Full Coverage Dental Insurance

Benzinga readers often choose Smart Health Dental as the best full coverage dental insurance.

If you want to maintain a healthy smile,  it is crucial that you regularly see a dentist. With full-coverage dental insurance, you can avoid accumulating hundreds or thousands of dollars in dental bills. However, the cost of dental insurance can be prohibitive for some people. 

Quick Look: Full Coverage Dental Insurance Companies

• Best for Care Coordination: Smart Health Dental
• Best for No Primary Dentist: Cigna
• Best for Paying a Lifetime Deductible: Spirit
• Best for Employers and Business Owners: MetLife
• Best for Individuals: Aetna
• Best for No Waiting Period: Ameritas
• Best for Cosmetic Dentistry: Careington
• Best for Nationwide Coverage: Delta Dental

Affordable Full-Coverage Dental Insurance Companies

Compare providers to find affordable dental insurance. Here are some of our favorite providers for full-coverage dental insurance.

Going through full-coverage dental insurance options can be overwhelming – here’s a shortlist of the best.

1. Best for Care Coordination: Smart Health Dental

Smart Health Dental has a network of over 200,000 dentists with flexible plans to suit your family’s requirements.

Basic coverage handles cleanings, but it doesn’t cover major procedures. If you step up to the more robust plan, you will have coverage for the more intensive care you may require. Or, if you don’t need much in the way of “coverage”, you can use the dental discount card to get a cleaning and pay less.

Why We Love It: The discount card offered by Smart Health Dental is a convenient option for saving on both services and products. With two different dental plans to choose from, you can opt to save money or select a plan that offers a bit more protection. Additionally, if you need assistance with scheduling appointments or simply don't know where to begin, you can easily reach out to a care coordinator for guidance.

2. Best for Those Not Locked Into a Primary Dentist: Cigna

Cigna is one of the leading medical insurance providers in the U.S., with a network of more than 93,000 dentists in almost 300,000 locations. It has dental plans starting at an average of $19 per month. 

Why We Love It: With Cigna Dental Insurance, there is no need to worry about finding a primary dentist. Additionally, Cigna Dental Insurance allows you to see a specialist without the need for a referral. This means that if you have specific dental concerns or require specialized treatment, you can easily schedule a visit with a specialist within its network without any extra steps.

3. Best for Paying a Lifetime Deductible: Spirit

Spirit is one of the most affordable providers of dental insurance and there are plans with up to $5,000 in annual coverage. You can also have a $100 lifetime deductible with most plans. 

Why We Love It: Spirit Dental & Vision's preventative care is easily accessible with no waiting periods. This convenience ensures that you can proactively take care of your dental and vision health without any delays.

4. Best for Employers and Business Owners: MetLife

MetLife allows customers to search its dental network by zip code, specialty and language to find the perfect fit. MetLife does offer individual plans, but it is a good option for businesses looking to give employees extra coverage and benefits. 

Why We Love It: MetLife offers low pricing on its dental plans, allowing you to save money while getting covered quickly. Its large provider network makes it easier to access the care you need, ensuring that you can find a dentist that meets your specific needs without difficulty.

5. Best for Membership Perks: Aetna

Aetna offers access to a wide provider network and you can benefit from some great membership perks and benefits, including discounts on wellness and digital tools. 

Why We Love It: Aetna makes it easy for you to enroll online. Additionally, some plans offered by Aetna come with the benefit of no deductibles, making it more affordable for you to maintain good oral health. Another advantage of choosing Aetna is the option to easily switch plans if needed.

6. Best for No Waiting Period: Ameritas

Ameritas offers dental plans across 46 states and Washington D.C., with more than 5.7 million customers. 

Why We Love It: Ameritas offers comprehensive plans with no wait periods, allowing you to access the benefits you need without delay. In addition to this advantage, the premiums for these plans are relatively low. Furthermore, Ameritas values its loyal customers by rewarding them with tiered benefits, ensuring that if you stay with the company, you are recognized and appreciated for your continued support.

7. Best for Cosmetic Dentistry: Careington

Careington has a focus on discount dental coverage, providing savings of up to 60% for policyholders. 

Why We Love It: Careington offers a range of dental plans that include cosmetic services as part of the coverage. Starting at just $9 per month, these plans provide affordable access to cosmetic treatments such as teeth whitening, veneers and more. One of the standout features of Careington's dental plans is that there are no waiting periods, you can access these cosmetic and dental services as soon as you enroll in the plan.

