Find the Best Dental Insurance in Kansas City

How to choose dental insurance in Kansas City

About 3 of every 4 Americans have dental insurance, and a majority who have coverage get it through an employer or group plan, according to the National Association of Dental Plans. Others get dental benefits through public programs.

If your employer doesn’t offer dental benefits and you don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, it’s still possible to buy a plan through the private market.

The dental benefits marketplace includes both dental insurance and dental savings plans. Each reduces your out-of-pocket costs for dental services, but the similarity ends there.

	Dental insurance	Dental savings plan
Cost	Higher; paid in monthly premiums	Lower; annual or monthly fee
Who pays for services?	Both you and insurance company	You
Can you visit any dentist?	Depends on type of plan	No
Deductible	Yes	No
Copay/coinsurance	Yes	No
Annual maximum	Yes	No
Waiting period	For some services	No

A common type of dental insurance policy is a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan, in which the insurer will cover preventive services (e.g., exams, cleanings, routine X-rays) at 100 percent and basic (e.g., fillings, pain relief) and major (e.g., crowns, root canals, dentures) services at 80 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

An annual deductible will apply for basic and major services. In a PPO plan, you can visit any dentist, but the services will cost less if you stay in the insurer’s network.

Dental insurance in Kansas City can also be a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan, which costs the least but requires you stay in network, or an indemnity plan, which lets you choose any dentist but includes no network-negotiated discounts.

Before you enroll in dental insurance in Kansas City, find out if there is a waiting period for certain services. Preventive care is often available immediately, but a policy might require you to wait six months to a year before you can use other benefits.

One advantage of a dental savings plan is that it typically has no waiting periods. You get a membership by paying an annual fee, then get discounts on services at participating dentists. But members are responsible for 100 percent of the service costs.

How much is dental insurance in Kansas City?

The cost of dental insurance in Kansas City depends on whether you are insuring just yourself or others and the type of coverage you want. For an individual, a plan may range from $10 - $50 per month; for a family of four, it costs $50 - $150 per month.

Dental savings plans in Kansas City are usually cheaper than dental insurance. An individual plan can cost between $100 - $200 per year, and a family plan, $150 - $300.

When choosing dental benefits, think about your dental needs over the course of a year and how much you can afford to spend out of pocket. Make sure you understand the terms of the insurance or savings plan fully before you sign up; if you have questions, ask a company’s customer service team.