Supplemental Coverage

Dental Insurance, with Vision and Hearing You Can Add

Original Medicare pays for almost none of it — no routine dental, no eyeglasses, no hearing aids. A dental policy is what fills that gap, and vision and hearing can be added to the same policy. Here is how it works, where a Medicare Advantage plan may already cover you, and what to look at before you pay a second premium for anything.

Price it and buy it yourself Call (424) 295-0627

Buy it yourself

You can price this and buy it today, without us

Each link below goes straight to that company’s own enrollment page, already set to this agency. It answers the two questions this page cannot — whether the plan is sold in your state, and what it would cost at your age — and you can enroll there and then if you like what you see. It takes a couple of minutes.

Manhattan LifeSee your price and apply NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance CompanySee your price and apply Spirit Dental & VisionSee your price and apply

Nothing changes for you if you would rather we did it with you: the price is the same either way, because our commission is paid out of the company’s filed rate whichever route you take. Call (424) 295-0627 and we will sit and compare them with you. If you would rather know what the plans actually cover before you price anything, that is set out company by company further down.

Read this first

This is not Medicare, a Medicare Supplement policy or a Medicare Advantage plan. It is separate insurance with its own premium, its own rules and its own limits.

Why people buy it

The problem it solves

Original Medicare does not cover routine dental care, routine eye exams for glasses, eyeglasses, contact lenses, or hearing aids and the exams to fit them. That is not an oversight anybody can appeal; it is how the programme was written. A set of dentures, a pair of progressive lenses and a pair of hearing aids are, for most people, three of the largest health costs of retirement, and all three arrive with no insurance behind them.

There are real exceptions and they are the part people are most often told wrongly, so they are worth knowing before you buy anything. Medicare does cover cataract surgery, and after it, one pair of eyeglasses or one set of contact lenses. It covers an annual glaucoma screening if you are at high risk, and an annual eye exam for diabetic retinopathy. It covers a diagnostic hearing or balance exam when a doctor orders it to work out treatment, and since 2023 an audiologist visit once every twelve months without a doctor's order for hearing loss that came on gradually. And it covers dental work that is an integral part of a covered medical procedure. What it does not cover is the routine care — the cleaning, the filling, the crown, the glasses, the hearing aid itself.

How it works

Three things happen, in this order

Dental is the policy. Vision and hearing are added to it

This is the first thing to understand, because it is not how the market is usually described. What you buy here is a dental policy. The vision and hearing coverage described on this page is an option you add to that policy — you may take one, both or neither, but they attach to the dental coverage rather than standing on their own. If hearing aids are the reason you are reading this page, what you are looking for is a dental policy with the hearing option added, and it is better to know that now than at application. There is no hearing-only plan here and, as far as we can see, not much of one anywhere.

Vision is the exception, and it now has its own page

For a long time the honest answer was that vision could not be bought on its own either. That changed: we can now place a standalone vision plan, underwritten by VSP Vision Care, that does not attach to a dental policy and does not need one. If glasses are the only thing you want covered, our vision insurance page is where to go rather than buying dental you do not want. The vision option described further down this page is a different thing from a different company, and it still attaches to the dental policy.

If you are choosing a Medicare Advantage plan anyway, look there first

Many Medicare Advantage plans include a dental allowance, and where a plan includes one it comes as part of the plan rather than as a separate premium you pay for dental. Which plans include it, and how much they allow, depends on the plan and on the county you live in — it is not part of Medicare and it is not the same everywhere. But if you are shopping for a plan, that is the cheapest dental coverage you will ever be offered, because it rides on a plan you were going to take regardless. We are contracted to place those plans, and checking what the ones in your county actually include costs you nothing.

Then look at where that allowance stops

A plan's dental allowance is capped, and a crown, a bridge or a set of dentures can pass the cap in a single course of treatment. It generally runs through the plan's own network, too, which may or may not include the dentist you have been going to for years. A standalone dental policy is what covers the work above the cap, or the dentist outside the network. Plenty of people hold both on purpose, and that is a sensible thing to do — it is only wasteful when the plan allowance already covers everything you use.

You do not have to be on Medicare to buy one

A dental policy is ordinary insurance, not a Medicare product, and it is not age-gated the way Medicare is. If you retired early, went self-employed, are between jobs or simply lost dental coverage when you left an employer, you can buy this at any age and none of the Medicare discussion above applies to you at all.

It pays a share of each service, and the share goes up as you hold it

Rather than covering everything above a deductible, these policies pay a percentage of each kind of work — most of preventive care, less of basic work, least of major work — up to an annual maximum you choose at application. On most of the plans set out below the percentage on basic and major work rises after the first year, which is the single most important thing to understand about buying one: it rewards holding the policy before you need it. A crown is covered from the day the policy starts, but in the first year it is covered at the first-year percentage, and on some designs that is a tenth of the bill.

Waiting periods, and which of these have none

A waiting period is a different thing again: it means the policy pays nothing at all for that kind of work until a set number of months have passed. It is worth checking separately from the percentages, because the plans here do not treat it the same way. Most of them have none — the Manhattan Life policy carries one only on orthodontia, and most of the NCD plans say benefits are payable immediately from the start date. Two do not. The Value plan pays nothing for major work in the first year, and says so in its own schedule; and on the Elite plans major work waits twelve months in New York and Connecticut. Read the plan you are actually buying, in the state you are actually in: where a waiting period exists, work you already know is coming will not be covered if you buy the month before.

Implants and orthodontia are where these policies differ most

They are the two most expensive things a dentist does, and they are the two most often left out. None of the plans below pay for orthodontia at any age. Implants are a genuine split: the Manhattan Life policy covers them within its major services, four of the eight NCD plans schedule them subject to an annual implant limit of their own, the two NCD Bright plans exclude implantology outright, and two more — Value and Essentials — do neither, so their documents simply do not answer the question and this page says so rather than guessing. If implants are what you are planning, that decides which of these you should be looking at and it is worth saying so at the start of the conversation.

Honest fit

Who this suits, and who it does not

The second list matters more than the first. An agent who only writes the first one is selling, not advising.

Worth considering if…

You are on Original Medicare with no dental coverage at all, and you know work is coming — a crown, a bridge, dentures.
Your Medicare Advantage plan has a dental allowance, but it runs out before your dental work does.
You want to keep the dentist you already have, rather than move to whoever is in a plan's network.
You wear hearing aids, or you have been putting them off because of the cost, and you are willing to take the dental policy the hearing option attaches to.
You are not on Medicare yet — retired early, self-employed, or between jobs — and you have lost the dental coverage you used to have.
You are a veteran who never enrolled in VA health care, or a federal retiree on a deferred annuity. The government dental programmes are closed to you, which surprises a lot of people; this is not.
You want cover that starts paying something straight away rather than making you wait months for it, and you accept that the share paid on major work starts low and climbs.
You are looking at implants. Four of the eight NCD plans below schedule them, each with an annual implant limit of its own, and one of those carries no third-year wait on the implant benefit. Two more say nothing either way, and this page says which is which.

Probably not for you if…

You need major work done next month and you are expecting the policy to pay most of it. Most of these plans pay for major work from the day the policy starts — but at the first-year percentage, which on several of them is a tenth of the bill, and on the Value plan is nothing at all until year two. Buying the month before a crown is rarely the bargain it looks like, and we would rather tell you that than sell you one.
You want vision or hearing coverage on its own. There is no such policy here — both attach to a dental policy, and if you do not want the dental coverage there is nothing for us to write.
You are expecting it to pay the whole bill. It pays toward a schedule of services up to an annual maximum, which is real money and is not the same thing as being covered.
Your Medicare Advantage plan's dental allowance already covers everything you use. Paying a second premium for a benefit you are not going to reach is the most common way money is wasted in this corner of the market.

Companies

Who we can place this with

Darin is appointed with each of these companies and can place coverage with any of them. We do not represent every insurer, and which company suits you depends on your age, your state, your health history and which benefits you actually want. Where a carrier's benefits are described on this page, those details come from that carrier's own current brochure.

