1. TRICARE® Dental Options: An Overview of Your TRICARE Dental Options
ATTENTION PRESENTER: To ensure that TRICARE beneficiaries receive the most up-to-date information about their health benefits, you must visit for the latest version of all briefings before each presentation. Briefings are continuously updated as benefit changes occur.
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Estimated Briefing Time: 20 minutes
TRICARE Resources: Visit to view, print, or download copies of TRICARE educational materials. Suggested resources include: Active Duty Dental Program brochure, Dental Options fact sheet, Costs and Fees sheet, and TRICARE Plans overview.
Briefing Objectives:
Increase awareness and understanding of TRICARE dental benefits.
Discuss how to enroll in TRICARE dental options and get dental care.
Provide additional resources for more information.
Optional Presenter Comments: Welcome to the TRICARE Dental Options briefing. The goal of today’s presentation is to give you a general understanding of your TRICARE dental benefits.

2. TRICARE Dental Options: Today’s Agenda
Today, we will discuss how to update your information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or DEERS, and how to get dental benefits through the Active Duty Dental Program, the TRICARE Dental Program, and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program.
We will review the overseas dental options.
Finally, we will talk about the difference between medical and non-medical dental services and provide you with contact information if you have any additional questions.

3. Today’s Agenda: TRICARE Eligibility: Updating DEERS
Optional Presenter Comment: First we will discuss keeping information in DEERS up to date.

4. TRICARE Eligibility: Updating DEERS: Keep DEERS Information Up TO Date
Once you and your family are registered in DEERS, be sure to keep addresses and other contact information up to date for all family members.
Keeping DEERS information current, especially your address, is critical to ensuring uninterrupted TRICARE coverage for you and your family.
While only the sponsor can add family members in DEERS, both the sponsor and family members 18 years and older can update contact information. Anytime there is a change in family status (marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, death, etc.), the sponsor must update DEERS.
Promptly update your information when any change occurs, regardless of whether or not you are on active duty at the time.
You can update your DEERS information online, by phone, by mail, or by fax. Update your information online through the milConnect website listed. MilConnect is the Defense Manpower Data Center’s online portal that gives you access to your information in DEERS. For more information about how to access milConnect, visit
If you prefer to update your information in person, you can visit an ID card-issuing facility. To locate one, visit the link provided on the screen.
For more information, go to
Note: Be sure to register newborn or newly adopted children in DEERS within 60 days of birth or adoption. Prompt registration of children in DEERS can minimize delays or problems with coverage and claims processing.

5. Today’s Agenda: TRICARE Dental Options: Active Duty Dental Program
Optional Presenter Comment: Now we will discuss the Active Duty Dental Program.

6. TRICARE Dental Options: Active Duty Dental Program: Active Duty Dental Program
Active duty service members, including National Guard and Reserve members called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days for a federal preplanned mission or in support of a contingency operation, automatically receive TRICARE dental benefits.
If you live or work within 50 miles of a military dental treatment facility, or DTF, you must seek care from a military dentist. Visit your base website or check with your command unit to find a dental clinic.
The Active Duty Dental Program, or ADDP, provides civilian dental care to service members who are unable to receive the care they need from a military dental clinic.
The ADDP is available in the United States and U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Administered by United Concordia Companies, Inc. (United Concordia), the ADDP is available to service members who:
Receive referrals from military DTFs, or
Live and work more than 50 miles from a base with a military DTF. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are properly coded as “Remote” in DEERS, if necessary. You should work with your unit to make changes in DEERS.
Note: If you live or work within 50 miles of a military DTF and seek civilian dental care without a referral, you may be responsible for the entire bill. In addition, if you live remotely, you must have an Appointment Control Number, or ACN, to make an appointment. We’ll talk about ACNs next.

7. TRICARE Dental Options: Active Duty Dental Program: Getting Care Through ADDP
To get care through the ADDP, you will need an ACN from United Concordia.
If you are referred to the ADDP by a military dentist, he or she should give you a Referral Request Confirmation with the ACN.
The number is only valid for the service specified in the referral confirmation, so make sure to get another referral if you need additional services.
Remember, no matter where you live, private-sector dental care is not authorized until an ACN is provided by United Concordia.
If you live in a remote location, you can fill out an Appointment Control Number Request Form to get an Appointment Control Number. The form is available on the ADDP Web site.
Once you have an ACN, there are three ways to make an appointment through the ADDP:
If you have a military dentist, you can have him or her make the appointment for you.
You can contact an ADDP Dental Care Finder to set an appointment for you.
Or, you can schedule the appointment yourself.
To schedule your own appointment, note your network dentist on your Appointment Control Number Request Form.
You must select a network dentist, which is a dentist who has a contract with United Concordia to perform services at negotiated rates. You can find a list of network dentists on the ADDP Web site.
Note: Activated Reserve members who are in the early-enrollment period and who live within 50 miles of a DTF can still access dental care with a civilian dentist with an ACN. It is not required to go to a DTF first.

8. Today’s Agenda: TRICARE Dental Options: TRICARE Dental Program
Optional Presenter Comment: Now we will discuss the TRICARE Dental Program.

9. TRICARE Dental Options: TRICARE Dental Program (TDP)
Eligible beneficiaries can enroll in the TRICARE Dental Program, or TDP, a voluntary, premium- based DoD program. The benefit is administered by United Concordia.
The program is available to:
Active duty family members
Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve members and their families
Transitional survivors
Surviving family members
The program is available in both CONUS and OCONUS locations. The TDP CONUS service area includes the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The TDP OCONUS service area includes areas not in the CONUS service area and covered services provided on a ship or vessel outside the territorial waters of the CONUS service area. Command sponsorship for OCONUS coverage is not required, but costs are higher for OCONUS enrollees who are not command sponsored.

