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Keeping yourself in tip-top condition is important if you are a
member of the National Guard or Reserve and a key part of that is
maintaining your oral health. Poor oral health can be a danger to
you during deployments where you may not have ready access to dental
care. Studies have shown if you deploy with dental care needs,
there is an increased risk of you having a dental emergency. To
assist you in obtaining oral health, the TRICARE Dental
Program (TDP) and its participating dentists are standing
by and ready to help.
Dental Health Duties
To be fit for duty, you are required to
receive annual dental examinations and report the results to your
service. Department of Defense (DoD) Health Affairs
Policy No. 01-025 requires the uniformed services to ensure
all members of the National Guard and Reserve undergo an annual
dental examination.
The DD Form 2813, DoD Active Duty/Reserve Forces Dental
Examination, is used to assist TDP-enrolled National Guard
and Reserve forces in documenting their dental health and can be
downloaded at www.TRICAREdentalprogram.com. If you receive
care from a civilian dentist under the TDP, you can provide your dentist
with the DD Form 2813 to document your dental condition. Dentists
participating in the program will complete the form at no additional cost
for TDP-enrolled National Guard or Reserve sponsors.
Affordable Care
The TDP is a great option for members of the
National Guard and Reserve who don't have other dental insurance. The
program can also be used to augment any private dental insurance you already
have.
As a National Guard or Reserve sponsor (Selected Reserve and Individual
Ready Reserve—Special Mobilization Category), the current
monthly TDP premium is just $12.69. It's just $31.72 for
Individual Ready Reserve sponsors.
If you are a National Guard or Reserve sponsor, the TDP provides
continuous dental coverage for you and your family as you move through
periods of activation and deactivation. When you are not on active
duty, the current premium for one family member is $31.72,
and $79.29 for families with more than one enrolled. These
monthly family premiums are in addition to the TDP-enrolled sponsor's
monthly premium, as noted in the preceding paragraph.
If you are activated for more than 30 days, you will automatically
be disenrolled from the program but automatically reenrolled when you
are deactivated. For your family, the only difference is that
when you are activated for more than 30 days, they become "active
duty family members" and pay a reduced monthly premium.
For more information regarding TDP benefits and policies for the
National Guard and Reserve, please visit the United Concordia
Companies, Inc., Web site at
www.TRICAREdentalprogram.com and click on "Search Here"
in the green bar at the top of the page.
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