Manhattan Life

Dental, Vision and Hearing Select

Every benefit below is transcribed from ManhattanLife Dental, Vision and Hearing Select brochure DVHS-NVBR 0525 (Nevada edition). Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Choose the policy year maximum Included
The maximum the policy pays in a policy year is chosen at application: $1,000, $1,500, $3,000 or $5,000.
Choose the deductible Included
$0 or $100 per person for the policy year. The deductible does not apply to preventive services.
Preventive services Included
Dental exams twice a year, cleanings twice a year, bitewing X-rays twice a year, and fluoride treatment twice a year for age 16 and under. Paid at 100% of the contracted rate in network, or 80% of usual, customary and reasonable charges out of network.
No waiting period, and the deductible does not apply.
Basic services Included
Limited oral evaluation, diagnostic consultation, emergency palliative treatment, panoramic and periapical X-rays, periodontal and periodontal non-surgical services, basic restorative service, fillings, basic oral surgery and non-surgical extraction. Paid at 65% in the first year and 80% thereafter, of the contracted rate in network or of usual, customary and reasonable charges out of network.
No waiting period.
Major services Included
Major restorative service, inlay, onlay and crown, endodontic service, periodontal service, prosthodontic service and implants. Paid at 20% in the first year and 50% thereafter, of the contracted rate in network or of usual, customary and reasonable charges out of network.
Implants carry a lifetime maximum of $1,500. No waiting period.
All other medically necessary services Included
Services not otherwise listed are paid at 20% in the first year and 50% thereafter, of the contracted rate in network or of usual, customary and reasonable charges out of network.
Orthodontia Included
Straightening of teeth, at any age. Nothing is payable in the first year; from the second year it is paid at 50% in network. Not payable out of network.
Waiting period: 12 months. Lifetime maximum $1,500. This is the only dental service on the policy that carries a waiting period.
Vision rider — exams, lenses and contacts Optional rider
Eye exam, refraction, single, bifocal, trifocal and progressive lenses, and contact lenses. Paid at 60% of usual, customary and reasonable charges in the first year, 70% in the second and 80% thereafter, one per year.
Vision rider — frames and lens options Optional rider
Eyeglass frame to a maximum of $200 per year. Anti-reflective lenses $45, one per year. Polycarbonate lenses $40, one per year. Contact lens fitting fee $15, one per year.
The eyeglass frame benefit carries a 6 month waiting period.
Hearing rider Optional rider
Hearing exam, and hearing aids with necessary repairs or supplies, to a maximum of $750 per ear per year.
Waiting period: 12 months on hearing aids, repairs and supplies. The exam is paid from the same maximum as the aid.
Use any dentist, in network or out Included
Benefits are payable whichever dentist is used. The Careington Maximum Care PPO dental network is optional; using it reduces the charge, which makes the policy year maximum go further.

Does this apply in your state?

Everything set out above is transcribed from the Nevada edition of this company's material — the policy form number carries the state in it. The way the policy is built is the product's, and it is why the design is worth comparing. The exact amounts, the riders on offer and the availability are that state's, and they can differ where you live.

Tell us your state and we will check it and send you the documents that apply to you. Call (424) 295-0627, or use the form at the bottom of this page. You can also check availability yourself on this company's own enrollment page — the links are at the top of this page and again in the costs section below.

Issue ages: Ages 18 to 99. Family rates include up to three children; additional children are charged the age 3 to 17 rate per person.
Underwriting: Guaranteed issue.
Renewability: Guaranteed renewable for life, subject to the company's right to change premiums.
Policy form: AK7034NV. Rider forms AK7034VR, AK7034HR. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Required disclosures from Manhattan Life

This is a Limited Benefit Insurance Policy for Dental, Vision and Hearing Expenses.

This is not a complete disclosure of plan qualifications and limitations. The amounts of benefits provided depend on the plan selected. Premiums will vary according to the selection made.

Not available in all states.

NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

MetLife Value DPO

Every benefit below is transcribed from the NCD dental plan summary NCD-MLValue-DPO (MetLife L1224045512, last updated 8 May 2026). Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Read this first: major work pays nothing in the first year Included
Preventive and basic work are payable immediately from the start date of an individual’s benefits. Major work is not. The summary’s major work heading says benefits start in year 2, and the column agrees with it: major work is paid at 0% in year one, 10% in year two and 25% from year three.
This is the only plan on this page that pays nothing at all for major work in the first year. A crown in month three is yours to pay for in full. Every other plan here covers it from day one, at a low first-year share.
What the plan pays, by type of work Included
Preventive work (Type A) is paid at 100%. Basic work (Type B) is paid at 50% in year one, 65% in year two and 80% from year three. Major work (Type C) is paid at 0% in year one, 10% in year two and 25% from year three. The percentages are the same in network and out.
Even at year three this is the lowest share of major work of any plan on this page. It is built around the cleanings, not the crowns.
The calendar year maximum Included
$750 per person, per calendar year — the smallest annual maximum on this page. That is the most the plan pays in a year, across everything.
The deductible Included
$50 per calendar year, applying to an individual, on basic (Type B) and major (Type C) work. Preventive work is not subject to it.
Type A, preventive — and how often Included
Examinations 1 time in 6 months, with problem-focused examinations combined with the examinations limit. Cleanings 1 time in 6 months. Fluoride 1 time in 12 months for a dependent child under age 14. Bitewing X-rays 1 time in 12 months.
Type B, basic — and how often Included
Sealants 1 per molar in 60 months for a child under age 14. Space maintainers 1 per lifetime for a child under age 14. Full mouth X-rays once in 60 months. Amalgam fillings, 1 replacement per surface in 24 months. Periodontal maintenance, 2 treatments in 1 calendar year, includes 2 cleanings (total comb: 2).
Labs and other tests, emergency palliative treatment, periapical and other X-rays, simple extractions, pulp capping, pulp therapy and resin composite fillings — which here include coverage for composite fillings on molars — carry no specific frequency or age limitation, and all of them sit in basic work rather than major.
Type C, major — and how often Included
Consultations 1 in 12 months. Root canal 1 per tooth per lifetime. Periodontal surgery 1 per quadrant in any 36 month period. Scaling and root planing 1 per quadrant in any 24 month period. Prefabricated crowns, crown buildups and post cores, dentures, fixed bridges, and inlays, onlays and crowns are each 1 per tooth or 1 in 10 calendar years. Denture rebases and relines 1 in 36 months, denture adjustments 1 in 12 months, repairs and recementations 1 in 12 months, tissue conditioning 1 in 36 months, occlusal adjustments 1 in 12 months.
General anesthesia, pulpotomy, apexification and recalcification, soft and connective tissue grafts, non-surgical periodontics, surgical extractions and other oral surgery carry no specific frequency or age limitation. All of it is subject to the year-one exclusion above.
A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered
The first denture fitted to replace one or more teeth that were missing before the insurance started is excluded, as is an implant-supported prosthetic for the same teeth. Congenitally missing natural teeth are the exception.
This is the clause that most often surprises somebody buying dental cover with a gap they already have. Read it before you assume the gap is covered.
No orthodontia, at any age Not covered
Orthodontia services or appliances are excluded, and so is the repair or replacement of an orthodontic appliance. If braces or aligners are what you are looking for, none of these plans pay toward them.
Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included
In network the plan pays its share of the MetLife PDP Plus PPO Network fee the dentist has agreed to accept. Out of network it pays the same share of the Maximum Allowable Charge, which is a schedule MetLife sets — so an out-of-network dentist may charge more than the plan measures its share against, and the difference is yours.
The plan pays the same percentage either way. What changes is the figure the percentage is taken of.

Does this apply in your state?

This company's documents name no states at all. They say the products are not available in all states and leave it there, so we publish no availability claim for them in either direction — we are not going to guess, and a guess is what gets an application declined after you have filled it in.

