There are many options for standalone dental insurance plans that can fit any budget. You can find these plans directly from insurance companies or through the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace. You can generally compare plans and buy online.
Dental insurance is worth purchasing if the benefits are robust enough to provide a good financial safety net. Dental insurance is especially worth it if the plan covers 100% of preventive care. In fact, one study observed a link between gum disease and cardiovascular disease. Adding a dental insurance plan can be an excellent way to round out your health benefits, avoid more serious dental issues and keep your medical costs low.
Dental plans may cover teeth whitening, but most don’t. One example of a dental insurance plan with teeth whitening coverage is Guardian’s Diamond plan. That dental plan pays 50% of the costs for teeth whitening after a six-month waiting period.
Getting a basic cleaning can cost up to $200 and panoramic dental X-rays can reach $200, according to Humana. And that’s just for preventive services. Dental crowns can cost as much as $2,000 per tooth, root canals can reach $1,500 and high-quality dentures can cost as much as $8,000. These costs can escalate depending on what other types of dental work you need. Dental insurance helps offset some, most or all of those costs, depending on your coverage and dental work.
Some dental insurance policies cover dental implants. Policies that cover dental implants may cover as much as 50% of the care up to the policy’s annual maximum limit, but these policies may have a waiting period of 12 months before they cover implants.
Whether a dental HMO or dental PPO is best depends on whether you want to get out-of-network care. A dental PPO might be better if you want the flexibility of getting care outside of the policy’s provider network. But a dental HMO would likely be a better option if you plan on staying within a plan’s network and want cheaper premiums.
Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before covering insurance, Les was a news editor and reporter for Patch and Community Newspaper Company and also covered health care, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans for multiple websites.
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