Full Coverage Dental Insurance: What Are The Best Plans and Costs?

Full coverage dental insurance provides coverage for preventive services, basic restorative, and major restorative dental services. These plans usually have moderately priced monthly premiums, and they also have deductibles and annual maximums.

In this article, you'll learn more about your options for full-coverage dental insurance, including:

• The cost of full-coverage dental plans
• Best dental insurance that covers everything
• How to find the best plan for you

We hope this information helps you find the best insurance for your needs!

Why should I get dental insurance?

Many Americans wonder why they should pay money for dental insurance. In fact, around 74 million Americans have no dental insurance — largely due to cost, according to the CDC. Dental insurance is an arrangement between you and an insurance company wherein you pay a monthly fee and in exchange, they will help you cover your dental expenses.

It's important to have some way to help you pay for your dental work because even if you don't go to the dentist regularly and don't have any oral health issues, you never know when you might need treatment.

That's what insurance is really all about; because you pay a monthly fee, it's there whether you need it or not, and when you do need it, you'll be happy you have it.

What is full coverage dental insurance?

Full coverage dental insurance will help cover preventive, basic, and major restorative dental treatment, and it may even provide coverage for braces or Invisalign. That means that this insurance will help you cover the costs for everything from routine cleaning to crowns, bridges and even implants.

But beware: What full coverage dental insurance won't do is cover 100% of your treatment costs — there's no type of insurance that will do that.

What will full coverage dental insurance cover?

In theory, full coverage dental insurance will provide coverage for all of the dental treatments you need, including teeth cleanings, fillings, root canals, bridges, etc.

So it typically covers the following:

• Preventive services: Teeth cleaning, routine checkups, routine x-rays, fluoride treatments and sometimes sealants. These services often have 100% coverage (excluding copay) under dental insurance, depending on the type of plan.
• Basic restorative servies: Fillings, root canals, panoramic x-rays and extractions
• Major resorative services: Crowns, bridges, dentures, and sometimes implants
• Orthodontics: Braces and other devices like headgear; may include Invisalign

Full coverage dental insurance cost

The cost for full coverage dental insurance will vary depending on the type of plan you choose, but there are some basic costs that you will find throughout plan options. Let's have a look at them now:

• Annual maximum: The maximum is the cap that insurance providers put on the amount they will pay for your treatment. After an insurance company has paid the maximum (usually from $1,000 to $2,000) then you have to pay 100% of the remaining costs.
• Annual deductible: Your deductible is the minimum amount that you have to pay out of pocket before your insurance pays for your dental work.
• Copay: This is a set dollar amount that you pay at the time of your visit.
• Waiting period: This is a period of time that usually ranges from 6 to 12 months. The waiting period begins when your insurance begins. During the waiting period, you don't have coverage for most standard procedures beyond preventive care. Waiting periods tend to be longer, up to 2 years, for major restorative services.
• Co-insurance: Once you meet your deductible, then your insurance policy kicks in to help you pay. However, that doesn't mean that they will cover all costs. Instead, they tend to pay a percentage of the costs that are still left. Co-insurance usually ranges from 20% to 80%.

You can compare the best plans in your area now! Enter your zip code and DOB below to get your free quote.

Types of full coverage dental plan

There are various types of dental insurance plans, all of which have options that can be considered full coverage. You'll need to take a close look at how each type of plan works so that you can choose the one that best fits your budget and your treatment needs.

Dental PPO plan

A dental PPO plan is one in which you have a specific network of providers, and if you go outside of that network you will pay more for your treatment.

This type of plan also has the following features:

• Coinsurance and an annual deductible
• 100% coverage for preventive care in network
• You don't have to choose a primary care dentist

This is one of the most popular types of full coverage dental plans. As we mentioned above, most of your preventive care, including routine exams, cleanings and x-rays are paid for 100%, although you may have to pay a copay when you go in for your visit.

And you can keep your costs lower for other procedures by staying in-network for your treatment.

Dental HMO plan

HMOs are generally more affordable, because they usually don't have deductibles, and services that go beyond preventive care have a set fee.

Here are some of the main features:

• 100% coverage for preventive care
• Must choose a primary care dentist
• No coverage for out of network dentists

Costs are kept lower with HMO plans because the dentists within the network work together to keep the costs down. There is also no maximum for services, meaning that you won't be left paying for your treatment out of pocket once you've hit the $2,000/year mark.