Confirm these two before you sign

None of these appear in the sales brochure, and each changes what the policy is worth to you. Ask for them in writing, in the policy and the outline of coverage for your state, and do not take our word or anyone else's for it.

Who can buy it, and how long it lasts The eight plan summaries we hold set out what each plan pays and how often. They do not state an issue age, an underwriting question or a renewal term, so nothing about any of those is published here. Ask for the certificate of coverage for your own state before you sign. Where the plans are written is a separate question and it is answered above.
Whether implants are covered at all This summary lists no implant benefit in its schedule, and — unlike the Bright plans — its exclusion list does not exclude implantology either. The document does not answer the question. The agency's own answer, from Darin Weidauer on 24 September 2026, is that only the Complete plan and the Elite plans in this family schedule an implant benefit, and this one does not cover implants. That is our answer and not a line in your summary, so if implants are the work you are planning, get it out of the certificate of coverage in writing before you buy — or look at the plans on this page that schedule them explicitly.

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Dental insurance policies featuring the Preferred Dentist Program are underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY 10166. Like most insurance policies, insurance policies offered by MetLife and its affiliates contain certain exclusions, exceptions, reductions, limitations, waiting periods and terms for keeping them in force. Please contact (800) 485-3855 for costs and complete details. Coverage may not be available in all states.

Negotiated fees refer to the fees that in-network dentists have agreed to accept as payment in full for covered services, subject to any co-payments, deductibles, cost sharing and benefits maximums. Negotiated fees are subject to change.

Payment for out-of-network services is based on the lesser of the dentist’s actual fee or the Maximum Allowable Charge (MAC). The out-of-network Maximum Allowable Charge is a scheduled amount determined by MetLife.

This brochure provides a brief summary of benefits. For a complete listing of benefits, exclusions, and limitations, please refer to the certificate of coverage. In the event of discrepancies contained in this brochure, the benefits, terms, and conditions contained in the certificate documents shall govern.

Products are not available in all states. Please call (800) 485-3855 to verify current state availability.

Services which are not dentally necessary, those which do not meet generally accepted standards of care for treating the particular dental condition, or which we deem experimental in nature. Services for which a covered person would not be required to pay in the absence of dental insurance. Services or supplies received by a covered person before the insurance starts for that person. Services which are neither performed nor prescribed by a dentist except for those services of a licensed dental hygienist which are supervised and billed by a dentist and which are for scaling or polishing of teeth or fluoride treatment. Services which are primarily cosmetic. (For residents of Texas: Services which are primarily cosmetic unless required for the treatment or correction of a congenital defect of a newborn child).

Services or appliances which restore or alter occlusion or vertical dimension. Restoration of tooth structure damaged by attrition, abrasion or erosion unless caused by disease. Restorations or appliances used for the purpose of periodontal splinting. Counseling or instruction about oral hygiene, plaque control, nutrition and tobacco. Personal supplies or devices including, but not limited to: water piks, toothbrushes, or dental floss. Initial installation of a Denture to replace one or more teeth which were missing before such person was insured for Dental Insurance, except for congenitally missing natural teeth. Decoration or inscription of any tooth, device, appliance, crown or other dental work. Missed appointments.

Services covered under any workers’ compensation or occupational disease law. Services covered under any employer liability law. Services for which the association of the person receiving such services is not required to pay. Services received at a facility maintained by the Policyholder, labor union, mutual benefit association, or VA hospital. Services covered under other coverage provided by the Policyholder. Services, to the extent such services, or benefits for such services, are available under a government plan. This exclusion will apply whether or not the person receiving the services is enrolled for the government plan. We will not exclude payment of benefits for such services if the government plan requires that Dental Insurance under the group policy be paid first.

Temporary or provisional restorations. Temporary or provisional appliances. Prescription drugs. Services for which the submitted documentation indicates a poor prognosis. The following when charged by the dentist on a separate basis: Claim form completion; infection control such as gloves, masks, and sterilization of supplies; or local anesthesia, nonintravenous conscious sedation or analgesia such as nitrous oxide. Dental services arising out of accidental injury to the teeth and supporting structures, except for injuries to the teeth due to chewing and biting of food. Caries susceptibility tests. Precision attachments associated with fixed and removable prostheses. Adjustment of a denture made within 6 months after installation by the same dentist who installed it. Duplicate prosthetic devices or appliances. Replacement of a lost or stolen appliance, cast restoration or denture. Intra and extraoral photographic images. Fixed and removable appliances for correction of harmful habits.

Appliances or treatment for bruxism (grinding teeth), including but not limited to occlusal guards and night guards. Treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder. This exclusion does not apply to residents of Minnesota. Orthodontia services or appliances. Repair or a replacement of an orthodontic appliance. Implant Supported Prosthetics to replace one or more teeth which were missing before such person was insured for Dental Insurance, except for congenitally missing natural teeth

NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

MetLife Bright DPO — plans 1000 and 1500

Every benefit below is transcribed from the NCD dental plan summaries NCD-MLBright1000-DPO and NCD-MLBright1500-DPO (MetLife L0225046671 and L0225046670, last updated 7 May 2026). Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Nothing waits. Benefits start the day the cover does Included
Preventive, basic and major work are all payable immediately from the start date of an individual’s benefits. There is no waiting period on any of the three, which is unusual in this market and is the main reason to look at this plan at all.
What rises instead is the share the plan pays. A crown is covered from day one — at the first year percentage.
What the plan pays, by type of work Included
Preventive work (Type A) is paid at 90% in year one and 100% from year two. Basic work (Type B) is paid at 50% in year one, 60% in year two and 70% from year three. Major work (Type C) is paid at 10% in year one and 20% from year two. The percentages are the same in network and out.
Major work at 10% in the first year means the plan pays a tenth of it. This design rewards holding the plan before the work arrives.
Choose the calendar year maximum Included
$1,000 or $1,500 per person, per calendar year. That is the most the plan pays in a year, across everything.
The deductible Included
$100 per calendar year, applying to an individual, on basic (Type B) and major (Type C) work. Preventive work is not subject to it.
Type A, preventive — and how often Included
Examinations 2 times in 12 months (1 every 6 months). Problem-focused examinations are combined with the examinations limit. Cleanings 2 times in 12 months (1 every 6 months).
Type B, basic — and how often Included
Fluoride 1 time in 12 months for a dependent child under age 14. Bitewing X-rays 1 time in 12 months. Sealants 1 per molar in 60 months for a child under age 14. Space maintainers 1 per lifetime for a child under age 14. Amalgam fillings, 1 replacement per surface in 24 months. Emergency palliative treatment, labs and other tests, and general services carry no specific frequency or age limitation.
Resin composite fillings are covered, but the plan excludes coverage for composite fillings on molars — so a white filling at the back of the mouth is not paid for on this plan.
Type C, major — and how often Included
Root canal 1 per tooth per lifetime. Periodontal surgery 1 per quadrant in any 36 month period. Scaling and root planing 1 per quadrant in any 24 month period. Periodontal maintenance, 2 periodontal treatments in 1 calendar year, includes 2 cleanings (total comb: 2). Full mouth X-rays once in 60 months. Consultations 1 in 12 months. Crowns, crown buildups and post cores, prefabricated crowns, inlays and onlays, fixed bridges and dentures are each 1 per tooth or 1 in 10 calendar years. Denture rebases and relines 1 in 36 months, denture adjustments 1 in 12 months, repairs and recementations 1 in 12 months, tissue conditioning 1 in 36 months, occlusal adjustments 1 in 12 months.
Pulp capping, pulp therapy, pulpotomy, apexification and recalcification, general anesthesia, periapical and other X-rays, non-surgical periodontics, soft and connective tissue grafts, simple and surgical extractions and other oral surgery carry no specific frequency or age limitation.
No implants on this plan Not covered
Implantology, including repairs, is excluded outright. If implants are the work you are planning, this is the wrong plan in this family — the Elite and Complete plans below cover them and this one does not.
A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered
The first denture fitted to replace one or more teeth that were missing before the insurance started is excluded, as is an implant-supported prosthetic for the same teeth. Congenitally missing natural teeth are the exception.
This is the clause that most often surprises somebody buying dental cover with a gap they already have. Read it before you assume the gap is covered.
No orthodontia, at any age Not covered
Orthodontia services or appliances are excluded, and so is the repair or replacement of an orthodontic appliance. If braces or aligners are what you are looking for, none of these plans pay toward them.
Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included
In network the plan pays its share of the MetLife PDP Plus PPO Network fee the dentist has agreed to accept. Out of network it pays the same share of the Maximum Allowable Charge, which is a schedule MetLife sets — so an out-of-network dentist may charge more than the plan measures its share against, and the difference is yours.
The plan pays the same percentage either way. What changes is the figure the percentage is taken of.

