Looking for a dentist that takes Guardian Life?
Short answer: Smile Works DentaSpa, on Mucurapo Road in Port of Spain, has been a preferred provider for over 15 years. If you hold a Guardian Life PROVISOR plan with an easiClaim card, you can swipe it at our reception desk and see your own out-of-pocket cost before treatment, instead of paying in full and claiming it back afterwards.
How the easiClaim card works here
Guardian Life issues an easiClaim card to members on a PROVISOR plan. You swipe it at our reception desk, much as you would a bank card — before you go through, not afterwards — and three things happen:
- Your benefits are checked in real time against your plan.
- You are shown an estimate of your own out-of-pocket cost — the part the plan will not cover — before the work is done.
- The claim is submitted for you. You do not pay the full amount and wait to be reimbursed.
Guardian's own description is that the card gives members "real-time access to their benefits" at "Dental and Vision Preferred Providers" in the network, with a "real-time estimation of their out-of-pocket expense before services are rendered".
Smile Works DentaSpa is listed in Guardian's provider directory, so you can confirm us there before you come.
Dental is one of only two categories where the card works at present — the other is vision. Guardian says it is being extended to the rest of the network. That is worth knowing: a dental practice in the network is one of the few places the card does anything today.
Guardian Life, not Guardian General
A small distinction that trips people up when they go looking. Guardian Group runs two separate companies in Trinidad and Tobago:
- Guardian Life of the Caribbean — life and health insurance. Your dental benefit lives here, and this is who issues the easiClaim card.
- Guardian General Insurance Limited — general insurance: motor, home, property.
If you are searching for dental cover, Guardian Life is the one you want. The name to look for on the schedule is LifeCare Provisor, which is Guardian Life's preferred provider network option.
What to bring
- Your easiClaim or health card — the card itself rather than a photograph of it, if you can.
- Photo ID.
- Your plan or policy number, if the card does not carry it.
- Any recent x-rays, if you are coming from another practice. It can save you paying for new ones.
What else a first visit involves, and how to find us — we are on the 2nd floor at Mucurapo Plaza, and there is a sign in the stairwell.
Not with Guardian?
We are a preferred provider with Guardian Life, Sagicor, Pan-American Life, Cardea and others as well, and we check entitlement before treatment whoever you are with. How insurance works here covers the rest.
Common questions
Is Smile Works DentaSpa a preferred provider?
Yes, and the practice is listed in Guardian’s public provider directory. It has held preferred provider status for over 15 years with Guardian Life, Sagicor, Pan-American Life, Cardea and others.
What is an easiClaim card?
It is Guardian Life’s cashless claim card for members on a PROVISOR plan. Swiping it at a Dental or Vision Preferred Provider checks your benefits in real time, estimates your out-of-pocket cost before treatment, and submits the claim for you.
Is Guardian Life the same as Guardian General?
No. They are separate companies within the Guardian Group. Guardian Life of the Caribbean writes life and health insurance, which is where a dental benefit sits. Guardian General Insurance Limited handles motor, home and property.
Where is the practice?
Unit 6, 2nd Floor, 31 Mucurapo Road, St. James, Port of Spain — upstairs at Mucurapo Plaza, above Papa John’s, with parking on site and step-free access from the basement lift.