You could interpret that to mean that this kind of plan may be more popular if you know you're going to need expensive procedures down the line.

Dental indemnity plan

An indemnity plan is the plan that offers the most freedom because you don't have to see dentists in-network, and you don't have to choose a primary care dentist. Here are some of the other main features:

• Has an annual deductible and coinsurance
• More expensive than other plans
• No referrals to see specialists needed

People who want more freedom in which dentists and specialists they can see, and who don't mind paying more for their dental plan, may be interested in dental indemnity.

Dental EPO plan

With an EPO plan, you must go to a provider within the network. No out-of-network costs will be covered, including emergency services. These types of plans usually have lower monthly premiums. They also give you the option to choose between seeing a primary care dentist or going directly to specialized care.

Dental POS plan

A POS plan lets you see out-of-network dentists, but you are encouraged to stay in-network with lower costs. You also must choose a primary care dentist, and to see a specialist you will need a referral. These plans tend to have higher deductibles, premiums and copays in exchange for the greater freedom they provide.

Best full-coverage dental insurance

Our top picks for full-coverage dental insurance are:

• Humana Extend (2500 and 5000)
• NCD 3000 and 5000

Both of these companies offer plans with high annual maximums and coverage for major restorative services including dental implants, with no waiting period as long as you've had prior dental coverage — and NCD even includes partial prior coverage.

But ultimately, it's up to you, or you and your insurance broker if you have one, to figure out which plan is the best for you. Below we've compared all of our top picks for plans that offer full coverage.

The premiums below are just an example. Your costs will vary depending on your age and the state you live in.

If you want to get started comparing dental insurance plans like the ones in the table above, you can go to DentalInsurance.com.

Just enter your zip code and date of birth, and you can use this online marketplace to browse a wide range of plans available in your state. You can also call 888-626-0057 to speak to one of their helpful licensed agents.

You can also read more about the best plans offered in each state by choosing your state from the dropdown list below:

Dental savings plans for full coverage

There's another type of dental plan that offers full coverage, but it's not an insurance plan. Instead, it's called a dental savings, or dental discount plan. These are similar to dental insurance plans, but there are some important differences.

With a dental savings plan, you pay a yearly membership fee, and in return, you receive discounted treatment. With savings plans, there is no deductible, no annual maximum, and no waiting period. Plus, the discounts apply to all of the treatments available, including orthodontic and cosmetic treatments.

In this short video, you can see an insurance agent explaining the differences between the two options:

Some people prefer discount plans to insurance plans, but it really depends on your preferences and needs.

If you'd like to find a dental savings plan, you can get started by going to Dentalinsurance.com. In addition to being a dental insurance marketplace, they also let you browse a vast range of dental savings plans in your area.

Conclusion

If you're looking for dental insurance that covers everything, you'll have plenty of options to choose from. Many dental plans offer coverage for preventive, basic restorative and major restorative services. You can read more about the best dental insurance for crowns with no waiting period as well

However, keep in mind that full coverage dental insurance plans may offer coverage for all services, but they won't pay for everything. These also aren't the most affordable plans — if you're looking for these, you can read our article about cheap dental insurance.

Also make sure to verify how long the waiting period is for certain services you may need. For example, most insurance plans have a 12-month waiting period for more expensive restorative services, but no waiting plan for basic preventive services like routine cleanings and checkups.

Look closely at the details of plans before you sign on, to ensure that it provides coverage for the treatment you need. If it doesn't, you may want to consider getting a supplemental dental insurance plan too.

You can start looking for dental insurance with full coverage now by going to Dentalinsurance.com.

FAQs

What is the best full coverage dental insurance?

The best full coverage dental insurance offers coverage for preventive care, basic and major restorative dental services. In some cases, it might offer orthodontic coverage as well.

Is there any dental insurance that covers everything?

You can find a dental plan that covers everything, or at least one that provides partial coverage for everything. What you won't find is a plan that covers 100% of costs for all treatments.

How much is full coverage dental insurance?

Full coverage dental insurance costs will vary, depending on where you live and your age, and what plan you choose. Premiums usually aren't that high, ranging from $40 to $70.