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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Stride Health is an insurance broker that focuses on providing plans tailored for those who are independent workers or own their own businesses. Their slogan states, "In a world built for W-2s, we're here for the 1099s". The company brokers health insurance as well as other protections like vision, life insurance, and dental insurance. Open since 2019, this is one of the newer companies in our review. However, based on the feedback and BBB scores, it looks like it may still be having some growing pains.
Getting started can feel redundant
To get started on Stride Health, you just need to enter your zip code and your email and click the "Get Started" button. After that, Stride Health will tell you which underwriter offers plans in your area. For our test customer, who is located in Central Florida, the dental insurance plans offered were underwritten by Ameritas. However, after this, the site is a little clunky. You'll be taken to another window where you need to put in your zip code again. This appears to be a portal that connects to the underwriter, but it still feels redundant. You will be asked if you also need vision coverage during the first few questions and how many individuals will need to be part of the Stride Health plan.
Around 4 plans to choose from
Once we completed the questions using a test persona of a single individual looking for dental insurance in the Central Florida area (ideally including basic appointments and potential orthodontia), we were offered four different plans through Stride Health (all underwritten by Ameritas). Three out of the four plans offer child orthodontia, and all but one plan includes 100% coverage for your preventative care right away. The least costly plan only covers 90% of your preventative care in the first year of using the insurance policy. Keep in mind that the number of plans may change, depending on the type of policy you ask for and where you are located.
Prices from $13.21 to $42.22 per month
The prices at Stride Health are reasonable, but they're not the lowest. The basic plan offered to us, Stride Starter, costs $13.21 per month. It included preventative care and basic care (for fillings and other small procedures). You only get 90% of your preventative visits covered in the first year. It does go up to 100% after you've held the policy for 1 year, though. The most costly plan with Stride Health is $42.22, which includes preventative care, basic care, major care, and child orthodontia. There are no enrollment fees for any of the plans offered at Stride Health.
Difficult to cancel
There is another drawback to choosing Stride Health, and that's the difficulties with cancellations. You will need to call Ameritas directly to cancel your subscription to dental insurance. You are unable to cancel your plan online, and there was no mention of a price match guarantee or any kind of refund policy for the plans. Since you're being directed to the underwriter from Stride Health, you'll need to use the policies for the specific insurer you select.
Add vision as an extra
Stride Health does offer vision coverage (along with life insurance and health insurance). You can get vision coverage bundled with your dental, but you'll have to sign up for each type of insurance separately through Ameritas (or the suggested provider for your area). We were quoted between $8.78 to $10.62 per month for vision on top of the cost of dental.
Mixed feedback with concerns about cancellation
There is some serious back and forth with Stride Health's reputation. Let's start with the good news. On Trustpilot, customers say that their experience was extremely positive. With a 4.6-star average rating, the feedback on Stride Health's customer support is full of rave reviews. However, on the Better Business Bureau, it's a completely different story. Stride Health currently holds an "F" rating from the BBB. This is partly due to Stride Health's lack of response to complaints. These complaints had to do with cancellations, where customers were frustrated at how hard it was to get out of Stride Health when they didn't want it any longer.
Needs more time to work out the kinks
While you might want to see what Stride Health has to offer depending on the dental insurance provided in your area, we recommend some caution. The "F" rating from the BBB and concerns about being able to cancel your policy are some red flags we don't like to ignore with insurance. Since the site doesn't have the best prices or the best benefits, it may not be ideal for those looking to save a little on their premiums either. We hope as this company continues to grow, we'll see more positivity (especially from the BBB), but for now, you might be safer to find your dental insurance with one of our top picks instead.
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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