MetLife has announced its new Dental Health Manager, a proprietary dental disease management program providing participants with educational content and personalized report cards on their risk for oral disease and dental health.

The New York-based insurer said the new program is available to new and existing MetLife customers with 500 or more employees, either at no additional cost as a standalone program. Employers also have the option to coordinate the program with a disease management vendor, which does require a one-time set-up fee, the company said.

MetLife said that disease management programs, while an accepted medical practice, are still relatively new in the dental field. They make sense from a business standpoint, the insurer said in a statement, since they may help employers get more value from the dental benefit plan they have and promote the well-being of their workforce.

“With the desire among employers to manage continually rising health-related costs, the importance of dental benefits to employees, and the association of oral health to overall health, a dental disease management program represents a logical, timely option,” said David Guarrera, vice president of MetLife’s dental product management, in a statement. “Good health is its own reward and a strong motivator for employees who participate in workplace wellness programs. Dental disease management is an important expansion of those programs and the outcomes have the potential to benefit both employees and employers.”