Some people think of dental insurance as an unnecessary expense, while others would like to have it but feel that they can't afford it. Most of the people that currently DO have dental insurance, have it as an employee sponsored benefit.

When it comes to deciding how much to pay for dental insurance, you should first assess your needs. For people with good oral health that are only needing a routine cleaning or exam, the cost of dental insurance is not likely to be worth it. However, for people needing multiple extractions, bridges, surgeries, or cosmetic work and parents of children that may need orthodontics, dental insurance can be a blessing that absorbs a great deal of these costs.

When you are thinking of purchasing dental insurance that is not offered through an employee benefits package, sit down and make a list of all your family's dental needs, and examine the costs involved with each procedure. Your family's budget and how much you can afford to spend on dental insurance should also be taken into consideration.

Dental insurance may not be as costly as some people might think, but it can still be an unnecessary expense if the cost of the needed exams and procedures are actually less than the annual cost of insurance.

$87 (for a family of 4), $50 deductibles for any procedures (cleanings are free 2 x per year per person). Then everything is covered at 80%, we pay the other 20%, but this is of the “agreed upon rate” with BCBS of GA – not what they charge everyone else which is about 25% less to begin with. They only cover 1/2 of braces and only on children.

I’ve done the math and with 4 people having 2 cleanings a year we’re paying a little extra – but all 4 years we’ve had it we’ve had 1 or 2 other little things and it has ended up saving us money (especially the years we have x-rays done) . I’ve been pretty happy with it other than the fact that the main pediatric dental group in metro atlanta (the one with 13 or so locations) will not take BCBS of GA unless you pay at the time of service and then they charge $25 more than the agreement with BCBS.

If your employer provides dental insurance, or at least partial insurance, I'm guessing that could end up being a pretty good deal. However, in general, I'm not an advocate of dental insurance at all.

Insurance is supposed to cover expensive costs that, if incurred, would cause extreme financial hardship. For example, if you lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in a house fire, that would be a serious problem for most people. If you have a solid net worth though, you probably don't even need collision insurance on your cars. Insurance is a very profitable industry, so if you can afford to pay cash for an unexpected expense, it's probably best to keep the money in your pocket.

As I understand it, dental work can only get so expensive. Most procedures don't ever run more than a few thousand dollars. If you're thinking of getting non-employer funded insurance, I think you'll save money overall by just paying cash for everything whenever you need dental work.