Dental Insurance with No Waiting Period: The 6 Affordable Plans of 2021

Dental insurance with no waiting period means that individuals can obtain insurance coverage for dental procedures without waiting. If you do not have any waiting period, you can register for a dental insurance plan and begin receiving treatment the day it begins. 

Many insurance companies offer dental insurance with no waiting period, but some charge high monthly payments and have low annual coverage limits.

We’re here to help you navigate the overpriced plans and find the best dental insurance with no waiting period for your budget and oral health needs.

What is the Waiting Period for a Dental Insurance Plan

Dental insurance waiting periods are the number of days you need to wait before your plan covers a specific treatment. The length of your waiting period can range from 30 days to over a year, depending on the particular program.

The waiting period will typically be shorter for essential services (like fillings and non-surgical extractions) and more extended for primary services (like crowns, root canals, or bridges). Most dental insurance programs have no waiting period for preventive care treatments. This type of insurance includes routine cleanings, X-rays, exams, and fluoride treatments.

Why do Dental Procedures have Waiting Periods?

Waiting periods prevent individuals from enrolling in a plan, receiving coverage for necessary treatments, and dropping their coverage. Many insurance providers claim that the waiting period provisions help keep premium costs low for everyone.

What is the Affordable Dental Insurance with No Waiting Period?

Dental insurance with no waiting period allows individuals to receive coverage for preventive, essential, and primary dental services—as well as orthodontics in some circumstances—without having to wait a single day. These policies are ideal for patients who have been putting off dental care due to financial constraints or who need a major dental procedure.

The best dental programs with no waiting period have low insurance premiums, high annual benefit limits, and an extensive network of doctors to choose from. We looked all over the market for these policies and found six affordable premiums with great benefits that you can start using immediately.

The 6 Cheapest Dental Insurance Plans for 2021 with No Waiting Period

• Humana provides the best dental plan among other companies.
• Denali Dental offers the most reasonable preventive care.
• UnitedHealthcare has the best basic coverage.
• Ameritas is the best for orthodontics.
• MetLife is the best option for veterans.
• Spirit Dental offers the best primary dental insurance.

1) Humana

Why Did We Choose It?

Humana has the most diverse dental insurance options with no waiting period. It provides three different dental plan options. When we combine these factors with low deductibles, low premiums, and a comprehensive network of providers, in our analysis, this insurer is the best overall option.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros:

• Some plans have no waiting period for all covered services.
• There are three different plan types to choose from.
• Two hundred seventy thousand dentists are part of the network.

Cons: 

• Coinsurance is higher than some competitors.
• Orthodontic treatments are not fully covered.

Overview

Humana provides no waiting period with five of its eight dental programs, and the benefits and options available are among the best in the Marketplace. Those who need coverage right away can choose from an HMO, PPO, or dental discount plan, all of which have the lowest premiums.

Humana’s Preventive Health and Dental Loyalty Plus plan provide PPO coverage, and we were offered reasonable rates. Preventive Value Health plan is for people who only need preventive and primary dental care, whereas Dental Loyalty Plus includes major service coverage. Preventative services are covered in full by both plans. Both dental insurance policies pay for 100% of the preventive care facilities. The preventive services covered standard two cleanings and physical exams per year. 

Coinsurance rates for basic and primary services vary, but they decrease with time if you stay with the Dental Loyalty Plus. For example, you need to pay for 80% of essential services like root canals and implants in the first year, but only 50% in the third year. None of these PPO plans cover orthodontic treatment.

The Dental Value plan from Humana is an HMO with no deductibles or annual maximum. Finally, Dental Savings Plus is a low-cost dental discount plan with a monthly fee of only $6.99. It’s worth noting that this isn’t like traditional dental insurance because it doesn’t cover routine services like cleanings and checkups. Instead, the program offers discounts ranging from 20% to 40% when you visit one of the 260,000 participating oral healthcare locations. This includes a 20% cashback on orthodontic treatment, which is better than insurance premiums offered by expensive dental insurance plans.

2) Denali Dental

In our review, Denali Dental is one of the best preventive care providers because it covers more preventive facilities than any other company. This means you can get your teeth checked up to four times per calendar year with just one policy.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros

• Every year, you’ll get four cleanings and two exams.
• Low deductible throughout your life
• Maximum annual payment of $6,000

Cons 

• It has expensive premiums
• Coinsurance rates are high.
• The Ridge’s lower-cost plans do not cover orthodontics.

Overview

Denali Dental offers dental insurance with no waiting period, including four cleanings per year, more than any other service provider. The two dental plans— Summit and Ridge—are priced differently depending on the location where you live. You can get a quote on the Denali Dental insurance plan through our website.  

Each dental policy honors a $100 to $ 200-lifetime deductible, unlike other providers that reset their insurance deductibles every year. Denali Dental also reduces coinsurance payments and raises annual maximums with each year of coverage, with services reaching their full potential in the fifth year. For example, yearly maximums range from $750 to $1,200 in the first year to $2,500 to $6,000 in the fourth year. You’ll have to pay 70% to 90% coinsurance for basic and primary services in the first year, but this drops to 40% by the fourth year. 

The Summit or Ridge policies cover 100% of preventive care, so your four annual deep cleanings will be free of charge. 

3) UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is the best option for basic dental coverage, with multiple affordable options that cover all of your essential dental needs. Most UnitedHealthcare dental insurance policies have no waiting period for these services and have low coinsurance rates that decrease each year you stay with the provider. 

Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros: 

• Affordable monthly insurance premiums
• Essential services have low coinsurance fees.
• There’s no waiting period for preventive coverage, and it’s often free.

