Dental Insurance

Finding an NHS dentist is not easy these days, since many now only operate private clinics. Once you do find one you even have to pay for routine dental care and may find yourself on a long waiting list, as the dentists tend to be overstretched and not taking on new patients. Eligibility for free NHS treatment requires you to be either under 18, pregnant (up to when the child is 12 months old) or receiving benefits. Some patients pay the first 80% of the cost, usually up to a maximum of several hundred pounds.

If you do register with a dentist but fail to make an appointment for 15 months then your registration with that dentist may be discounted and the practice may choose to omit you from their register.

It is unfortunate that around 50% of the UK population do not have their teeth checked regularly and the result if around 10% of the population visit the dentist with some form of tooth ache. As dental bills increase year on year, many people choose to take out dental insurance plans to cover the expense of their care. There are various types of insurance cover available, restrictions on items that may be claimed and certain items that are excluded.

What are dental insurance plans?
In return for annual or monthly premiums, you will receive a dental insurance policy. Typically this can cover individuals as well as families as a whole.

What do dental insurance plans cover?
Dental insurance policies vary greatly from insurer to insurer. Some provide a range of policies and some provide different choices as to the cover available as part of the policy. As you might expect there is a wide variance in the price of the premiums and the cover offered from each policy but generally the more you pay for your premium the greater the available cover and care options available.

There are some policies available that provide financial assistance for the cost of NHS dental treatment. The majority of dental insurance policies provide cover for the costs of private treatment and to cover preventative, minor and major restorative dental treatments. Some policies also provide options for cover in emergencies, accidents and treatment when you are overseas.

Most plans have a clear list of limitations and provide a maximum limit on the amount of money that will be paid out for each type of treatment and a total yearly amount of cover for one particular type of treatment, such as routine check ups and X-rays.

How much does dental insurance cost?
This depends on the insurer, the type of policy and the scale of cover that you choose. It is worth obtaining a number of quotations for dental insurance to compare and find the dental plan that best suits you or your family.

Are there any special restrictions?
Insurance policies typically require you to have good healthy teeth without the immediate need for treatment. UK dental insurance policies will usually require some proof that you visit the dentist on a regular basis and ask your dentist to complete a form that you have no outstanding work that needs to be completed on the teeth

What is excluded?
Most dental insurance policies are different and scale of cover varies from policy to policy, but typically they do not cover:

• cosmetic treatment
• orthodontic treatment
• dental implants
• sports injuries (where no mouth guard has been worn)

Dental insurance: Cover for children
Under the NHS, children in the UK get free NHS dental treatment but this can be limited to certain dental procedures. NHS dentists offer treatment to children but any private dentists previously providing free NHS treatment to children, have discontinued this since April 2006.

Finding a dentist that will offer NHS treatment to your child at a time and location that is convenient for both parent and child is not tat easy and NHS treatment tends to focus on treatment rather than preventive measures.