In the United States, dental insurance is not compulsory and is not part of the requirements for coverage under Obamacare. As much as 36% of Americans do not have dental insurance coverage, and many of them wouldn’t know where to start to obtain coverage. It’s likely that not having dental insurance stops people from visiting the dentist for regular cleanings and routine maintenance, thus paving the way for potentially serious dental problems down the road. It might help to know some basic facts about dental care and coverage so that getting the best insurance for your needs is easier and more cost-effective.

When enrolling in marketplace health insurance, many health insurance packages include coverage for visits to the dentist. Services performed during these visits are often classified as ‘preventative’, and they’re generally covered by the premiums paid for packaged healthcare insurance. For some dental procedures - especially those involving surgery or reconstruction - insurance coverage percentages may be much lower. It’s not uncommon to have dental insurance coverage that pays 100% of preventative visits (after copay) and 50% of elective surgery, implants, reconstruction or anything above and beyond routine cleaning and x-rays.

The alternative to packaged healthcare insurance is stand-alone dental insurance. Insurance providers who offer strictly dental insurance coverage offer their service as a supplement to other forms of coverage like vision or catastrophic coverage. Even though families and individuals both have ongoing needs for dental care, their levels of coverage and the services that are covered won’t need to be the same for everyone. Generally, there are two types of dental insurance coverage available, whether it is through a packaged or stand-alone provider: low premium/high deductible, or low deductible/high premium. More expensive, costlier dental procedures are better managed with higher premium/lower deductible insurance coverage, because the net total out-of-pocket costs for the patient are lower.

It’s better to be proactive about dental care than to wait for something to happen before seeing a dentist. The CDC states that roughly 27% of adults aged 20-44 have untreated cavities, and without proper dental attention, those cavities can become much more expensive than a simple filling. Taking the right steps to ensure you or your family have adequate dental insurance coverage doesn’t have to be a headache - a little research goes a long way, and the right coverage for you is well within reach.