Looking for the best dental insurance? Below is a list of the most popular plan from each state based on DentalInsurace.com sales data in 2023.1 We also have articles clarifying the meaning of waiting periods, plan type, or maximum benefit if those terms are unfamiliar to you.
Once you find the best-selling plan in your state, there are additional resources below the table that help shoppers in the dental insurance purchase process.
The most common best-selling dental plan among the states is Delta Dental’s Dental for Everyone Immediate Coverage plan. This plan has no waiting periods on preventive, basic, and major dental care. This was the number one plan in 12 states and also the District of Columbia. Ameritas, however, had more states where one of their plans was the best in DentalInsurance.com sales. Five different plans from Ameritas was the best selling dental insurance in 29. Blue Cross Blue Shield options were also popular with the brand having the top plan in five states.
All but one of the top insurance plans in each state was a PPO dental plan. 74 percent had a maximum benefit of $2,000 or higher during the first year of enrollment.
Because of differences in dentist networks and benefits, there is not a single dental plan on the market that can be objectively called “the best.” This is because the value of a dental plan is affected by the needs of the consumer. The sections below provide basic information that can help you evaluate the value of the dental plans available in your area.
Dental benefits are not standardized in the way that medical benefits are standardized in Medicare Advantage plans or Affordable Care Act Plans. In the interests of buying a full coverage dental plan, a consumer should look for the following minimum coverage:
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Price is a very tricky issue in the evaluation of a dental plan. Many experts, including myself, suggest that a consumer focus less on monthly premium alone and more on the total dental expenses the consumer may pay in a year. Total expenses encompass:
The first question you may ask yourself is “Where can I get all this information?” Insurance company websites as well as DentalInsurance.com provide this information through quoting tools and documents that provide plan details or a Summary of Benefits. If you come across a dental service you expect to get and the plan you are investigating does not cover it, you can get an estimate of its cost using a tool like FAIR Health Consumer.
Below is an example of how a low-premium dental plan can cost a consumer with medium dental service usage more in annual expenses than a high premium plan.
| Cost Category | Dental Plan A “Low Premium” | Dental Plan B “High Premium” | Dental Plan C “Low Premium and Low Max Benefit” |
| Monthly Premium | $30 | $50 | $20 |
| Total Annual Premiums | $360 | $600 | $240 |
| Annual Deductible | $50 | $0 | $50 |
| Annual Maximum | $2,000 | $2,000 | $500 |
| 3 White Fillings - back teeth | $500 | $120 | $500 |
| Root Canal - Molar | $500 | $500 | $1,000 (Not covered since the plan’s maximum limit was reached by the white fillings cost) |
| Crown - Molar | $1,000 (not covered by plan's benefits) | $1,000 (Not covered since the plan’s maximum limit was reached by the white fillings cost) | |
| Total Annual Costs | $2,210 | $1,620 | $2,790 |
If you have very healthy teeth and typically use a dental plan only to pay for preventive care then the above analysis is less relevant. However, even in this scenario, there is the matter of unexpected dental events such as chipping a tooth and needing a crown.
Our agents can:
One of the hardest elements to compare among dental plans is their dental network. Dentists provide dental care, not insurance companies, so the matter of insurance acceptance is very important. In other words, a dental insurance plan is only as good as the dentists that accepts its coverage.
The first thing a consumer should do when evaluating a dental plan is confirm the plan’s acceptance by his or her dentist. If you use an out-of-network dentist, your dental plan might not cover any of the costs (particularly if it is a HMO dental plan or discount dental card). If the consumer does not have a dentist, he or she should use a dentist review website (e.g. HealthGrades, Yelp, 1800Dentist) to identify highly rated dentists in the area and then confirm whether they accept new patients as well as the insurance being considered.
Based on DentalInsurance.com sales data from January 1, 2023 to July 31, 2023.
Many big websites will publish articles that claim to identify “the best dental insurance for 2024” without reviewing the dental plans from an industry expert perspective or gathering real-world feedback from customers. Too often sites paraphrase marketing brochure language or product descriptions on major ecommerce websites. Consequently, these “best recommendations for…” articles often fail to help consumers navigate between exceptional and subpar products.
With respect to dental insurance, dental benefits are not standardized so you should seek either comprehensive coverage or, if you are confident in the stability of oral health, an insurance plan whose benefits align with the dental services you anticipate using in the future. The table above this section lists the best-selling dental plan in each state. However, just because a plan is a best seller does not make it best for you. A best seller does indicate that, among our consumers in a given state, the plan’s combination of benefits, price, and brand was more compelling to purchase than its competitors.
For help with choosing a plan offering a particular benefit, see our articles on crowns, implants, braces, teeth whitening, and no waiting periods.
A major mistake when comparing dental plans is to weigh premiums versus out-of-pocket expenses for dental care. A more financially helpful approach is to consider the costs together and then compare the combined costs for each dental plan.
