Dental insurance Dental insurance policies

Stand-alone dental insurance is one alternative to receiving dental care on the NHS. You pay your dentist for any treatment received and then claim the money back from the insurer. Most dental insurance policies require you to be signed up for around three to six months before they will pay out for treatment.

Dental insurance policies cover maintenance such as check-ups and X-rays as well as treatments such as fillings and extractions at NHS practices, private clinics, or sometimes both. Cosmetic dental work, such as teeth whitening, is generally excluded.

Dental insurance premiums range from around £6 a month for a basic policy such as Universal Provident’s Dental Care, to £21 with a top-level policy such as Simply Health’s Dental Plus. The level of cover depends on whether the treatment you receive is from an NHS or private clinic as well as providers’ fee schedules. 

Dental insurance
Insurance providerAge rangeMaintenanceaTreatmentaHospital Cash benefitMonthlyAnnual
NHS clinics only
AXA PPPb18+No limitcNo limitcYes£11£131
Boots Core Plan18-64£500c,d£500c,dYes£9£108
Tesco Dental Core Cover18+No limitcNo limitcYes£10£119
Private clinics only
Boots Private Level 118-64£750d,e£750d,eYes£12£146
Boots Private Level 165+£750d,e£750d,eYes£13£160
Boots Private Level 218-64£1,000d,e£1,000d,eYes£18£211
Boots Private Level 265+£1,000d,e£1,000d,eYes£19£232
Private and NHS clinics
Dencover 3 IN 118-65No limitc,d,fNo limitc,d,fNo£16£192
Simply Health Dental Core18-69£20£200gNo£8£92
Simply Health Dental Plus18-89£100£1,000hNo£21£252
Tesco Dental Premium18+£125c,i£1,000c,iYes£20£239
Universal Provident Dental Care18-74n/a£1,000dNo£6£68
WPA Level 218-49£250j£250jYes£13£151
WPA Level 250-65£250j£250jYes£17£192

Full features table

Table notes

  1. Benefit structure for Scotland and Northern Ireland may differ
  2. Full name AXA PPP Healthcare Dental Cashplan Plus
  3. NHS maximum benefit for maintenance/treatment follows England and Wales NHS banding prices
  4. Some/all maintenance/treatment is limited to a set amount a year
  5. Level of cover per treatment at a private clinic is set according to provider's fee schedule
  6. Private treatment covered up to 75 per cent based on providers pricing schedule
  7. Private and NHS treatment covered up to 75 per cent
  8. Private and NHS treatment covered up to 50 per cent
  9. Private treatment covered up to 50 per cent based on provider's fee schedule
  10. Maintenance and treatment covered under a single general dental treatment benefit- reimburses 75% of costs up to a max combined benefit of £250 per year

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