8. Best for Nationwide Coverage: Delta Dental

Delta Dental is the largest dental insurer in the U.S. and together with its independent dental insurance company partners, its network has more than 150,000 participating dentists across the nation. 

Why We Love It: We love Delta Dental because it has discounted plans that provide you with the flexibility to choose dentists with reduced fees. With a variety of plans to choose from, you can select the option that best fits your needs and budget. These plans offer extensive coverage across all states, U.S. Territories, and Puerto Rico.

What Is Full-Coverage Dental Insurance?

Full-coverage dental insurance or comprehensive dental plans are designed to cover basic and major dental services along with preventative dental care. Depending on your plan, it may cover annual checkups and cleaning along with services such as root canals and crowns. 

Do You Need Full-Coverage Dental Insurance?

While basic dental plans cover checkups, cleanings and a few basic dental procedures such as cavity fillings, a full-coverage plan offers far more, often with lower out-of-pocket costs. This can include preventative procedures like sealants or fluoride treatments in full or with a small copay. This means that you can enjoy a more well-rounded dental treatment plan for any issues. 

Types of Dental Coverage

Full-coverage dental insurance is an umbrella term. Dental coverage plan types include: 

1. Indemnity Plans

Indemnity plans reimburse you for your dental care expenses less any copay or deductible. This means that you’ll need to pay for your treatment and wait for your insurer to pay you back. 

2. Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)

PPO insurance involves a network of dentists who agree to provide their services at a certain cost for policyholders. This means that you can enjoy discounts when you use the contracted dentists, but plans typically allow you to choose an out-of-network dentist with a reduced coverage level. 

3. Table or Schedule of Allowances

This type of insurance lets you know in advance how much your plan covers for each service. 

4. Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs)

EPOs involve a network of participating dentists offering reduced fees for policyholders. 

5. Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMOs)/Capitation Plans

With this type of insurance, a network of dentists receives a fee each month for their patient’s care. For this fee, the dentists provide their services at a reduced cost for the patients. Typically you need to stay in the network for this coverage. 

6. Direct Reimbursement (DR)

These are self-funded plans where your employer pays for your dental treatment rather than paying insurance company premiums. 

7. Point of Service

POS policyholders can see out-of-network providers, but they can save money on their dental treatments by staying within the insurer network. 

8. Discount or Referral

This allows you to benefit from discounted fees for services or access to specialists offering reduced rates. 

Average Cost of Full-Coverage Dental Insurance 

The prices for full-coverage dental insurance vary according to where you live, whether you purchase a family or individual plan, which dental insurance provider you choose and if you have preexisting conditions. 

The average premiums for a 27-year-old non-smoker could be $11 to $60 per month, while a 59-year-old living in the same area could pay $25 to $50+ per month. 

The average deductible is approximately $50, and the maximum benefit is typically $1,000 to $3,000 per year. 

What to Look for in a Full-Coverage Dental Insurance Provider

As with any other type of insurance, you’ll find differences among full-coverage dental insurance providers. Here are some things to consider when making your decision. 

Premium

The premium is the amount you need to pay to purchase the policy. This is a good starting point to compare policies. However, you should remember that not every policy is alike and some may offer more for a slightly higher cost. 

Deductible

The deductible is the amount you need to pay to begin your dental treatment. 

Copay or Coinsurance

Copay is the shared cost of the dental treatment that is not fully covered under your policy. However, often policyholders can receive treatment at a discounted rate. Coinsurance is similar, but instead of a dollar amount, you pay a set percentage of the treatment cost after your deductible.

Annual Limit or Maximum Allowance

Dental insurance has an annual limit, which means that after the cost of the treatment plan exceeds your maximum, you will need to pay the excess amount. 

How to Enroll in Full-Coverage Dental Insurance

Having dental benefits through your employer is the easiest way to enroll in dental insurance. Groups tend to get far lower rates compared to individuals and employers can tailor the plans to offer a more complete set of benefits. 

If you don’t have access to an employee plan, you will need to buy directly from an insurance provider. As with other types of insurance, compare the options to check the value offered from the premium. When you find a policy that meets your requirements, you can purchase it from the insurer and you’ll receive policy information detailing how to find dentists in your network. 

The Value of  Full-Coverage Dental Insurance

Full-coverage dental insurance offers more comprehensive coverage compared to basic dental insurance. Dental insurance provides the reassurance of knowing you won’t need to break the bank to pay for potentially expensive dental treatments. 

Frequently Asked Questions