Dental Insurance
Dental is inexpensive to add and heavily used, which makes it one of the strongest per-dollar retention benefits an employer can offer.
Who it is for
Employers who want a benefit employees notice immediately, and individuals whose medical plan does not include adult dental.
- The line HR hears about most
- Used twice a year, problems or not
- High perceived value per benefits dollar
- Often voluntary, costing the employer nothing beyond payroll deduction
- Employers adding dental to a new or existing group program
- Groups moving dental to a voluntary, employee-paid basis
- Families with children heading toward orthodontia
- Individuals and retirees buying dental on their own
What is covered
Dental plans are built in tiers, and the tiers are where the money is. A typical design looks like this – the exact percentages, maximum and waiting periods vary by plan.
| Tier | Typical services | How it usually pays |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive | Exams, cleanings, x-rays, fluoride, sealants | Often covered in full in network, frequently without touching the deductible |
| Basic | Fillings, simple extractions, periodontal treatment | Coinsurance after the deductible |
| Major | Crowns, bridges, dentures, root canals, oral surgery | A lower coinsurance share, sometimes after a waiting period |
| Orthodontia | Braces and aligners, often children only | A separate lifetime maximum where the rider is included |
DPPO
- The most common design
- Any dentist – pay less in network
- Negotiated fees limit covered-service billing
DHMO and indemnity
- DHMO: lower cost, assigned network dentist only
- Indemnity: pays a schedule, no network
- Fit specific groups well, most groups badly
How AIS helps
- Network check first. The most expensive dental plan is the cheap one your employees' dentists do not accept. We check the network in your ZIP codes before quoting.
- The three numbers that matter. Annual maximum, deductible and major-service coinsurance – we compare those side by side instead of on premium alone.
- Waiting periods. Some plans make employees wait six or twelve months for major work. We flag it, and where the group qualifies we look for takeover credit that waives it based on prior coverage.
- Orthodontia decisions. Whether the rider is worth the rate load for your specific census, rather than as a default.
- Enrollment and service. Dental is enrolled, terminated and serviced through the same AIS service desk as the rest of your program.
Common questions
Dental insurance FAQ
Ask us anything specific about your census at casula@aisinsuranceinc.com.
Yes – voluntary dental is very common: the employer sets up payroll
deduction and employees who want the plan pay for it, usually still at group
rates well below individual pricing. Carriers apply participation minimums, which
we check before quoting.
Dental insurance is designed as a cost-sharing benefit rather than catastrophic
protection, so most plans cap what they pay per person per year. Raising the
maximum raises the rate, so the right level depends on how much major work your
population is likely to need.
On most DPPO plans in-network preventive care is covered at or near 100% and
often does not count against the deductible – but it usually does count against
the annual maximum, and frequency is limited, typically to two cleanings a year.
Only if the plan includes an orthodontia benefit, which is generally a separate
lifetime maximum and frequently limited to dependent children. Treatment already
in progress when the plan starts is often excluded, so tell us if that applies.
Many carriers will give takeover credit for time served under the prior plan,
so employees are not restarted on major-service waiting periods. It is not
automatic – it has to be negotiated at quote stage, which is part of what we do.
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