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Dental Insurance

Dental insurance is a type of health coverage that helps pay for the cost of preventive, basic, and major dental services. It is designed to make oral care more affordable and to encourage regular checkups that prevent costly procedures later on. Dental insurance is offered through group employee benefits, individual plans, or conversion plans for people leaving workplace coverage.

Typical benefits include cleanings, exams, fillings, extractions, and X-rays under preventive and basic services, while more advanced work such as crowns, bridges, dentures, and orthodontics falls under major or specialized categories.

Dental plans often use annual or lifetime maximums, coinsurance percentages, and recall intervals to manage costs. Coverage can be structured as a standalone policy or bundled with extended health benefits. In Canada, major insurers like Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Alberta Blue Cross, and GreenShield each offer variations that balance affordability with coverage depth.

Example:

If a dental cleaning costs $180 and your plan covers preventive services at 100 percent, the plan pays the full amount. For a $1,000 crown covered at 50 percent, you would pay $500 out of pocket.

What to Watch For:

Review your plan’s annual maximum, as most dental coverage resets each year. Confirm whether major services or orthodontics have waiting periods. Some plans follow the provincial dental fee guide, while others use internal reimbursement schedules.

Related Terms

Deductible

A deductible is the fixed dollar amount you must pay each benefit year before your plan starts reimbursing eligible expenses. Think of it as your yearly participation in costs - once met, your plan covers claims according to its coinsurance. Some individual health plans in Canada have no annual deductible, while others apply one only to certain benefits (often $25–$100 per person).

Dental Accident

A dental accident is a sudden, unexpected event that causes injury to the mouth, teeth, or jaw, resulting from an external force rather than from decay, chewing, or normal use. Examples include being struck in the face, falling and hitting your mouth, or suffering an impact during sports. Dental accident coverage helps pay for the repair or replacement of natural teeth damaged in such incidents.

Dental Fee Guide

A dental fee guide is a provincially issued schedule that lists the standard or recommended prices for dental procedures. Each province and territory in Canada publishes its own guide annually, outlining suggested fees for everything from cleanings and fillings to crowns and dentures.

Dentist

A dentist is a licensed healthcare professional who diagnoses, treats, and helps prevent conditions affecting the teeth, gums, and mouth. Dentists play a key role in maintaining oral health through preventive care, restorative treatments, and patient education. Common services include cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, and oral examinations.

Dependent

A dependent is a person, usually a family member, who qualifies for coverage under someone else’s insurance plan. Dependents are typically the spouse or children of the primary insured person, also known as the plan member or policyholder. Some plans may also cover other individuals who rely on the plan member for financial support, such as a common-law partner or a child with a permanent disability.

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