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The Best Dental Insurance Plans

Where Can You Find the Best Dental Insurance?

Dental care is one of the most important aspects of your health. Your teeth are part of how you present yourself to others. A smile is the best greeting in the world, but paying for dental care can be difficult. That's where insurance comes in.

Finding the right dental plan can feel just as stressful as going to the dentist. But it won't cost you an arm and a leg: the average annual premium for an individual dental insurance plan is $350, and the average annual premium for a family dental insurance plan is $1,248.

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2024 Dental Insurance Plan Reviews

Dental Insurance Review Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award 5 Star Rating

Dental Insurance

5 Star Rating Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award

Dental Insurance is a broker/database-style site that provides comprehensive insurance options. Whether you want traditional insurance or just a discount card, Dental Insurance has options for everyone. With a 4.7-star average rating overall and accreditation by the BBB, this site is helping customers get the support they need from insurance. The platform is easy to use, and you can compare options side by side. Dental Insurance is easily the top choice for dental insurance.

1 Dental Review 4.5 Star Rating

1 Dental

4.5 Star Rating

1 Dental is the best discount dental option on our list. Despite not being traditional insurance, the cost is low, and they provide discounts of 15-60% on your dental care. 1 Dental has stellar reviews and is accredited by the BBB, so it stands out as a fantastic option for low-cost dental.

Dental Plans Review 4.5 Star Rating

Dental Plans

4.5 Star Rating

Dental Plans is a database-style website that allows you to find many insurance options. With a variety of search parameters, you can get insurance for yourself or your family, and narrow it down to the dentist you want to see. Dental Plans also offers features that you won't find anywhere else, such as a price match and money-back guarantee. With a majority of happy customers and additional options such as vision insurance and telemedicine, Dental Plans is a strong choice.

eHealth Review 4 Star Rating

eHealth

4 Star Rating

eHealth is an insurance broker that offers everything all in one place. They have 75% positive reviews and are accredited by the BBB. However, finding out whether your dentist is in-network is a little more time-consuming at eHealth compared to their competition. Other than that, eHealth is right up there with our top picks, but that extra research required to find a dentist knocks them a little in our ratings.

Avia Dental Review 3 Star Rating

Avia Dental

3 Star Rating

Avia is a dental discount plan that provides significant savings with low monthly membership fees. For customers that can access Avia, they tend to be very happy with the service. However, there are some major metropolitan areas (like Chicago - and the rest of Illinois) that aren't supported by Avia, so you're very limited by location. If you live in a state that offers Avia, feel free to check it out, but for many customers, Avia isn't an option at all.

Spirit Dental Review 2 Star Rating

Spirit Dental

2 Star Rating

While Spirit Dental sounds like a good option, it's a little pricey for not enough security. There are almost no reviews for Spirit Dental or its parent company, Ameritas Dental Group. With higher premiums and options for only one insurance provider, we're a little worried about the overall quality of Spirit Dental. While it could be worth checking out because of the 30-day money-back guarantee, there are much better options for you in our rankings.

Dental Save Review 1 Star Rating

Dental Save

1 Star Rating

Dental Save is a discount dental membership, but it doesn't stand out as a site that's very trustworthy. Dental Save has almost no reviews, along with a website that's difficult to navigate and doesn't give you all the information you need. Dental Save offers decent savings, but since it isn't supported by customer reviews - and the reviews that are there are negative - we don't think this option is worth your time.

Compare the Best Reviews

Continued from above...

In general, dental insurance partially covers the cost of dental care. It typically includes coverage for preventative care, such as regular cleanings and check-ups, as well as for more extensive procedures, such as fillings, extractions, and crowns.

Dental insurance plans usually have a network of providers that they have contracted for services at a discounted rate. So, knowing what locations your dental insurance covers can be important to finding the best match for you.

No matter if you are seeking dental insurance for yourself or for your whole family, it's good to know what you're getting into. According to a survey by the National Association of Dental Plans, about 208 million Americans have dental coverage, with 64% obtaining it through their work. However, there are plenty of plans that operate outside of employer-provided benefits.

Whether you've had insurance before or if this is your first time looking for dental insurance, there are lots of options to make sure your smile is as secure as you want it to be. But where do you get started? Here are a few things to consider to choose the best dental insurance:

  • Price: How much does the coverage cost? Does it require a monthly fee or a one-off payment? What costs will be included for your premium, and is there an annual benefit limit?
  • Network: Do you want to choose insurance that allows you to go to a specific dentist, and only that dentist? Or do you prefer more flexibility with the dental care within your insurance network?
  • Coverage: Not all dental insurance covers the same procedures. Do you want only general coverage for basic dental care? Or do you want to make sure you're covered for all possible dental complications?
  • Who's on your plan: Do you need a plan just for you? Or are you looking for a plan that covers you and members of your family, and you need to budget accordingly?
  • Type of coverage: Are you looking only for traditional insurance? Or are you looking for dental discount memberships or alternative options for savings?

To help you find the right kind of dental insurance for you, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular options. We hope this information will make it easy to start prioritizing your smile and feeling confident that your dental care is covered.

The Best Dental Insurance Plans Compare Dental Insurance Plans Compare Dental Insurance Plan Reviews What are the best Dental Insurance Plans Best Dental Insurance Plan Reviews

Dental Insurance Plan FAQ

If you already have dental insurance through your employer, you won't need to get coverage separately. But, if you're like the millions of Americans who don't have access to dental coverage through their job, it's worth it to consider buying a dental plan privately. Oral health is very important in your overall health, and twice-yearly checkups are recommended for everyone. Having dental insurance can make routine visits and services like root canals and cavity fillings much less expensive.
That will depend on the plan you choose, but most cover routine well visits like cleanings and X-rays. You'll also typically have coverage for fillings, crowns and other issues with your teeth; how much you'll pay out of pocket is based on your specific plan limits for each procedure and your total annual limit.
Many dental insurance plans don't cover removal of wisdom teeth or orthodontic treatments. However, coverage with higher premiums may include those procedures; if you've got multiple children in the family who might need them, it's worth finding a plan that pays for some or all of it.
You might be surprised at how affordable it is. Many individuals and families can get good coverage for less than $20/month.
You've got a lot of options. First, determine if you need individual or family coverage. Next, decide how quickly you want your dental insurance to start: some let you begin your plan on the same day, while others may have a delay of a few days or more. Then, choose what level of coverage you need and select the dental insurance plan that fits your needs and your budget!
Possibly. Most dentists accept insurance, but not necessarily all providers and plans. If you have a dentist you love, ask him or her which plans they take (and even which ones they like working with the most!); you can choose your insurance based on keeping your dentist.
As you might guess, dental insurance is traditional coverage that usually includes 100% of the cost of two preventative visits each year, lowers the cost of dental procedures, and often has an annual maximum dollar amount of coverage per year. Discount dental plans usually are lower in cost but give you less coverage: you may only save 10% on the standard cost for a filling or routine X-rays, and you will probably be limited to a single dentist instead of a network.
Absolutely. Most of today's most popular providers of dental insurance make it easy to pick a plan and pay for it online. If you don't have a specific dentist or insurer in mind, you might want to try using a referral site that gives you quotes from multiple companies and lets you compare your options side-by-side.
See the Best Dental Insurance Plan
The Best Reviews of Dental Insurance Plans