Thursday, March 27th
2025 Dental Insurance Plan Reviews
Spirit Dental
- Prices from $16.67 to $46.66 per month
- Individual and family plans
- 6 plans total
- 30-day refunds for unused insurance
- Add-on vision coverage
- "A+” rating and accreditation from the BBB
Spirit Dental is an insurance provider that offers dental and vision coverage all in one place. This provider is based out of Minnesota and has offered protection for smiles for over 20 years. Standing out from other insurance providers and brokers, Spirit Dental promises there is no waiting period to start using your coverage. Plus, with a mission of providing top-notch customer service, Spirit Dental claims to pick up any call in 30 seconds or less.
Jump right into suggested coverage
To get started with seeing your insurance options, you can either hit the "Get a Quote” button on the top of the screen or call the Spirit Dental customer service team. If you use the online quote feature, Spirit Dental will ask you about your specific dental situation. For example, you'll be asked to select whether you're getting dental insurance for yourself, you and one other person, or your whole family. Then, you'll need to put in a zip code. From there, you'll be shown a range of different plans all provided by Spirit Dental.
Choose from around 6 plans
Unlike some other dental insurance providers, which are often brokers, Spirit Dental only provides its own insurance plans. The test individual we created to fill out the forms is a 34-year-old customer from Central Florida looking for basic coverage and possible orthodontia. Under those parameters, Spirit Dental offered us 6 different dental plans. Two out of the three plans include orthodontics for children. Four of the plans are PPO, and the others are flexible, more like dental savings plans. The plans are all underwritten by the Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. However, you may be limited based on where you live. For example, you can't get dental insurance through Spirit Dental if you live in Rhode Island.
Prices from $16.67 to $46.66 per month
Based on the choices we were quoted for our test customer, Spirit Dental's prices range from $16.67 per month to $46.66 per month. This is neither the most costly nor the most affordable, just a middle-tier solution. The lowest tier is Spirit Preventive Plus PPO, which covers 100% of preventative visits, no waiting period, and 50% of your 1st year of basic coverage. This plan covers 20% of your orthodontics and oral surgeries as well. The most costly plan is the Spirit Flex Plus, which includes 100% coverage of preventative services, up to 80% of basic services, and up to 50% of orthodontics and surgeries.
30-day refunds if you don't use your insurance
Spirit Dental offers a 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee where any individual plan can be canceled within 30 days of your first effective day. Any premiums will be refunded as long as you haven't used any services with your Spirit Dental insurance. This guarantee does not apply to group or family plans.
Grab vision separately
On top of dental, you can also get vision insurance separately through Spirit Dental. This is a bit of a letdown, since most other sites in our review offer vision as a bundle or included from the get-go in the price of the dental insurance. However, at Spirit Dental, you'll have to go to another area of the website, using the navigation menu, and sign up for vision insurance separately (with an additional cost).
No third-party reviews from customers
Clicking through their Better Business Bureau accreditation banner takes you to a BBB page for Direct Benefits, which appears to be a parent company for Spirit Dental, though that takes a little digging to find. On the bright side, Spirit Dental holds an "A+” rating and accreditation with the BBB. Outside of the BBB, there are no reviews on trusted third-party review sites, which raises a few concerns. However, on blog sites, Spirit Dental earns around 4 stars on average.
Everything about it is mid
While Spirit Dental has some decent prices, everything about this dental insurance provider is pretty middle-tier. The prices are around the middle of the pack, and the benefits are competitive, but nothing extraordinary. Plus, with a limited refund policy that doesn't allow you to try the insurance before getting your refund, and the fact that there are no vision and dental bundles offered (at least for our test customer), Spirit Dental doesn't impress as well as it could.
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Taking care of your teeth is one of the most important parts of your overall health and wellness. Dental appointments should be part of your normal routine and attended regularly, not just when you have a problem that needs to be addressed. Whether you're looking for a hygiene checkup or cosmetic concerns like tooth whitening, visiting your dentist regularly can keep you happy, healthy, and smiling with all those pearly whites.
However, as with many medical and preventative care appointments, the cost of dental work can get pretty high. A recent study shows that the national average cost for a standard visit (dental exam, cleaning, and x-rays) is around $203 per visit. If you're not one of the lucky folks who get dental with their job benefits, grabbing your own dental insurance is a sure way to make sure you save money and keep your teeth healthy at the same time.
Dental Insurance Plan FAQ
Continued from above...
If you need other procedures like fillings, crowns, or root canals, your total cost at the dentist could be thousands of dollars (crowns can cost up to $1,800 per tooth). While you can't do much about the cost of the dentists themselves, there are some resources to help you find affordable dental insurance to keep costs down.
A recent study compared different monthly costs (including preventative visits) and found that those with insurance paid $800 less per year than those without. Plus, if you get insurance, many of the basics are free of charge, making it less likely that you will need more complicated or expensive trips to the dentist in the future.
Now, when you decide to grab dental insurance, you'll want to keep a few things in mind. Like health insurance, your dental insurance company will have a network of accepted providers. If you have a dentist you really love, you'll want to make sure you grab insurance that is taken by your current dentist. In-network insurance policies will usually cover 100% of preventative dental care, up to 80% of basic procedures (fillings, root canals, and extractions), and up to 50% of major procedures like crowns, implants, and treatment for gum disease. Keep in mind many plans do not include orthodontics (such as braces), but most insurers or brokers offer at least one plan that does include specialist care.
In general, you can find a few types of dental plans. First is the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO). This is the common "network” approach where dentists join a PPO network and set up their fee schedule with the insurance provider. You can go out of network with PPO plans, but you may have higher out-of-pocket fees. The other main option is the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans which have a more restricted network requirement. For HMO (sometimes called DHMO in dental insurance), you are not able to go out of network and still use your insurance benefits.
If you're ready to support your dental health and enjoy the security of covered preventative care, but don't know which dental insurance service to choose, we've put together some factors to help you decide:
- Cost. Different plans and providers have different costs, so make sure you find one with a deductible or monthly payment that makes sense for your situation. You may be able to find the same dental plan at a lower price, depending on which platform you shop through, so make sure to compare prices across insurance databases to make sure you get the best cost and value balance.
- Features and coverage. Make sure your chosen provider offers a range of different features and coverage, so if you want to change your dental insurance plan, you can use the same insurance provider or database to get what you need. The more options there are, the easier it is to compare costs and benefits.
- Reputation. Check out your chosen dental insurance provider or broker through third-party reviews. Sites like the Better Business Bureau and review platforms like Trustpilot and Sitejabber are particularly helpful so you can see what other customers think of the service, assistance, and sign-up process.
To help you find the best dental insurance for your sparkling smile, Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the top providers and brokers out there today. Whether you prefer total coverage for dental and orthodontics or a simpler option that focuses on preventative care, there's a dental insurance plan out there waiting for you. This way, you can enjoy your pearly whites and save some money in the process!
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