The problem with evaluating plans on premium alone is that an insurance company might charge a low monthly membership price but charge high copayments for the services you need. Over the course of a year, you might pay much more out-of-pocket than you saved by choosing a lower premium insurance.
With respect to out-of-pocket costs, it is important to note that this not only includes copayment and coinsurance charges for services but any amount you have to pay for dental care for an uncovered service. Since dental insurance benefits are not standardized, there are variations among plans regarding what care is covered. It is a wise idea to discuss your potential treatment needs in the coming few years with your dentist so you know what benefits are critical for your dental insurance coverage. Likewise, always give consideration to full coverage dental insurance. Furthermore, analyze a dental plan’s maximum benefit. Most PPO and indemnity dental insurance plans specify annual cap on insurance spending toward covered care.
The choice between HMO and PPO coverage can have large implications for premium costs but there is not a consistent basis to judge one type as superior to the other.
PPO dental plans are much more common in the dental insurance market than HMOs but some regions have multiple HMOs from which to choose. The acronyms “PPO” and “HMO” refer to the insurance’s dentist network. HMO stands for Health Maintenance Organization and PPO stands for Preferred Provider Network. Sometimes HMO and PPOs are written DHMO and DPPO since they pertain to dental benefits. About eight-in-ten private dental plans are PPOs while less than one-in-ten are HMOs. HMOs are often lower priced and pay dentists a set monthly amount for each enrollee assigned to them as a primary care dentist. A PPO, in contrast, reimburses a dentist based on services rendered and does not require the selection of a primary dentist.
Typically, an HMO dental insurance plan has a narrow dentist network and services received from out-of-network dentists are not covered. A PPO dental insurance plan, in contrast, offers coverage for dental care received outside its network, but this out-of-network care comes higher out-of-pocket costs. Additionally, a PPO plan also does not require a referral before care from an in-network dental specialist is approved while a HMO plan will require such a referral from the enrollee's primary care dentist.
HMO plans often avoid limited benefit options for enrollees while PPO plans may offer more levels of treatment coverage from preventive to major. However, this does not mean that individual HMO plans always cover expensive services such as implants or crowns.
The answer regarding dental insurance value comes down to two questions: 1) Would you pay less for annual dental care at retail prices versus paying insurance premiums and out-of-pocket charges, and 2) Does the insurance provide meaningful financial protection from high-cost dental events?
The first question depends on a person’s oral health. If a person’s mouth is healthy and only preventive care is needed twice a year then it might be less expensive for this person to pay the bi-annual cleaning and exam charges without the aid of insurance. Moving on to the second question, if a person is uninsured, they do not have payment assistance with expensive procedures like crowns, implants, and bridges. Furthermore, an uninsured person pays the retail rate for a dental procedure as opposed to a negotiated rate obtained through an insurer. Key to the second question’s inquiry of “meaningful financial protection” is a maximum benefit. A maximum benefit is a cap on an insurance plan’s annual spending toward covered dental treatments. If a dental plan has such a cap and it is low (e.g. $500), the level of protection against high-cost dental care is minimal while a high cap (e.g. $2,500) may make a crown or implant affordable.
Dental insurance can be purchased as a stand-alone policy, or it can be purchased as part of a bundle with other benefits such as hearing or vision. Some medical insurance plans also offer dental coverage among their benefits. On DentalInsurance.com, most options are stand-alone dental plans but there are multiple plans that offer the value of dental combined with vision and hearing benefits.
Dental insurance can be obtained multiple ways including old-fashioned agents who come to your home. Our platform allows consumers to privately compare plans from different insurers and enroll online using a credit card or bank account to pay for premiums.
Dental insurance benefits are not standardized and not every plan has comprehensive features covering all categories of dental treatments. Below are three types of services that are usually uncovered:
As discussed in the above “What types of services are not covered by most dental insurance” question, teeth whitening is often uncovered in a dental plan, partly because it is an aesthetic service rather than one that is medically necessary.
Fee-for-service dental insurance plans, more commonly referred to as indemnity plans, provide enrollees the option of using any dentist. Unlike other types of plans, these do not rely on a network of providers, though some indemnity plans offer a network of dentists. In a fee-for-service plan, an enrollee can visit any licensed dentist without regardless of whether the dentist is in-network. The plan typically pays a standard rate for dental services, and the enrollee is responsible for the difference between that rate and the dentist's charge.
Dental savings plans, whether advertised as a "program" or a "card," are not insurance despite many people assuming it is. Instead, they are fee-based membership programs that allows enrollees to obtain dental services at discounted rates from a group of dentists who participate in a discount plan’s network. Over one hundred thousand dentists accept dental savings plan enrollees across the United States.
Our Dental Insurance Companies article lists eight major dental insurers in the U.S. and many of their plans.
Our knowledgeable customer service team will assist you with any questions you may have prior to enrolling in a dental plan. They can guide you through the process of choosing coverage that matches your needs as well as your budget.