10. TRICARE Dental Options: TRICARE Dental Program: Enrolling in TDP
You can enroll in the TRICARE Dental Program online, by mail, or by phone. To get an enrollment form, visit the Beneficiary Web Enrollment, or BWE, portal.
Your initial premium payment is required with enrollment. You can use a credit card to make your premium payment. Or, if enrolling by mail, you can send the first month’s premium payment by personal check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, money order, or credit card. Each month's premium payment covers the following month’s dental care.
There is a 12-month minimum enrollment period for most beneficiaries. Exceptions include:
Beneficiaries who lose eligibility
Enrollees who are relocated OCONUS or to an area where there is space-available care at a military dental treatment facility
National Guard and Reserve members who are called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days for a federal preplanned mission or in support of a contingency operation.
Note: National Guard or Reserve members enrolled in the TDP will be disenrolled if called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days for a federal preplanned mission or in support of a contingency operation. Once deactivated, you will be automatically reenrolled. Family members will remain enrolled and pay a reduced premium rate while the sponsor is on active duty.

11. TRICARE Dental Options: TRICARE Dental Program: TDP Covered Services and Cost-Shares
The chart shows some of your cost-shares for services received when you have TDP coverage.
A cost-share is the percentage of the allowable charge you will pay for covered services. For example, if United Concordia’s allowance for a basic filling in the United States was $100, you would be responsible for 20 percent of that amount, or $20.
Note: A cost-share is not determined by the dentist’s charge, but the amount United Concordia has agreed to.
If you use a network dentist, TDP will pay the full amount for preventive and diagnostic services, which generally include your two check-ups and cleanings in a 12-month period.
You can find a network dentist on the United Concordia website. Contact information is at the end of this briefing.
If you use a non-network dentist, you will be responsible for the difference between United Concordia's allowance and the dentist's charge in addition to any applicable cost-shares.
Network dentists in the CONUS service area are available in the 50 United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Note: We’ll talk about OCONUS dental options a little later in the briefing.
Certain services have cost-shares based on the sponsor’s pay grade.
The annual maximum coverage per enrollee is $1,500.
After reaching the annual maximum, you will be responsible for 100 percent of United Concordia's negotiated rate for all covered services.

12. TRICARE Dental Options: TRICARE Dental Program: TDP Payment Information
To pay for TDP, the first premium must be paid by personal check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, money order or credit card.
You can make ongoing premium payments through payroll allotment. If payroll deduction is available, then this will be the method of payment.
For information about costs, visit

13. Today’s Agenda: Other Important Benefit Information
Optional Presenter Comment: Now we will discuss other important benefit information.

14. TRICARE Dental Options: Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management offers eligible TRICARE beneficiaries the option to enroll in a FEDVIP dental plan.
FEDVIP offers a range of plans from a number of dental carriers.
FEDVIP is available to:
Retired service members and their eligible family members
Certain retired National Guard and Reserve members and their family members
Certain survivors
Medal of Honor recipients and their immediate family members or survivors
Former spouses and remarried surviving spouses don’t qualify to purchase dental coverage.
For FEDVIP eligibility, carrier, and enrollment information, visit

15. Today’s Agenda: Dental Options: Overseas Dental Options
Optional Presenter Comment: Now we will discuss overseas dental options.

16. TRICARE Dental Options: TRDP Covered Services and Stateside Cost-Shares
Now let’s discuss dental options for personnel stationed overseas.
Most overseas active duty service members, or ADSMs, receive dental care at military overseas dental treatment facilities, or ODTFs. Keep in mind that civilian dental care is not available overseas for ADSMs assigned to ODTFs.
For ADSMs in remote overseas locations, International SOS Government Services, Inc. coordinates dental care services.
The TDP is a voluntary, premium-based DoD program. The benefit, administered by United Concordia, is available worldwide for:
Active duty family members
Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve members and their family members
Survivors qualifying for the TDP Survivor Benefit
FEDVIP, offered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, has a number of plans available overseas to:
Retired service members and their eligible dependents
Retired National Guard and Reserve members and their family members
Certain qualifying survivors
Medal of Honor recipients and their immediate family members and survivors

17. Today's Agenda: Other Important Benefit Information
Optional Presenter Comment: Now we will discuss other important benefit information.

18. Other Important Information: Medical v
Other Important Information: Medical v. Non-Medical Services (Adjunctive Services)
It is important to know which dental conditions are covered by your dental insurance and which are covered by your medical benefit. Adjunctive services are medical conditions that are not covered by the TDP, but may be covered by your TRICARE medical insurance.
Adjunctive dental care is dental care that is:
Medically necessary in the treatment of an otherwise-covered medical (not dental) condition
An integral part of the treatment of such a medical condition
Essential to the control of the primary medical condition
Required in preparation for, or as the result of, dental trauma, which may be or is caused by medically necessary treatment of an injury or disease
An example of an adjunctive service would be the removal of teeth in order to treat facial trauma resulting from an accidental injury.
The TRICARE Dental Program does not cover services that are adjunctive dental care. Please contact your regional medical contractor for coverage details. These are medical services that may be covered under TRICARE’s medical benefit, even when provided by a general dentist or oral surgeon.
For coverage details, contact your TRICARE medical regional contractor.

19. Today’s Agenda: For Information and Assistance
Optional Presenter Comment: The next two slides provide contact information that may be useful to you while using TRICARE dental options.

20. For Information and Assistance: Looking For More Information?
In summary, active duty service members automatically receive TRICARE dental benefits. Other eligible beneficiaries can choose to enroll in the TDP or FEDVIP, depending on your beneficiary status. Here is some important contact information to help you better understand your dental benefits.