Started in 1965, Medicare programs have been providing affordable medical care to seniors. Funded by the federal government, Medicare made healthcare accessible to senior citizens who found it difficult to pay for their medical expenses with their fixed post-retirement income. With a major proportion of baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) turning 65, it is estimated that nearly 64 million people will enroll in Medicare by 2020. However, this number also includes people below the age of 65 years. Younger people who have a permanent disability, or end-stage renal disease, or cognitive impairments are also eligible for Medicare benefits.

Medicare benefits include hospital insurance and coverage for outpatient care, doctors’ services, preventive services, and medical supplies, based on certain terms and conditions. All these are covered under basic Medicare plans known as Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. Medicare Part D covers the cost of prescription drugs. However, this is not included in the basic plan and a person has to enroll separately for Part D. Also, none of these plans cover dental care. If you are looking for affordable dental care through Medicare, you can enroll for Medicare Part C. Part C is offered by private insurance providers that have contracts with Medicare. Also known as Medicare Advantage Plans, these cover all the benefits of Part A, Part B, and Part D along with additional services that include vision, dental, hearing, and wellness. If you are looking for top Medicare dental plans, you can enroll for Medicare Advantage or Part C. Here are some of the private insurers that have been known to offer the top Medicare dental plans.

Aetna Medicare Dental Plan
Aetna does not have a separate plan specifically for dental care. The Medicare Advantage Plan from Aetna covers routine dental care along with vision, hearing, and prescription drug coverage. Routine dental care includes oral examinations in a dentist’s office, dental X-rays (inclusive of panoramic and bitewing views), pulp vitality tests, and oral hygiene consultations. The cost of cleaning, scaling, and polishing the teeth is also included. Other services include bite adjustments, fillings and restorations, denture adjustments, non-surgical extractions, and minor periodontic scalings and root planings. It is important to note that not all of these services will be offered by all Aetna Medicare dental plans, and services may differ from place to place.

Delta Medicare Dental Plan
Delta Dental offers Dental Advantage plan through Sharp Health Plan Medicare Advantage plan. This is an HMO plan with Medicare contract that provides a comprehensive coverage that includes crowns, fillings, and dentures. This is considered as one of the top Medicare dental plans since there are no hidden costs for dental services and copays are quite low. With dentist office visits costing as low as $5 and prevention services such as cleanings costing just around $15, Medicare dental plans from Delta are one of the most affordable dental plans. You can pick any dentist from the DeltaCare USA HMO network depending in your location. There is no waiting period involved. You can avail of the benefits as soon as you enroll.

Humana Medicare Dental Plan
Humana Medicare Advantage plans offer dental care only with certain plans. The Medicare dental plan is known as MyOption Enhanced Dental HMO. These plans do not have any deductible and there is no waiting period for the coverage to start. Benefits offered by these plans include full coverage for basic procedures such as cleanings, fillings, crowns, and exams. Partial coverage is provided for a few major services such as extractions. However, this is applicable only when you go to dentists who are in the Humana Medicare network.

UnitedHealthcare Group Medicare Dental Plan
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage Plan provides routine dental coverage through two options: enroll in a plan with routine dental care benefits or enroll in a plan with a supplemental rider for routine dental care. Based on the chosen plan, you can avail of various dental services such as annual exams that include panoramic and bitewing X-rays. These top Medicare dental plans also include routine cleaning and polishing, non-surgical extractions, minor restorative procedures such as fillings, bridgework and crowns, denture and denture adjustments, and minor periodontal scalings.