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm this one before you sign

This does not appear in the sales brochure, and it changes what the policy is worth to you. Ask for it in writing, in the policy and the outline of coverage for your state, and do not take our word or anyone else's for it.

Who can buy it, and how long it lasts The eight plan summaries we hold set out what each plan pays and how often. They do not state an issue age, an underwriting question or a renewal term, so nothing about any of those is published here. Ask for the certificate of coverage for your own state before you sign. Where the plans are written is a separate question and it is answered above.

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Dental insurance policies featuring the Preferred Dentist Program are underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY 10166. Like most group benefits programs, benefit programs offered by MetLife and its affiliates contain certain exclusions, exceptions, waiting periods, reductions, limitations and terms for keeping them in force. You may be financially responsible for copayments, deductibles, or any other amounts in excess of those MetLife is required to pay for covered services as described in your dental certificate and/or policy. Ask your MetLife representative for costs and complete details.

Products are not available in all states. Please call (800) 485-3855 to verify current state availability.

Implantology, including repairs. Appliances or treatment for bruxism (grinding teeth), including but not limited to occlusal guards and night guards. Treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder. This exclusion does not apply to residents of Minnesota. Orthodontia services or appliances. Repair or a replacement of an orthodontic appliance. Implant Supported Prosthetics to replace one or more teeth which were missing before such person was insured for Dental Insurance, except for congenitally missing natural teeth

NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

MetLife Essentials DPO

Every benefit below is transcribed from the NCD dental plan summary NCD-MLEssentials-DPO (MetLife L1224045514, last updated 8 May 2026). Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Nothing waits. Benefits start the day the cover does Included
Preventive, basic and major work are all payable immediately from the start date of an individual’s benefits, with no waiting period printed against any of the three.
What the plan pays, by type of work Included
Preventive work (Type A) is paid at 100%. Basic work (Type B) is paid at 65% in year one, 80% in year two and 90% from year three. Major work (Type C) is paid at 10% in year one, 50% in year two and 60% from year three. The percentages are the same in network and out.
That is the same share schedule as the Complete plan below, for a smaller annual maximum and an ordinary yearly deductible.
The calendar year maximum Included
$2,000 per person, per calendar year.
The deductible Included
$50 per calendar year, applying to an individual, on basic (Type B) and major (Type C) work. Preventive work is not subject to it.
Three cleanings and three examinations a year, not two Included
Examinations 3 times in 1 calendar year and cleanings 3 times in 1 calendar year, with problem-focused examinations combined with the examinations limit. Periodontal maintenance is 3 treatments in 1 calendar year, includes 3 cleanings (total comb: 3).
Worth real money to somebody under periodontal care, who is usually told to come in more often than twice a year.
Type A and Type B — what else is in them, and how often Included
Preventive (Type A) also covers fluoride 1 time in 12 months for a dependent child under age 14 and bitewing X-rays 1 time in 12 months. Basic (Type B) covers sealants 1 per molar in 60 months for a child under age 14, space maintainers 1 per lifetime for a child under age 14, full mouth X-rays once in 60 months, and amalgam fillings, 1 replacement per surface in 24 months.
Labs and other tests, emergency palliative treatment, periapical and other X-rays, simple extractions, pulp capping, pulp therapy and resin composite fillings — which here include coverage for composite fillings on molars — carry no specific frequency or age limitation, and all of them sit in basic work rather than major.
Type C, major — and how often Included
Consultations 1 in 12 months. Root canal 1 per tooth per lifetime. Periodontal surgery 1 per quadrant in any 36 month period. Scaling and root planing 1 per quadrant in any 24 month period. Prefabricated crowns, crown buildups and post cores, dentures, fixed bridges, and inlays, onlays and crowns are each 1 per tooth or 1 in 10 calendar years. Denture rebases and relines 1 in 36 months, denture adjustments 1 in 12 months, repairs and recementations 1 in 12 months, tissue conditioning 1 in 36 months, occlusal adjustments 1 in 12 months.
General anesthesia, pulpotomy, apexification and recalcification, soft and connective tissue grafts, non-surgical periodontics, surgical extractions and other oral surgery carry no specific frequency or age limitation.
A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered
The first denture fitted to replace one or more teeth that were missing before the insurance started is excluded, as is an implant-supported prosthetic for the same teeth. Congenitally missing natural teeth are the exception.
This is the clause that most often surprises somebody buying dental cover with a gap they already have. Read it before you assume the gap is covered.
No orthodontia, at any age Not covered
Orthodontia services or appliances are excluded, and so is the repair or replacement of an orthodontic appliance. If braces or aligners are what you are looking for, none of these plans pay toward them.
Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included
In network the plan pays its share of the MetLife PDP Plus PPO Network fee the dentist has agreed to accept. Out of network it pays the same share of the Maximum Allowable Charge, which is a schedule MetLife sets — so an out-of-network dentist may charge more than the plan measures its share against, and the difference is yours.
The plan pays the same percentage either way. What changes is the figure the percentage is taken of.

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm these two before you sign

Who can buy it, and how long it lasts The eight plan summaries we hold set out what each plan pays and how often. They do not state an issue age, an underwriting question or a renewal term, so nothing about any of those is published here. Ask for the certificate of coverage for your own state before you sign. Where the plans are written is a separate question and it is answered above.
Whether implants are covered at all This summary lists no implant benefit in its schedule, and — unlike the Bright plans — its exclusion list does not exclude implantology either. The document does not answer the question. The agency's own answer, from Darin Weidauer on 24 September 2026, is that only the Complete plan and the Elite plans in this family schedule an implant benefit, and this one does not cover implants. That is our answer and not a line in your summary, so if implants are the work you are planning, get it out of the certificate of coverage in writing before you buy — or look at the plans on this page that schedule them explicitly.

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Products are not available in all states. Please call (800) 485-3855 to verify current state availability.

Temporary or provisional restorations. Temporary or provisional appliances. Prescription drugs. Services for which the submitted documentation indicates a poor prognosis. The following when charged by the dentist on a separate basis - Claim form completion; infection control such as gloves, masks, and sterilization of supplies; or local anesthesia, nonintravenous conscious sedation or analgesia such as nitrous oxide. Dental services arising out of accidental injury to the teeth and supporting structures, except for injuries to the teeth due to chewing and biting of food. Caries susceptibility tests. Precision attachments associated with fixed and removable prostheses. Adjustment of a denture made within 6 months after installation by the same dentist who installed it. Duplicate prosthetic devices or appliances. Replacement of a lost or stolen appliance, cast restoration or denture. Intra and extraoral photographic images. Fixed and removable appliances for correction of harmful habits.

NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

MetLife Elite DPO — plans 1500, 3000 and 5000

Every benefit below is transcribed from the NCD dental plan summaries NCD-MLElite1500-DPO, NCD-MLElite3000-DPO and NCD-MLElite5000-DPO (MetLife L4796199, L4796184 and L4796156, last updated 6 May 2026). Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Nothing waits — except major work in New York and Connecticut Included
Preventive, basic and major work are all payable immediately from the start date of an individual’s benefits. The one exception the summaries print is major work (Type C) in New York and Connecticut, where a 12 month waiting period applies.
What the plan pays, by type of work Included
Preventive work (Type A) is paid at 100%. Basic work (Type B) is paid at 80%. Major work (Type C) is paid at 10% in year one and 50% from year two onward. The percentages are the same in network and out.
Preventive and basic work do not ramp up on this design the way they do on the Bright plans. Major work still does.
Choose the calendar year maximum Included
$1,500, $3,000 or $5,000 per person, per calendar year.
The deductible Included
$50 per calendar year for an individual and $150 per calendar year for a family, on basic (Type B) and major (Type C) work. Preventive work is not subject to it.
Implants are covered, from the third year, inside their own annual limit Included
Implant services become available in year 3, at 1 per tooth position in 60 months. Implant repairs are 1 per tooth in 12 months and an implant-supported prosthetic is 1 per tooth in 84 months. The implant calendar year maximum is $750 on the 1500 plan, $1,500 on the 3000 plan and $2,500 on the 5000 plan.
That implant maximum is an inside limit — it sits within the plan’s calendar year maximum rather than on top of it, so implant work draws down the same pot as everything else.
Type A, preventive — and how often Included
Examinations 2 times in 12 months. Problem-focused examinations 1 time in 12 months. Cleanings 2 times in 12 months. Fluoride 1 time in 12 months for a dependent child under age 14. Bitewing X-rays 1 time in 12 months for a child under 19, and 1 time in 12 months for an adult.
Type B, basic — and how often Included
Sealants 1 per molar in 36 months for a child under age 14. Space maintainers 1 per lifetime for a child under age 14. Full mouth X-rays once in 36 months. Amalgam fillings, 1 replacement per surface in 24 months. Labs and other tests, emergency palliative treatment, periapical X-rays, other X-rays, simple extractions and resin composite fillings carry no specific frequency or age limitation.
Resin composite fillings here include coverage for composite fillings on molars, which the Bright plans exclude. Simple extractions sit in basic work on this design rather than in major.
Type C, major — and how often Included
Consultations 2 in 12 months. Root canal 1 per tooth per lifetime. Periodontal maintenance, 2 periodontal treatments in 1 calendar year; includes 2 cleanings (total comb: 2). Periodontal surgery 1 per quadrant in any 36 month period. Scaling and root planing 1 per quadrant in any 24 month period. Prefabricated crowns, crown buildups and post cores, fixed bridges, inlays, onlays and crowns are each 1 per tooth in 84 months. Dentures 1 in 60 months, rebases and relines 1 in 36 months, denture adjustments 1 in 6 months. Repairs and recementations 1 in 12 months, tissue conditioning 1 in 36 months, occlusal adjustments 1 in 12 months.
General anesthesia, pulpotomy, pulp capping, pulp therapy, apexification and recalcification, soft and connective tissue grafts, non-surgical periodontics, surgical extractions, other oral surgery and general services carry no specific frequency or age limitation.
A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered
The first denture fitted to replace one or more teeth that were missing before the insurance started is excluded, as is an implant-supported prosthetic for the same teeth. Congenitally missing natural teeth are the exception.
This is the clause that most often surprises somebody buying dental cover with a gap they already have. Read it before you assume the gap is covered.
No orthodontia, at any age Not covered
Orthodontia services or appliances are excluded, and so is the repair or replacement of an orthodontic appliance. If braces or aligners are what you are looking for, none of these plans pay toward them.
Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included
In network the plan pays its share of the MetLife PDP Plus PPO Network fee the dentist has agreed to accept. Out of network it pays the same share of the Maximum Allowable Charge, which is a schedule MetLife sets — so an out-of-network dentist may charge more than the plan measures its share against, and the difference is yours.
The plan pays the same percentage either way. What changes is the figure the percentage is taken of.

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm this one before you sign

Who can buy it, and how long it lasts The eight plan summaries we hold set out what each plan pays and how often. They do not state an issue age, an underwriting question or a renewal term, so nothing about any of those is published here. Ask for the certificate of coverage for your own state before you sign. Where the plans are written is a separate question and it is answered above.

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Group dental plans featuring the Preferred Dentist Program are provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY Like most group benefits programs, benefit programs offered by MetLife and its affiliates contain certain exclusions, exceptions, waiting periods, reductions, limitations and terms for keeping them in force. You may be financially responsible for copayments, deductibles, or any other amounts in excess of those MetLife is required to pay for covered services as described in your dental certificate and/or policy. Ask your MetLife representative for costs and complete details.

Negotiated fees refer to the fees that in-network dentists have agreed to accept as payment in full for certain services, subject to any co-payments, deductibles, cost sharing and benefits maximums. Negotiated fees are subject to change. Negotiated fees do not apply to non-covered services in states that prohibit limitations for services not covered under a plan. Participating providers in these states may charge their non-negotiated fees for non-covered services.

Products are not available in all states. Please call (800) 485-3855 to verify current state availability.

Services covered under any workers’ compensation or occupational disease law. Services covered under any employer liability law. Services for which the employer of the person receiving such services is not required to pay. Services received at a facility maintained by the Policyholder, labor union, mutual benefit association, or VA hospital. Services covered under other coverage provided by the Policyholder. Services, to the extent such services, or benefits for such services, are available under a government plan. This exclusion will apply whether or not the person receiving the services is enrolled for the government plan. We will not exclude payment of benefits for such services if the government plan requires that Dental Insurance under the group policy be paid first.

Temporary or provisional restorations. Temporary or provisional appliances. Prescription drugs. Services for which the submitted documentation indicates a poor prognosis. The following when charged by the dentist on a separate basis - Claim form completion; infection control such as gloves, masks, and sterilization of supplies; or local anesthesia, nonintravenous conscious sedation or analgesia such as nitrous oxide. Dental services arising out of accidental injury to the teeth and supporting structures, except for injuries to the teeth due to chewing and biting of food. Caries susceptibility tests. Precision attachments associated with fixed and removable prostheses. Adjustment of a denture made within 6 months after installation by the same dentist who installed it. Duplicate prosthetic devices or appliances. Replacement of a lost or stolen appliance, cast restoration or denture. Intra and extraoral photographic images. Fixed and removable appliances for correction of harmful habits.

NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

MetLife Complete DPO

Every benefit below is transcribed from the NCD dental plan summary NCD-MLComplete-DPO (MetLife L1224045513, last updated 8 May 2026). Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Nothing waits. Benefits start the day the cover does Included
Preventive, basic and major work are all payable immediately from the start date of an individual’s benefits, with no waiting period printed against any of the three.
A $10,000 calendar year maximum Included
$10,000 per person, per calendar year, of which $3,000 is the calendar year implant maximum within the plan maximum. It is the largest annual maximum of the six plans here by some distance.
The implant figure is an inside limit, not an extra one — implant work draws down the same $10,000.
The deductible is a lifetime one, not a yearly one Included
$100, once, for as long as you hold the plan — the summary calls it a $100 Lifetime Deductible, applying to an individual. Every other plan on this page charges its deductible again each calendar year.
What the plan pays, by type of work Included
Preventive work (Type A) is paid at 100%. Basic work (Type B) is paid at 65% in year one, 80% in year two and 90% from year three. Major work (Type C) is paid at 10% in year one, 50% in year two and 60% from year three. The percentages are the same in network and out.
Three cleanings and three examinations a year, not two Included
Examinations 3 times in 1 calendar year and cleanings 3 times in 1 calendar year, with problem-focused examinations combined with the examinations limit. Periodontal maintenance is 3 treatments in 1 calendar year, includes 3 cleanings (total comb: 3).
Worth real money to somebody under periodontal care, who is usually told to come in more often than twice a year.
Implants are covered, up to $3,000 a year Included
Implant services are 1 per tooth position in 10 calendar years, with a $3,000 calendar year maximum within the $10,000 plan maximum. Implant repairs are 1 per tooth in 12 months and an implant-supported prosthetic is 1 per tooth in 10 calendar years.
There is no third-year wait on this plan’s implant benefit, unlike the Elite plans.
Type A and Type B — what is in them, and how often Included
Preventive (Type A) also covers fluoride 1 time in 12 months for a dependent child under age 14 and bitewing X-rays 1 time in 12 months. Basic (Type B) covers sealants 1 per molar in 60 months for a child under age 14, space maintainers 1 per lifetime for a child under age 14, full mouth X-rays once in 60 months, and amalgam fillings, 1 replacement per surface in 24 months.
Labs and other tests, emergency palliative treatment, periapical and other X-rays, simple extractions, pulp capping, pulp therapy and resin composite fillings — which here include coverage for composite fillings on molars — carry no specific frequency or age limitation, and all of them sit in basic work rather than major.
Type C, major — and how often Included
Consultations 1 in 12 months. Root canal 1 per tooth per lifetime. Periodontal surgery 1 per quadrant in any 36 month period. Scaling and root planing 1 per quadrant in any 24 month period. Prefabricated crowns, crown buildups and post cores, dentures, fixed bridges, and inlays, onlays and crowns are each 1 per tooth or 1 in 10 calendar years. Denture rebases and relines 1 in 36 months, denture adjustments 1 in 12 months, repairs and recementations 1 in 12 months, tissue conditioning 1 in 36 months, occlusal adjustments 1 in 12 months.
General anesthesia, pulpotomy, apexification and recalcification, soft and connective tissue grafts, non-surgical periodontics, surgical extractions and other oral surgery carry no specific frequency or age limitation.
A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered
The first denture fitted to replace one or more teeth that were missing before the insurance started is excluded, as is an implant-supported prosthetic for the same teeth. Congenitally missing natural teeth are the exception.
This is the clause that most often surprises somebody buying dental cover with a gap they already have. Read it before you assume the gap is covered.
No orthodontia, at any age Not covered
Orthodontia services or appliances are excluded, and so is the repair or replacement of an orthodontic appliance. If braces or aligners are what you are looking for, none of these plans pay toward them.
Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included
In network the plan pays its share of the MetLife PDP Plus PPO Network fee the dentist has agreed to accept. Out of network it pays the same share of the Maximum Allowable Charge, which is a schedule MetLife sets — so an out-of-network dentist may charge more than the plan measures its share against, and the difference is yours.
The plan pays the same percentage either way. What changes is the figure the percentage is taken of.

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm this one before you sign

Who can buy it, and how long it lasts The eight plan summaries we hold set out what each plan pays and how often. They do not state an issue age, an underwriting question or a renewal term, so nothing about any of those is published here. Ask for the certificate of coverage for your own state before you sign. Where the plans are written is a separate question and it is answered above.

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Products are not available in all states. Please call (800) 485-3855 to verify current state availability.

Temporary or provisional restorations. Temporary or provisional appliances. Prescription drugs. Services for which the submitted documentation indicates a poor prognosis. The following when charged by the dentist on a separate basis - Claim form completion; infection control such as gloves, masks, and sterilization of supplies; or local anesthesia, nonintravenous conscious sedation or analgesia such as nitrous oxide. Dental services arising out of accidental injury to the teeth and supporting structures, except for injuries to the teeth due to chewing and biting of food. Caries susceptibility tests. Precision attachments associated with fixed and removable prostheses. Adjustment of a denture made within 6 months after installation by the same dentist who installed it. Duplicate prosthetic devices or appliances. Replacement of a lost or stolen appliance, cast restoration or denture. Intra and extraoral photographic images. Fixed and removable appliances for correction of harmful habits.

Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood, Tennessee, an Aetna company

Protection Series — Dental, Vision and Hearing Flex, and Dental Flex

Every benefit below is transcribed from the Aetna Protection Series Dental, Vision and Hearing Flex and Dental Flex outlines of coverage CLIDF08350NV (Nevada edition), for policy form CLIDVHF24NV, and from the Aetna Dental, Vision and Hearing Flex consumer flyer CLIDF08409 (©2025 Aetna Inc.), which carries the overview of key coverage options, the Aetna Senior Supplemental Insurance company profile CGFMP08395, which states the A.M. Best rating and its date. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

Read this first: it is conditionally renewable, not guaranteed renewable Included
You have the right to renew by paying the premium. The carrier keeps the right to stop renewing individual dental policies in the jurisdiction the policy was issued in, to stop renewing this policy form there, or to withdraw the plan design from all individual policies there. Any of those ends the policy.
Every other dental policy published on this page is guaranteed renewable, and the Manhattan Life one is guaranteed renewable for life. This is a different promise, in the carrier’s own word, and it is worth understanding before you move a policy you already hold.
Two policies on one form: with vision and hearing, or dental alone Included
Dental, Vision and Hearing Flex covers preventive, basic and major dental services, orthodontia, and vision and hearing services. Dental Flex covers preventive, basic and major dental services only. Both are written on the same policy form and both may be offered with or without a preferred provider organisation for dental expenses.
Here the vision and hearing coverage is part of one of the two policies rather than a rider you bolt on, which is a third shape again — different from the Manhattan Life policy’s riders and from the standalone vision plan on our vision page.
It covers orthodontia, which most of this page does not Included
Orthodontia is one of the four categories the Dental, Vision and Hearing Flex policy covers. What it pays is set by the schedule of benefits issued with the policy.
None of the NCD plans on this page pay anything toward braces or aligners at any age. If orthodontia is why you are shopping, this is the one to ask about — and ask for the schedule, because this outline does not give the amount.
What is not covered: the dental exclusions Not covered
Impacted wisdom teeth. Occlusal, athletic and night guards. Treatment of disturbances of the temporomandibular joint, unless mandated by state law. Anything done because of abrasion, attrition, bruxism, erosion or abfraction. Preventive root canal therapy. Full mouth debridement. Surgical trays or sutures. Ridge preservation, augmentation, bone grafts and regeneration procedures in edentulous sites. Overdentures and precision attachments. Space maintainers and sealants for an insured over the age of 16. Duplicate or temporary appliances. Replacing a lost, stolen or missing appliance or prosthetic device. Oral hygiene instruction, plaque control and diet instruction. Orthodontic treatment begun before the insured person became covered under that section.
Impacted wisdom teeth is the one that catches people, and it is not a usual exclusion — read it against the other policies on this page if that work is in front of you.
And the missing tooth rule Not covered
The initial placement of a prosthetic crown, appliance or fixed partial denture is not covered unless the placement is needed because of the extraction of one or more teeth while the insured person is covered under the contract — and the extraction of a wisdom tooth does not qualify. The appliance must include the replacement of the extracted tooth.
Every dental policy on this page has a version of this clause. It is the single most common reason a bridge or denture claim is refused, and it turns on when the tooth came out, not on when you bought the policy.
What the policy will not pay for at all Not covered
Anything not listed as an eligible expense in the schedule of benefits, or not prescribed or performed by or under the direct supervision of a dentist, physician or provider. Anything not medically necessary, except teeth whitening services. Experimental or investigational procedures. Anything performed by a member of your immediate family. Charges in excess of the reasonable and customary charge. Treatment or diagnosis received outside the territorial limits of the United States. On-the-job or job-related illness or injury, or anything payable by workers’ compensation. Prescription drugs. Telephone consultations, missed appointments, X-ray copy fees and claim form completion. Ancillary charges including a hospital or ambulatory surgical centre, or use of provider office space. Local, state and federal taxes except where the law requires the carrier to pay them. Membership fees for a retail centre an affiliate or open access provider office sits in — and the outline says insured persons may be required to buy such a membership as a condition of getting benefits. Claims filed more than one year after the work was completed, unless it was not possible to submit proof of loss in time.
Two limits on what the carrier will pay even when it does pay Included
If you move from one dentist to another during a course of treatment, or more than one dentist performs services for a single eligible expense, the carrier is liable only for what would typically have been charged had one dentist done the work. And where you and the dentist choose a more expensive course of treatment than the profession customarily provides, payment is based on the charge allowed for the lesser procedure.
That second one is the alternate benefit clause. It is why a claim on a crown can pay as though a filling had been done.
You cannot hold two of these, and it will not coordinate with anyone else Included
Dual coverage by you, or of a spouse or dependants, under another policy issued by the same carrier is prohibited. And if you have coverage under any other carrier, this one will not coordinate benefits with it.
Worth knowing if you are holding a dental policy already and thinking of adding this alongside it.
Three option levels, and the annual maximum is the first difference Included
The annual maximum benefit is $1,000 to $5,000 on Option 1, $1,000 to $4,000 on Option 2 and $1,000 to $3,000 on Option 3, in $1,000 increments on all three. The deductible, per person per policy year, is $0, $50, $100 or $100 vanishing on Option 1; $0, $50 or $100 on Option 2; and $100 on Option 3.
From the consumer flyer's overview of key coverage options. The flyer says in terms that it represents a partial list of services and that the outline of coverage and the policy govern.
What each option pays, by type of work Included
Preventive care is paid at 100% from day 1 on all three options. Basic care is paid from day 1 at 70% on Option 1, 60% on Option 2 and 50% on Option 3, rising after year 1 to 80%, 75% and 70%. Major care is paid from day 1 at 25% on Option 1, 20% on Option 2 and 10% on Option 3, rising after year 1 to 50%, 40% and 25%.
Major work is paid from day one on all three options, at the first-year share. Read that against the NCD Value plan on this page, which pays nothing at all toward major work in its first year.
Implants, on two of the three options Included
The implant benefit is a $2,000 lifetime maximum on Option 1 and a $1,000 lifetime maximum on Option 2. The flyer shows implants as not applicable on Option 3.
Which option you buy decides whether this policy covers implants at all, so it is worth naming the option before you compare premiums.
Orthodontics, on two of the three options Included
Orthodontics is paid after year 1 at 50%, with a $1,500 lifetime maximum on Option 1 and a $500 lifetime maximum on Option 2. The flyer shows orthodontics as not applicable on Option 3.
None of the NCD plans on this page pay anything toward braces or aligners at any age, which makes this the one to ask about if orthodontia is why you are shopping.
Vision, on two of the three options Included
Vision is paid after 6 months at 70% on Option 1 and 50% on Option 2, rising after year 1 to 80% and 70%. The benefit is $250 per 2 years on Option 1 and $200 per 2 years on Option 2. The flyer shows vision as not applicable on Option 3.
Hearing, on two of the three options Included
Hearing is paid after year 1 at 80% on Option 1 and 70% on Option 2, to $500 per year on Option 1 and $250 per year on Option 2. The flyer shows hearing as not applicable on Option 3.
Teeth whitening, on two of the three options Included
Teeth whitening is $500 per year on Option 1 and $250 per year on Option 2, and not applicable on Option 3.
It is the one thing the policy pays for that it does not require to be medically necessary — the exclusions list says so in terms.
Credit for prior coverage, on Option 2 only Included
The flyer's overview shows credit for prior coverage as No on Option 1, Yes on Option 2 and No on Option 3.
The flyer does not say what the credit does. If you are replacing a dental policy you already hold, ask what it waives and get the answer in writing before you apply.
How you are accepted, and how you are paid Included
Acceptance is guaranteed with no health questions, at issue ages 18 to 89, for individuals, couples and families. Benefits are paid directly to you or to a designated provider, and you may use providers in or out of network. The policy carries a 30 day free look — return it for any reason within 30 days for a full refund of all premiums paid.

