Is there such a thing as full coverage dental insurance?

This is a question we get quite often, and the short answer is no.  Dental insurance will not cover every procedure you will need at 100%.  Dental insurance is a tool to help protect you from extremely high dental bills, but even with the best coverage you will be paying something out of pocket.  Most dental insurance will cover preventive or routine work like cleanings and exams at 100%, but coverage for basic or major work will have some limitations.

The most comprehensive dental insurance on the market typically limits coverage for basic and major work in a couple ways.  First, most plans include a waiting period for basic and major services.  The waiting period is typically 12-18 months of coverage under the plan, although some procedures like fillings may only have a 6-9 month waiting period.  Spirit Dental has no waiting periods for Basic or Major Services.  Coverage starts as soon as your plan does!

The second way dental plans limit coverage is through the use of annual maximums.  An annual maximum is the maximum dollar amount an insurance plan will pay out for covered services per calendar year.  This is a real concern for those needing major work because many plans have a low limit, like $1000 or $1500.  If you happen to need a few thousand dollars of work, anything after that amount will not be covered.  Spirit Dental offers three different annual maximums, $1200, $2500 and $3500.

But the most important restriction most plans have is no coverage at all for some procedures.  Many dental plans on the market limit the number of procedures you can have in a period of time, like one crown every year.  Some dental plans will not cover crowns, implants, or orthodontia at all.  Details like this tend to be buried in the fine print, so it is important to look closely at what a plan covers before you decide to buy.  You don’t want to get a plan that does not cover implants or crowns when you know you may need one or both of them in the future.  We are happy to provide a Spirit Dental which does cover implants, crowns, and child orthodontia.