Cons:

• Some plans have a six-month waiting period for primary services.
• Only one orthodontics plan is available.
• Major services are not fully covered.

Overview

Even with good oral health and routine preventive care, most individuals need essential dental services like fillings. If you need dental insurance to cover these treatments and don’t want to wait six months to a year for coverage, we recommend UnitedHealthcare. Seven of the provider’s ten dental insurance plans have no waiting period for primary and preventive services.  

UnitedHealthcare has a variety of dental plans to choose from. Many cover essential services, but with a six-month wait time in most cases. Nevertheless, only one plan covers orthodontics, and coverage does not begin until 12 months after the plan starts.

Coinsurance rates are reasonable for preventive and primary services. Most policies cover 100 percent of preventative treatments from the start, and out-of-pocket expenses go down each year for all other benefits. Furthermore, many plans charge 50% of basic service costs in the first year, 35% by the following year, and 20% in the third year. 

4) Spirit Dental

Spirit Dental is the best option for basic coverage, as it provides eight dental insurance plans with no waiting period and low premium rates for most services. Diverse plan options can help you find the right balance between premium costs, annual maximum values, and out-of-network flexibility.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros: 

• There is no waiting period for any of the covered procedures.
• A $100 one-time deductible is required.
• It has a $5,000 annual limit on dental plans.

Cons:

• Orthodontic treatment has a high out-of-pocket cost.
• Monthly premiums are costly.
• The terms are less favorable in the first year of coverage.

Overview

No one wants to think about getting essential dental treatment, such as implants, crowns, or anesthetic procedures. However, having an insurance policy covering these costly treatments can provide financial peace of mind.

You can apply for this dental plan through medicareleads.com.

Each plan has a single $ 100-lifetime deductible, and annual maximums range from $750 to $5,000. You can decide between in-network and out-of-network dental coverage, but the latter will cost more per month.

One disadvantage is that, even though there is no waiting period for primary services, the policy will only cover 10% to 25% of the cost of these procedures for the first year, which then increases to 50% to 65% in the third year of coverage. Nonetheless, this is in line with or more reasonable than the coverage rates offered by competitors.

5) Ameritas

Ameritas offers the best orthodontic terms, with no waiting periods and premium rates starting at 85% but declining to 50% after a year, making it the best company for orthodontia in this review.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros: 

• There are no waiting periods for dental care services on insurance plans, including orthodontics.
• All programs provide Orthodontic coverage.
• You will have a high level of coverage after one year.

Cons: 

• Orthodontics has a lifetime limit of $1,000.
• Plans with lower premiums are only available through in-network providers. 

Overview: 

Finding the dental insurance plan covering orthodontics can be difficult, and those that do probably come with two-year waiting periods. Ameritas has no waiting periods for orthodontic services, and out-of-pocket costs are only 50% after the first year of coverage. Orthodontic procedures have a lifetime maximum of $1,000, standard for most dental insurance policies.

Ameritas dental plans follow the same coinsurance rate schedule for other types of care. Preventive facilities are covered entirely with a yearly limit of two physical exams and cleanings. Essential services have a 35 percent coinsurance rate for the first year and a 20 percent rate after that, whereas primary services have an 80 percent coinsurance rate for the first year and a 50 percent rate for the following years. 

Ameritas policies have a $50 annual deductible and a $1,000 or $2,000 annual maximum depending on the dental plan. Half of them only allow you to see in-network dentists, while the other half allows you to select any dentist you want—though it’s worth noting that Ameritas has one of the largest dental provider networks in the country.

6) MetLife

If you receive VA health benefits, MetLife’s VADIP dental insurance policies offer no waiting period (excluding orthodontia), and other benefits for veterans make it one of the best dental insurance companies.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Pros: 

• It is available for veterans and their dependents.
• This plan offers 490,000 provider network access points.
• It has an annual maximum of $3,500 

Cons:

• You only get a veteran’s dental plan if you are a member of the VA health care program 
• There are only two policy options. 
• Orthodontic treatment has a 24-month waiting period.

Overview

MetLife insurance company has waiting periods for most of its policies, but the Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) waives them for retired service members. These dental policies are available to any veteran enrolled in the VA health care program, and they come in two levels of coverage: High and Basic. A single veteran will pay around $28.89 and $33.80 for the standard plan, whereas $61.14 and $71.53 per month for the high program. 

The standard plan always has a $50 deductible. Furthermore, the deductible is only applicable out of network for the high dental plan. Annual maximums range from $1,000 to $3,500 depending on the program and whether or not you’re in-network. The programs cover 100% of preventive care, 50% to 70% of essential services, and 30% to 50% of primary services when used in-network. Orthodontics is only provided under the high coverage plan at a rate of 50%, with a 24-month waiting period. On the other hand, other services do not have any waiting period. 

MetLife is a global insurance company working since 1868 and offers a wide range of insurance products. AM Best has given the business an A+ (Superior) rating, indicating solid financial strength. MetLife’s dental network for veterans has over 490,000 locations, making it one of the country’s largest dental insurance companies.

The graph below will assist you in comparing the dental insurance plans provided by these health insurance companies.

Is there Dental Insurance with No Waiting Period?

Yes! As mentioned above, most insurance companies have no waiting period for dental insurance plans. DHMO plans typically have waiting periods, whereas most dental discount plans do not. It’s crucial to check with your dental insurance administrator to see if any waiting periods apply. 

What Is the Right Dental Insurance Plan for You with No Waiting Period?

There isn’t a single dental plan that works best for everyone with so many coverage options. New Medicare makes it simple to compare full-coverage dental insurance plans with no waiting period from various providers to find the best plan for you. So what are you waiting for? Compare dental plans and enroll right away!