Where is the Best Place to Find Dental Insurance? 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.
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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.
Continued from above...
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.
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:
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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Why Has Dental Insurance Become So Popular?
A person's smile often is the first thing others notice about them. A beautiful set of pearly whites can make or break that first impression.
Keeping our teeth, gums and mouth healthy goes a long way in improving our appearance. As we age, our teeth develop numerous issues which should be monitored and treated by a dental professional. But let's face it - dental procedures can be expensive. Even a routine exam and cleaning can cost over $100 in most areas. Costs can be even higher for those without dental insurance.
Recent figures indicate that 42 percent of all Americans go without dental insurance, which in turn results in a lack of regular visits to the dentist.
However, studies in recent years have linked improper dental care and health to everything from heart disease to diabetes and even cancer. A healthy mouth is the first step toward a healthy body.
Some people are lucky and have dental insurance included as part of their regular health insurance package through an employer. For those people, espousing the benefits of proper dental hygiene and care are unnecessary. They have the benefits in place and are happy to use them.
For those who are not lucky enough to have dental insurance through an employer, the benefits of purchasing your own plan through an insurance broker or directly from a dental insurance company are numerous.
Dental insurance plans have seen an increase in popularity in recent years due to the general populations' growing knowledge about the important of proper dental hygiene. This includes a twice-annual exam and cleaning by a dental professional. A recent spate of television ads promoting dental insurance plans has helped to spur that growth, accounting for roughly a 7 percent increase in the number of people who sought out and purchased dental insurance plans.
Another reason dental insurance plans have become so popular is that they are easier to navigate than a traditional health insurance plan. Because there are only so many dental procedures a person can undergo, plans are very clear as to what they cover and how much coverage is included.
Dental insurance plans also tend to be more affordable than traditional healthcare coverage plans, and the cost remains stable from year to year, whereas healthcare insurance costs are less predictable and often skyrocket from year to year.
Employers also are taking notice of the rise in popularity in dental insurance plans and are considering them as part of a comprehensive healthcare package to help attract the best employees. Next to annual salary, benefits are the next most important factor for many individuals when considering employment. Companies which offer healthcare and dental plans are more likely to not only attract the best people for the job, but retain them from one year to the next.
If you are among the people who are not lucky enough to have dental insurance through your employee benefits package, but would like to secure your own coverage, be sure to review the best plans for your area before making a decision.
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