Dental insurance may not always be a part of the primary health insurance plan, making it an additional insurance policy one has to purchase. A good plan covers preventive care, basic care, and major dental services. While the fine print, the categorization of the services, and what is and is not covered can vary from one plan to another, here are a few pros and cons of dental insurance:

Advantages
1. Covers basic dental care
Just like any insurance policy, one pays a premium for dental insurance, which in turn partially or fully covers the costs of basic dental care for an individual or a family. Basic dental services refer to non-surgical and straightforward services and include restorative work for damage that has already happened. For example, a comprehensive dental insurance plan may cover diagnostic X-rays, fillings, extractions, emergency dental care, scaling, and root planing.

2. Covers preventive dental care
Preventive care refers to dental services necessary to maintain good oral health. If one has young kids and seniors in the family, getting a dental insurance plan could come in handy to cover things like oral examinations, cleanups, X-rays, and dental sealants.

3. Covers expensive procedure s
Major dental services, such as surgical procedures, implants, and braces, can be covered by a dental insurance plan. Some of these procedures may take many months and require periodic checkups and maintenance, making them expensive. As most dental insurance plans offer 50% coverage for such major services, they can considerably reduce out-of-pocket expenses on getting crowns, bridges, impacted tooth extraction, dental surgeries, braces, retainers, and invisible aligners.

4. Can be customized
One can customize their dental plan based on their requirements. This helps one save money by reducing the premium, which would otherwise take into account unnecessary services.

Disadvantages
1. Limited options while choosing dentists
Not all dentists accept insurance. While choosing a plan, one should review the list of dentists provided by the issuer. Then, one should choose a plan that is accepted by their preferred dentist.

2. Limited coverage
While most plans follow the 100-80-50 coverage structure, i.e., they pay 100% for preventive care, 80% for basic procedures, and 50% for major procedures, not all services will be covered under the plan. For instance, certain plans may not cover dentures, cosmetic dental services, sealants, or implants. Further, the policy may come with a cap on the annual maximum coverage. If the dentist bills one more than the capped annual amount, the policyholder may have to pay it as out-of-pocket expenses.

3. Come with waiting periods
Dental insurance plans may cover about two preventive visits per year. They may also have coverage limits on services like X-rays and repeated procedures like fillings, crowns, and bridges on the same tooth. Some plans may cover the cost of X-rays only once in three years.

4. May not cover pre-existing conditions
Most plans do not offer coverage for any dental issues one may have before enrolling. So, the treatment costs of such procedures have to be paid out of pocket.

5. Can be expensive if not utilized
Many buy dental insurance to protect against unpredictable expenses. However, if one does not use services like screening and examinations, they will waste money on the policy.