More choices, more reasons to be happy with MetLife

Underwritten by MetLife, MTA dental benefits offer you and your family greater choice in dentists and plans than ever before. Advantages include:

• More than 103,000 dentists in MetLife Preferred Dental Program (PDP) nationwide1, including nearly 3,000 in Massachusetts¹
• Freedom to choose any dentist even if the dentist does not participate in MetLife’s PDP
• Recommendation of MetLife by 90% of the people who use its dental benefits program ²
• VisionSavings Eyecare Program³ included at no additional cost
• Five different plans from which to choose based on your needs, preferences and dentist

“The MetLife Dental Plan has provided me with great savings. I use it for periodontal work, cleanings and other dental services.”
- Martha Strachan, MTA Retired

“The MetLife representative was terrific – she helped determine which plan was best for the dental work I wanted done. She was very knowledgeable, helpful and available, quickly responding to any questions I had. This kind of service is very important to me.”
- Judith Garabedian, MTA Retired

What does the dental benefits plan offer?

• All plan options offer coverage for you and your family.
• Included with the dental benefits at no additional cost to you, the VisionSavings Eyecare Program³ focuses on bringing savings, convenience and access to a nationwide network of participating eyecare providers and optical shops⁴. It provides:
• Discounts on glasses, frames and contact lenses
• Savings on eye exams
• Participating providers located nationwide, including LensCrafters, Pearle Vision⁵, Sears Optical, Target Optical and JCPenney Optical Center
• No enrollment or claim forms – plus no membership fee
• Benefits available to the entire family, as often as needed
• Access to LASIK surgeons through NuVision LASIK NetworkTM⁶

• Select from five plan options with multiple coinsurance, deductible and annual maximum options. Learn more. Review the information provided carefully. Then, choose the plan option that best fits your needs.
• Check to see if your dentist (or one that you know) participates in MetLife’s PDP network. (While you are not required to go to a network dentist, selecting a participating dentist will help you maximize your benefits.) Click here to see a list of dentists in your area.
• Complete the Enrollment Form and Direct Debit Application and return to MetLife. (Please keep a copy of the form for your records.)

Why did MTAB choose MetLife?

• MetLife is a leader in dental benefits, serving more than 21 million people, including more than 17.6 million participants through the MetLife PDP.⁴
• Tools are provided to help you assess your family’s individual risk for dental disease, such as “Are you at Risk for Periodontal Disease?” and the “MetLife Childhood Tooth Decay Risk Guide.”
• Rigorous credentialing standards are used to select appropriate dentists for the PDP network.
• You have the freedom to choose any dentist in- or out-of-network at the time of treatment and still receive benefits. Click here to see a list of dentists in you area.
• Participating PDP dentists agree to provide services to people enrolled in MetLife’s dental benefit plans at fees that are typically 10% - 35% below average charges in their communities.
• Participating PDP providers agree to extend discounts to non-covered services such as cosmetic procedures and implants, even when the annual maximum is exceeded.
• Fast accurate claims processing results in 99% of claims being processed within 10 business days.¹

Did you know?

• More than 164 million work hours and 51 million school hours are lost each year due to dental problems.⁸
• Research suggests mothers having periodontal disease during pregnancy are more likely to have a premature infant and even more likely if the disease progresses during pregnancy.⁹
• There is growing acceptance that diabetes is associated with increased occurrence and progression of periodontitis — so much so that periodontitis has been called the "sixth complication of diabetes."⁸
• Approximately 34,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer cancers each year, and over 7,500 die from these cancers. At 60%, it has a lower five-year survival rate than breast, colon, cervical, kidney, or skin (melanoma) cancers.¹⁰
• Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease--5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever.¹¹
• 31% of adults in the U.S. show evidence of moderately progressive chronic adult periodontitis by age 30.¹²
• Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer, and has one of the worst five-year survival rates at about 54% because it is not usually diagnosed in its early stages.¹⁰

For general questions about the plan or enrollment process, call 800.336.0990, ext. 5226.

¹MetLife data as of year-ended 2006.
²2005 MetLife Plan Participant Satisfaction Survey, results based on participants who visited a MetLife PDP dentists and reported that they would definitely (38%) or probably (55%) recommend their MetLife dental program to a friend.
³VisionSavings Eyecare Program is offered through EyeMed Vision Care. EyeMed Vision Care is not affiliated with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company or its affiliates.
⁴ Participating providers are independent contractors solely responsible for vision examinations and products. Some locations do not participate. Call in advance.
⁵ Some Pearle Vision locations do not participate.
⁶Since Lasik vision correction is an elective procedure, performed by specially trained providers, this discount may not always be available from a provider in your immediate location. For a location near you and discounts authorization, please call 1-877-5LASER6.
⁷MetLife data as of March 2006.
⁸8 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 2000.
⁹Lindhe, J., Karring, T., & Lang, N.P. Clinical Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, Fourth Edition. London: Blackwell Scientific, 2003.
¹⁰American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2007. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2007.
¹¹U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General — Executive Summary. http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/AboutNIDCR/ SurgeonGeneral/ ExecutiveSummary.htm, accessed 11/11/2005.
¹²12Kennedy, James E. "Risk Assessment for Adult Periodontitis", MetLife Quality Resource Guide, July 2002.