Tricare offers family dental plan Published Jan. 28, 2010 By Tricare area office-Europe SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- For active duty servicemembers, receiving dental care while stationed in Europe is simple--just visit your local military dental treatment facility and ask for an appointment. But if you're a military family member, things aren't always so straightforward. The dental clinic at Spangdahlem, as with all military dental treatment facilities in Europe, will provide care for active-duty family members on a space-available basis. Whether or not a given dental facility has availabilities depends on a variety of factors, including location, branch of service, deployments and staffing levels. A facility that has time available one month may not have any available the next. So how can military family members stationed at Spangdahlem make sure they can get quality, affordable dental care whenever they need it? The answer for many families is the Tricare Dental Program, or TDP. The TDP is a voluntary, premium-based dental insurance program that offers coverage for dental procedures received from civilian providers, including host-nation providers in the Spangdahlem and Bitburg area. For low monthly premiums of $12.69 for a single family member or $31.72 for multiple family members, TDP provides coverage for most dental procedures, from cleanings and sealants, to braces and dental implants. The TDP in Europe is the same program that covers military families in the U.S. - except it actually offers more benefits. For example, while stateside beneficiaries must pay a 20-percent cost share for a filling and 40-percent cost share for a root canal, beneficiaries in Europe have no cost share for these services. The annual maximum is $1,200 per enrollee per contract year for non-orthodontic services. For orthodontic services there is a "Lifetime Maximum" per enrollee. If an enrollee receives orthodontic services, payments for these services may not exceed $1,500 per enrollee during the enrollee's eligible lifetime. The Tricare Area Office-Europe Dental Office maintains a list of 9 host nation dentists in the Spangdahlem and Bitburg communities who participate in the TDP at www.europe.tricare.osd.mil/dental. Of the nine host nation dentists, five are "preferred dentists." In order to be listed as a "preferred dentist", the host-nation dentist must speak English, be licensed in their country and meet more than 15 other standards of quality. If not currently participating in the TDP, people can enroll online using a credit card at www.tricaredentalprogram.com; premiums will be deducted from monthly pay once enrollment is effective. People can than receive routine dental care from a host-nation provider whenever they need it. No referral forms or non-availability statements are necessary except for orthodontic and dental implant services. If anyone was enrolled in the program stateside and did not disenroll when they came to Europe, they are still enrolled. Status can be checkedby reviewing the sponsor's leave and earnings statement. For more information or questions about TDP enrollment, claims or covered benefits, call the customer service line using a toll-free access operators listed under "Contact Us" at www.tricaredentalprogram.com or www.europe.tricare.osd.mil/dental. To contact a dental representative in Europe call 49-6302-67-6358 or DSN 496-6358.