How to Choose the Best Dental Insurance

Choosing the best dental insurance for your needs

Choosing the right dental insurance for you or your family is crucial, but we know sorting through coverage options may feel daunting. We created this dental insurance guide to help you understand what to look for while shopping for plans online. It will introduce you to common dental insurance terms, types of dental insurance plans, out-of-pocket costs to consider and help match your dental care needs with affordable coverage options.

By investing in a dental insurance plan, you’re taking control of your oral health and prioritizing maintaining a healthy smile.

At Spirit Dental, we guarantee your acceptance, and with next-day effective dates, you can activate full coverage benefits with no waiting period dental insurance and schedule your dentist appointment as soon as tomorrow.

When you’re ready to view types of dental plans available in your area, simply run a quote and compare plans instantly. Our support team is also available to speak with you via call or live chat to help further explain coverage options.

Ready to learn more about how to choose the best dental insurance with no waiting period? Keep reading!

Dental insurance costs

Understanding how dental insurance works will help narrow your choices. These are common dental insurance costs to consider with Spirit Dental:

Monthly premiums: This is your monthly cost to keep the plan active. Basic plans can range from $12-$25, while comprehensive plans range from $45-80.

Deductible: The deductible is the cost you’ll pay to activate your benefits. Some plans have annual deductibles that range from $25-100. Spirit has a $100-lifetime deductible that you’ll only need to pay once.

Coinsurance: This is the cost you’ll split with your plan and is determined by your procedure. Traditional dental plans typically follow this coverage:

Preventive care: 100% coverage for cleanings, checkups and bitewing X-rays

Basic care: 80% coverage for fillings, sealants and X-rays

Major care: 50% coverage for extensive dental work for root canals, oral surgery and more

Annual maximums: Annual maximums are the amount your plan will pay yearly. Once this benefit is reached, you’ll pay the rest out-of-pocket. Annual maximums do reset; most plans average around $1200. Spirit has one of the highest annual maximums available at $5,000 in year three of the Pinnacle PPO plan, also our most popular.

Comparing limitations with dental insurance

Waiting periods: This is the amount of time before your benefits begin. For traditional dental insurance, you’ll wait around 6-12 months for basic and major services.

With our Spirit dental plans, we offer no waiting periods for all covered services for immediate full coverage that begins on day one.

Cosmetic dentistry: Most plans will not cover services for teeth whitening or veneers (unless medically necessary).

Orthodontia: Some dental plans offer coverage for child orthodontia, and most do not cover adult orthodontia

Missing tooth clause: This is very common for people looking for dental implant coverage—if the tooth is missing or not there to extract, most insurance plans will not cover the procedure.

Coordination of benefits: If you’re shopping for supplemental coverage or dual coverage with a secondary dental plan, review the terms and conditions of the policy to maximize coverage. The coordination of benefits isn’t the same for every dental plan. For example, Spirit plans help you save more by not coordinating benefits. Our plans pay from the full amount of coverage and do not consider payments made by the primary plan, helping reduce your out-of-pocket expenses further.

Types of dental insurance plans

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization)

• PPO plans offer a network of dentists who have agreed to provide services at discounted rates negotiated by the insurance company.
• Members can choose to visit any dentist, but they typically receive the highest level of coverage and lowest out-of-pocket costs when they see an in-network provider.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)

• HMO plans require members to choose a primary dentist from a limited network of providers and must obtain a referral to see a specialist
• HMO plans often have lower premiums and fixed copayments for covered services, but they offer less flexibility in choosing providers compared to PPO plans.

Indemnity (Fee-for-service)

• Indemnity provides the greatest flexibility in choosing dentists, as members can visit any licensed dentist.
• Members pay for services upfront and submit claims to the insurance company for reimbursement according to the plan's fee schedule.
• While these plans offer freedom of choice, they often have higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs than other dental plans.

Discount plans

• Discount dental plans are not insurance but rather membership programs that act like coupons offering discounted rates on dental services from participating providers.
• Discount dental plans are one of the cheapest plans available, but you may still pay more out-of-pocket than a traditional dental plan.

Finding the best dental insurance plan for your needs

Finding the right dental plan means you’re getting the best value for your needs and budget. The first step to choosing the best dental insurance is figuring out where your oral health stands:

If you don’t need a lot of dental work, a budget-friendly plan that gets you in for your cleanings works great, helping you prevent future issues at a low cost. If you know you’ll likely need more frequent or advanced care, more dental coverage to cover major services with higher annual maximums may be a better fit.

