schedule a quick call and discuss how we can support your dental insurance or Medicare Advantage members.
