Maintaining your pet’s pearly whites is essential for their overall health. Inadequate dental care can cause issues such as periodontal (gum) disease or lead to severe health problems and excruciating pain, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Pet insurance policies often cover costs resulting from a pet’s dental issues, but not all do, so make sure you look at dental benefits when comparing plans.
What’s Covered Under Pet Dental Insurance?
Dental coverage can be found within pet medical insurance policies. Coverage varies by insurer, but there are typically two pet dental coverage categories: dental accidents and dental illnesses. Pet insurance companies may cover both dental accidents and illness and provide reimbursement for dental problems, such as:
- Crowns
- Damaged teeth
- Gingivitis
- Gum disease
- Root canals
- Stomatitis
- Teeth removal
Make sure to look at the policy’s rules for dental accidents and illnesses. There can be major variations to what the dental insurance portion may cover. Here are a few examples:
- Embrace covers dental accidents up to policy limits and dental illnesses up to $1,000 per year.
- Pets Best covers periodontal disease for pets age 3 and older as long as a teeth cleaning was completed in the previous 13 months under general anesthesia and there were no signs or symptoms of periodontal disease. Pets age 2 and under do not require teeth cleaning to have periodontal coverage.
- Trupanion pet insurance plans include coverage for dental illness and accidents if your pet has an annual dental exam and you follow your veterinarian’s recommended dental care.
What Isn’t Covered Under Dental Pet Coverage?
Here are common dental exclusions found in pet insurance:
- Cosmetic, endodontic, or orthodontic services such as caps, implants and filings.
- Routine dental care such as teeth cleaning.
- Pet pre-existing conditions that occurred before coverage began.
Cost of Pet Dental Treatment
The average cost of pet dental treatment for periodontal disease is $1,050, according to claims data from Spot pet insurance. Periodontal disease accounts for more than half (58%) of Spot’s pet dental claims. The average cost to treat a fractured tooth is $950 and the average cost to treat gingivitis is $770, which account for 16% and 5% of Spot’s pet dental claims, respectively.
Pet Dental Care Costs
How to Find Affordable Pet Dental Care
You can save on pet dental care by shopping around, making sure you use preventive services and finding the right plan for you. Here are ways to keep down a pet’s dental care.
Shop for a Pet Insurance Policy
Pet insurance policies vary, so you want to make sure you’re reading the fine print to find the right plan for you. That includes understanding what an insurance policy covers.
Once you figure out if pet insurance is worth it in your situation, decide what you want from a pet insurance policy. Do you want a lower-cost policy that only covers preventive care? Do you want one that only covers accidents? Or would you rather have one that helps out with both illnesses and accidents?
Once you figure that out, you can narrow your choices and find the pet insurance plan that works best for you. A good place to start is the best cheap pet insurance companies.
Practice Preventive Care
Many pets show early signs of periodontal disease once they reach age 3, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. As they age, it’s essential to take preventative measures so dental conditions don’t worsen or end up affecting their kidney or liver functions.
“While many dental specialists commonly recommend an annual dental cleaning, consult with your vet and see if they will conduct a dental assessment instead. This way, you and your vet can review best practices for taking care of your pet’s dental health such as brushing or chews and assess if a cleaning or X-ray is warranted due to the condition of your pet’s teeth,” says Dr. Shawna Garner, chief veterinary officer at GuardianVets.
Consider a Pet Insurance Wellness Plan
Adding a wellness plan to a pet insurance policy will increase the cost but can offset the expense of dental cleanings (averaging from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000, depending on your location).
Consider CareCredit
CareCredit offers a credit card that you can use for routine vet appointments, emergency pet care and many surgeries and treatments. You can also save 5% on a Pets Best policy if you have a CareCredit card.
Not all vets accept CareCredit, so make sure your provider accepts the card before signing up.
Set Savings Aside
Every pet insurance plan has a deductible and a co-insurance percentage that you must pay. Setting money aside when possible can make your veterinarian bills more manageable.
Does Pet Dental Insurance Have Any Waiting Periods?
All pet insurance companies have a waiting period, which is the specified period of time before your coverage kicks in. Many pet insurers have separate waiting times for accidents and illnesses. For example, Pets Best pet insurance has a 3-day waiting period for dental accidents such as a broken tooth and a 14-day waiting period for illnesses such as gingivitis.
Pet Dental Accident and Illness Waiting Periods by Company
Is Pet Dental Insurance Worth It?
A good way to determine if pet dental insurance is worth it is to consider how a major veterinary dental bill would impact your personal finances versus the yearly cost of a pet insurance policy. For example, a tooth extraction for a dog could cost anywhere between $150 to $1,500 per tooth. Without pet dental insurance, you would have to pay this amount out of pocket.
Broken down further:
- Premiums: Let’s assume you’ve been paying for $5,000 in annual coverage for a medium-sized mixed breed dog at about $564 per year, for three years. That’s $1,692 so far in premiums.
- A major dental expense: Then your dog suffers a dental illness that results in an extraction of three teeth and costs $3,500 in vet bills. If you have a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level, your out of pocket cost for the treatment would be $900 ($250 deductible + 20% of $3,250 = $900).
- The result: Adding up the premiums for three years and what you paid towards pet dental expenses, you’ve paid $2,592. Without pet insurance, you would have paid $3,500 for the treatment. You’ve avoided paying $908 by having pet insurance.
