How do I file a dental insurance claim in Texas, and what is the deadline?

Texas law here is about paperwork, not about coverage. Was your dental plan issued as an individual accident and health insurance policy? Then it must state each exception to or reduction of indemnity for the policy [1]. In plain words: the list of what it will not pay has to be written in the policy you were given.

Two dates go with it. Written notice of a claim is due before the 21st day after the loss begins, or as soon after that as you reasonably can [2]. Written proof of loss is due before the 91st day after the date of the loss [3].

This chapter does name a dental service corporation's own policy as one of eight kinds of issuer it reaches [4] — but it never says what dental coverage itself must include. So the first thing to settle is how your plan was sold. A policy you bought yourself is one thing. A certificate under a plan at work is another. A discount card is a third. These sources do not say which rule reaches each one. Either way, the amount comes from your own plan benefit list.

Read the first page of your policy and find what it calls itself. Is it an individual accident and health policy? A certificate under a group plan? A discount plan? Then put the line on your Explanation of Benefits next to the same benefit in your policy schedule. Whether Chapter 1201 reaches your dental plan: "Don't know yet" here.