NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- When traveling and in need of dental care, help is only a phone call away. MetLife, the largest commercial dental carrier, which administers dental benefits for over 21 million people, announced today that the company has added international dental travel assistance services as a standard feature to its Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)-based dental plans.

Effective immediately international dental travel assistance services are now available to all MetLife Preferred Dentist Program (PDP) participants and their covered dependants. While participants have always had the freedom to go out-of-network to use any dentist, even internationally, this new program provides participants traveling internationally with around-the-clock access to multilingual assistance coordinators that can assist in connecting plan participants with dental providers in over 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 over 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. These obstacles may be compounded when the person also does not speak the native language. 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, says Mike Schwartz, vice president, MetLife Dental Product Management.


Any time, day or night, a covered participant can simply call collect to a special telephone number and receive a referral to dental providers in over 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, Inc. AXA Assistance is not affiliated with MetLife, and the services they provide 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 your MetLife representative.

About MetLife

MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States (based on life insurance in-force). The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, auto and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance and retirement & savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.



MetLife

Shalana Morris, 212-578-1115

snmorris@metlife.com

or

Karen Eldred, 212-578-9561

keldred@metlife.com

Source: MetLife, Inc.