If you have a family with children, it can be a good idea to purchase dental insurance coverage. However, you will need to see what the definition of “family” is and how much you pay for each member of the family. Some plans define family as a single unit, while others charge extra for each member. Dental insurance can be a good deal either way, but you need to know this information in order to do an accurate price comparison. If you are single, and don’t have a lot of dental needs, it may be better to just pay costs out of pocket.

One of the first things you will need to look at other than cost is who the dentists are on the dental insurance plan. Some plans (especially the lower cost plans) are highly restrictive on the dentists that are preferred providers on their dental insurance plan. If you must have a certain dentist, then you may want to ask them what plans they accept rather than trying to search through all of the plans to see if they cover your dentist.

There are basically three types of dental claims: preventative, basic, and major. Preventative care (cleaning, fluoride, and x-rays) is generally covered fully or at least a large percentage by the insurance company. They figure if you keep your teeth healthy you won’t need to make other claims. Basic care covers things like cavities, extractions, etc. and only a percentage is covered. On major dental care, like a root canal or a crown, you may only get a small percentage of coverage if anything at all.

Shop carefully and see if you would be better off putting your money in the bank or in a dental plan.