Does this apply in your state?

Tell us your state and we will check it and send you the documents that apply to you. Call (424) 295-0627, or use the form at the bottom of this page.

Confirm this one before you sign

The figures above come from the flyer, and the flyer is not the schedule The outlines say in terms to refer to the schedule of benefits provided with the policy. That schedule is still not in the material we hold; what we hold is the consumer flyer's overview of key coverage options, which is where every percentage and maximum above comes from and which says of itself that it represents a partial list of services. Products and plans vary by state. Ask us for the schedule of benefits for your own state before you compare this against the plans above.

Issue ages: Issue ages 18 to 89. Written for individuals, couples and families.
Underwriting: Guaranteed acceptance — no health questions.
Renewability: Conditionally renewable. You have the right to renew the policy for consecutive terms by paying the required premium by the end of each grace period, subject to the policy termination provisions.
Financial strength: Rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best as of 13 March 2024 — the third highest of sixteen ratings, which is the part the letter on its own does not tell you. It is a view of the insurer’s ability to pay claims, not a comment on this policy, and it can be changed at any time.
Policy form: CLIDVHF24NV. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Required disclosures from Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood, Tennessee, an Aetna company

READ YOUR POLICY CAREFULLY. This outline of coverage provides a very brief description of the important features of your insurance policy. This is not the insurance contract and only the actual policy provisions will control. The policy sets forth in detail, the rights and obligations of both you and the insurance company. It is therefore important that you READ YOUR INSURANCE POLICY CAREFULLY!

THE POLICY IS NOT A MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT POLICY. If you are eligible for Medicare, review the “Guide to Health Insurance for People With Medicare” available from us.

Limited Benefit Coverage: Policies of this type are designed to provide limited or supplemental insurance coverage to person(s) insured. The policy does not provide any benefits other than the coverage described below.

Premiums for this Policy may change. Any change in premium will apply to all Insured Persons with Your same Policy type based on the state of issue of Your Policy. Any change in premium may occur on the next Premium Due Date after We give You at least 60 days advance written notice of such premium change to You.

Products and plans vary by state. This information represents a partial list of services. This flyer is a brief description of Dental, Vision and Hearing Flex insurance policy form and is not a contract of insurance. For complete details of all provisions or benefits, reference the Outline of Coverage and policy.

Also appointed

Also appointed, with benefit details not yet published here: the companies listed here. Ask and we will quote them alongside the others.

Spirit Dental & Vision
Mutual of Omaha
Aflac

We publish no benefit detail for these companies here because we hold no current brochure for them in this product family. Naming a benefit we have not read would be a guess, and a guess is what gets a claim denied.

Spirit Dental & Vision gives us an enrollment link even so, and it is in the costs section below. It answers the two questions a brochure would not have answered anyway — whether the plan is written in your state, and what it would cost you — and it lets you enroll if you like the answer. What it will not tell you is what the plan pays a dentist, which is why we still say nothing about that here.

Before you go further

If vision is the only thing you want covered, do not buy this

The vision coverage described on this page is an option on a dental policy, and for years that was the only kind we could place. It is not any more. We now write a vision plan that is bought on its own, from a different company and a different underwriter, with no dental policy attached and none needed. If glasses or contacts are the whole of what you are after, read that page first and come back here only if you want the dental coverage too.

See our vision insurance page

What it costs

Price it yourself, for your own state

We publish no price for this, on purpose. What you pay turns on your age, the state you live in, which plan you choose, the annual maximum and deductible that come with it, and whether you add vision, hearing or both where the policy offers them — so any single figure printed here would be wrong for almost everyone reading it. The links below are not brochures. Each one goes straight to the company, already set to this agency, and answers both of the questions this page cannot: whether the plan is written in your state, and what it would cost you. It takes a couple of minutes, and you can enroll there and then if you like what you see.

Manhattan LifeSee your price and apply NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance CompanySee your price and apply Spirit Dental & VisionSee your price and apply

You are under no obligation to buy through a link, and nothing changes for you if you would rather we did it with you — the price is the same either way, and our commission is paid out of the company's filed rate whichever route you take. Call (424) 295-0627 and we will sit and compare them with you.

Where we can place it

Availability in your state

Insurance is regulated state by state. A company may file a benefit in one state and not in another, which is a large part of why working with more than one company matters.

Availability by state, in full

The right-hand column lists what is not offered in that state by any company whose benefits are published on this page. We are appointed with other companies in this family as well — where something is withheld here, ask, and we will check them for you.

