MetLife adds international dental travel assistance services to PPO dental plans

NEW YORK--MetLife, a commercial dental carrier that administers dental benefits for more than 21 million people, has announced that the company has added international dental travel assistance services as a standard feature to its Preferred Provider Organization-based dental plans.

International dental travel assistance services are now available to MetLife Preferred Dentist Program participants and their covered dependents. While participants could go out-of-network to use a dentist--even internationally--this new program provides participants traveling internationally with around-the-clock access to multilingual assistance coordinators who can assist in connecting plan participants with dental providers in more than 200 countries.

For domestic travel, participants can continue to access MetLife's online directory or customer service center to find a local dentist within the U.S. among the company's more than 124,000 participating dentist locations.

"Access to timely and quality oral health care is important, yet people who experience a dental event away from familiar surroundings may not know where to obtain the services they need," said Mike Schwartz, vice president, MetLife Dental Product Management.

"These obstacles may be compounded when the person also does not speak the native language," he added. "MetLife added this new program to make it convenient for travelers to obtain information on locally accredited dentists, to help ensure they receive the care they need--when they need it--wherever they might be geographically."

Whether day or night, a covered participant can call collect to a special telephone number and receive a referral to dental providers in more than 200 countries. These providers have been selected based upon strict criteria including schooling and training background, local accreditation, specialties covered and staff experience, experience working with foreign patients, English-language proficiency, and access to the technology needed to provide adequate assistance.

International dental travel assistance services are provided through an agreement with AXA Assistance USA. AXA Assistance is not affiliated with MetLife, and the services it provides are separate and apart from the benefits provided by MetLife.

For more information about international dental travel assistance services contact the MetLife customer service center or a MetLife representative.

For more information, visit MetLife.

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