Use these scenarios to help determine how to choose the best dental insurance for your needs:

Good oral health

If your oral health is generally good, consider choosing a dental plan with:

• Preventive care coverage: Plans that offer 100% coverage for cleanings and checkups, ensuring your smile stays in good shape.
• Low premiums: Since you may not need extensive dental work, choose a plan with a lower monthly cost.

Spirit plan choice: Preventive Plus PPO

Poor oral health condition

• Comprehensive coverage: Look for plans that cover a high percentage of costs for basic and major procedures.
• High annual maximums: Plans with higher annual maximum benefits will help cover extensive dental work.

Spirit plan choice: Pinnacle PPO

Aging teeth

• Coverage for periodontal treatments: Plans that include treatment for gum disease, maintenance for crowns and other age-related issues
• Prosthodontics coverage: Look for plans that cover specific procedures like dentures, bridges and dental implants

Spirit plan choice: Senior Preferred PPO

Growing family needs

If you anticipate needing coverage for your growing family, consider the following:

• Family plans: Seek affordable dental insurance plans for families with comprehensive coverage for essential cleanings, wisdom teeth extraction and child orthodontia
• Child orthodontics: If your child might need braces or Invisalign, make sure these treatments are covered

Spirit plan choice: Pinnacle PPO

Immediate major care needs

If you need immediate major dental care, consider:

• No waiting period plans: Plans that offer immediate full coverage work well with urgent major care needs
• Network reduced rates: Combining your plan benefits with an in-network provider will lower your out-of-pocket costs further

Spirit plan choice: Pinnacle PPO

*Check for your procedure to make sure it’s covered before purchasing a plan—you can buy a plan with Spirit, get a pretreatment authorization, and if you’re not satisfied with the coverage amount, we have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee that you can cancel your plan and get fully refunded.

Supplemental coverage

• No waiting period plans: If you need supplemental dental plan coverage, you’ll likely also need immediate coverage
• Compatibility with existing insurance: Spirit does not coordinate benefits, helping you save more

Spirit plan choice: Core PPO

All-around comprehensive coverage for ultimate peace of mind

• Immediate full coverage: Get coverage with no wait dental plans that cover preventive, basic, major and child orthodontia
• Loyalty benefits: Get coverage full coverage on day one and enjoy benefits that increase after two years for maximum savings
• Lifetime deductible: You can also save more by choosing a Spirit plan that offers a one-time deductible you’ll only pay once

Spirit plan choice: Pinnacle PPO

Ready to find the best affordable dental insurance plan for your needs? Get a quote from Spirit today!

Choosing a dentist

Choosing dental insurance also requires choosing a dentist. If you live in a densely populated area, chances are you have a lot of dentists who accept various plans. If you’re in a rural area, your options are fewer—but you still have dental insurance options.  

One of the first questions we ask is if you have a preferred dentist you’d like to see. The next step is to see if that dentist is in-network with our plans.

Spirit has PPO dental insurance plans that work best if your dentist participates in our Ameritas Dental Network. You’ll automatically receive reduced rates on your care. The Ameritas Dental Network is one of the largest in the nation, with over 135,000 providers and 607,000 access points.

If your dentist is not in-network, you can switch to an in-network dentist or choose our Flex plans, which offer more coverage out-of-network. Our PPO plus indemnity dental insurance Spirit Flex plans operate to give you both PPO benefits and better out-of-network coverage.

Spirit has plans for individuals, families and seniors

With a Spirit Dental plan, you'll get:

• No waiting periods
• Next-day effective dates
• PPO benefits of 25-50% in-network savings
• A $100-lifetime deductible
• High annual max coverage up to $5,000
• Major services covered on day one
• Bundle vision coverage for only $7 with access to EyeMed providers

If you’re shopping for an individual dental plan, or student dental insurance, Spirit offers easy access to care with affordable coverage options. We cover all your needs with plans like our low-cost Preventive Plus PPO plan or our max-value Pinnacle PPO plan.

Family dental plans from Spirit plan cover your entire family ensuring that every member of your household can receive the preventive care that will keep their smile bright and radiant.

It's important for seniors to maintain their dental health, but limited budgets can often prevent them from getting the necessary coverage. With Spirit, you won’t run into any age limits, and you can enjoy guaranteed acceptance with our senior dental insurance plans.

If you are searching for dental insurance for your small business or are an entrepreneur in need of self-employed dental insurance, Spirit has you covered for that too. 

Which Spirit Dental plan is right for you?

Oral health is vital to overall health and well-being. Dental insurance provides a clear roadmap for ensuring your smile stays healthy and happy. We hope our guide on how to choose dental insurance will help you assess your oral health situation, plan for future needs, compare costs and find the best dental insurance plan for you and your loved ones.

Shop Spirit Dental plans today and feel confident your smile is secured from day one of coverage.