State	Published benefits not offered there
Arizona	None — everything on this page can be placed here
California	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Colorado	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Florida	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Georgia	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Hawaii	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Indiana	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Minnesota	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Nevada	None — everything on this page can be placed here
New Mexico	None — everything on this page can be placed here
North Carolina	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Ohio	None — everything on this page can be placed here
South Carolina	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Tennessee	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Texas	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Utah	None — everything on this page can be placed here
Washington	None — everything on this page can be placed here

ECOS is licensed in seventeen states. Medicare guides: Arizona · California · Colorado · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Indiana · Minnesota · Nevada · New Mexico · North Carolina · Ohio · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Washington.

Straight answers

Questions people actually ask

Can I buy just vision, or just hearing?

Vision, yes — our vision insurance page carries a plan from a different company that is bought on its own. Hearing, no: we hold no hearing-only contract and there is very little of one in this market. The vision and hearing options described on this page are a different matter — they attach to the dental policy, so here you can take dental alone, dental plus vision, dental plus hearing, or all three, but the dental policy is the contract they attach to.

Does Medicare really not cover hearing aids?

Correct — Original Medicare does not cover hearing aids or the exams to fit them. It does cover a diagnostic hearing or balance exam when a doctor orders one to determine treatment, and since 2023 you may see an audiologist once every twelve months without a doctor's order for hearing loss that came on gradually. The aid itself is yours to pay for, unless a Medicare Advantage plan you are enrolled in includes a hearing benefit.

I had cataract surgery. Doesn't Medicare pay for my glasses?

After cataract surgery that implants an intraocular lens, Part B helps pay for one pair of eyeglasses with standard frames or one set of contact lenses. That is a specific exception tied to the surgery, not general eyewear coverage, and it does not repeat with each new prescription.

My Medicare Advantage plan already has dental. Do I need this too?

Possibly not, and that is worth working out before you spend anything. If your plan's allowance covers the cleanings and the occasional filling you actually use, a second premium buys you very little. If you are facing a crown, a bridge or dentures, an allowance can be gone in one visit — and that is where a separate policy earns its keep. Tell us what your plan allows and what work is coming, and the answer usually becomes obvious in a few minutes.

Do I have to be on Medicare to buy a dental policy?

No. Dental insurance is not a Medicare product and there is no age gate on it. A good share of the people who buy one are under 65 — early retirees, self-employed people and anyone who lost dental coverage along with a job.

I'm a veteran, or a federal retiree. Should I look at VADIP or FEDVIP first?

It is worth ten minutes to find out, and the eligibility rules catch people out. VADIP lets veterans buy dental insurance at group rates through Delta Dental or MetLife — but only if you are enrolled in VA health care or receiving CHAMPVA, so a veteran who never enrolled is not eligible. FEDVIP is the federal dental and vision programme, open to federal and postal retirees who left on an immediate annuity; a deferred annuity does not qualify. Both are insurance you pay a premium for, not a free benefit, so the comparison is a price comparison. Have it either way — if one of them beats what we can write for you, we will say so.

How soon does it start paying?

Sooner than most people expect on nearly all of them, and there is one exception you should know about. Manhattan Life's policy carries no waiting period on dental work apart from orthodontia, and seven of the eight NCD plans state that benefits are payable immediately from the start date. The eighth is the Value plan, whose own schedule says major work starts in year two and pays nothing before then; and on the Elite plans major work waits twelve months in New York and Connecticut. What changes with time on the rest is not whether the work is covered but what share is paid: major work often starts at a tenth and rises over the first two or three years. Read the certificate or outline of coverage for the plan and the state you are buying in, and read the percentages as carefully as the waiting periods.

The figures below — do they apply in my state?

Check that with us before you rely on any of them, and here is why for each company. Manhattan Life's schedule is transcribed from the Nevada edition of its brochure — the policy form number carries the state in it — so the way the policy is built is the product's while the exact schedule and form number are Nevada's. All eight NCD plan summaries carry no state edition at all; what they carry instead is a line saying the products are not available in all states and that the company should be called to check. That is not the same as a list, so we have published no availability claim for them either way. Ask us for the certificate of coverage for your own state and we will get it rather than guess from these.

You name several companies but do not publish a schedule for all of them. Why?

Because we publish what we have read and nothing else. Manhattan Life's schedule is set out in full below, and so are NCD's eight plans across their five designs. For Mutual of Omaha, Aflac and Spirit Dental & Vision we hold no current material, so we name them as companies we are appointed with and say nothing at all about what they pay — Spirit has a quote link in the costs section and that is the whole of what we can offer for it today. Borrowing another company's numbers to fill those gaps would be a guess, and a guess is what gets a claim denied.

What will it cost me?

We do not publish a price, and that is deliberate rather than coy. Your premium turns on your age, your state, the policy year maximum you pick, the deductible you pick and whether you add vision, hearing or both, so any single figure printed here would be wrong for almost everyone reading it. The links in the costs section go straight to each company, already set to this agency, and price your own situation in a couple of minutes.

Can I just buy it myself through one of those links?

Yes, and plenty of people do. The premium is the same whether you enroll yourself, go direct to the company or have us do it with you, because the commission is paid out of the rate the company filed with your state regulator either way. What you get by calling us is somebody who has read all three and will tell you which one suits the work you actually need doing.

Ask for a quote on Dental Insurance

Tell us how to reach you and which state you are in. A licensed agent calls back, usually the same business day, and will tell you plainly if you already have coverage that makes this unnecessary.

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What would you like a quote on? (Please leave out health conditions and medications.)

ECOS Medicare Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. This is a solicitation of insurance. A licensed insurance agent may contact you.

All Supplemental Coverage · Medicare help in your state

Dental Insurance, with Vision and Hearing You Can Add

You can price this and buy it today, without us

Read this first

The problem it solves

Three things happen, in this order

Dental is the policy. Vision and hearing are added to it

Vision is the exception, and it now has its own page

If you are choosing a Medicare Advantage plan anyway, look there first

Then look at where that allowance stops

You do not have to be on Medicare to buy one

It pays a share of each service, and the share goes up as you hold it

Waiting periods, and which of these have none

Implants and orthodontia are where these policies differ most

Who this suits, and who it does not

Worth considering if…

Probably not for you if…

Who we can place this with

Choose the policy year maximum Included

Choose the deductible Included

Preventive services Included

Basic services Included

Major services Included

All other medically necessary services Included

Orthodontia Included

Vision rider — exams, lenses and contacts Optional rider

Vision rider — frames and lens options Optional rider

Hearing rider Optional rider

Use any dentist, in network or out Included

Does this apply in your state?

Required disclosures from Manhattan Life

Read this first: major work pays nothing in the first year Included

What the plan pays, by type of work Included

The calendar year maximum Included

The deductible Included

Type A, preventive — and how often Included

Type B, basic — and how often Included

Type C, major — and how often Included

A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered

No orthodontia, at any age Not covered

Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm these two before you sign

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Nothing waits. Benefits start the day the cover does Included

What the plan pays, by type of work Included

Choose the calendar year maximum Included

The deductible Included

Type A, preventive — and how often Included

Type B, basic — and how often Included

Type C, major — and how often Included

No implants on this plan Not covered

A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered

No orthodontia, at any age Not covered

Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm this one before you sign

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Nothing waits. Benefits start the day the cover does Included

What the plan pays, by type of work Included

The calendar year maximum Included

The deductible Included

Three cleanings and three examinations a year, not two Included

Type A and Type B — what else is in them, and how often Included

Type C, major — and how often Included

A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered

No orthodontia, at any age Not covered

Use a dentist in the network, or any dentist you like Included

Does this apply in your state?

Confirm these two before you sign

Required disclosures from NCD, underwritten by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Nothing waits — except major work in New York and Connecticut Included

What the plan pays, by type of work Included

Choose the calendar year maximum Included

The deductible Included

Implants are covered, from the third year, inside their own annual limit Included

Type A, preventive — and how often Included

Type B, basic — and how often Included

Type C, major — and how often Included

A tooth you had already lost before you were covered Not covered

No orthodontia, at any age Not covered