As you age, finding affordable dental treatments can be challenging. That's why knowing what options are available and how to get the best discounts is important. Fortunately, many discount dental plans for seniors can help you save money on everything from routine check-ups to major procedures like dentures.
Let's explore these options.
Dental Insurance Vs. Discount Plans
Before getting into the specifics of which discount plans are best for seniors, let's first go over the difference between dental insurance and discount plans. Dental insurance is an insurance plan that provides coverage for routine check-ups.
This also includes more costly procedures like crowns or root canals. The downside is that these insurance policies often have high premiums and deductibles that make them unaffordable or too expensive for most seniors.
On the other hand, Discount dental plans don't provide coverage in the traditional sense. However, they offer discounted rates on services with participating providers in their network.
These plans often have lower monthly premiums than traditional insurance policies and may even waive deductibles altogether. Plus, most discount plans offer discounts on services not typically covered by traditional insurance policies, such as braces or cosmetic dentistry.
Best Discount Plans For Seniors
There are several great options for finding discount dental plans for seniors. Check out this list.
1. Aetna Vital Dental Savings Plan
If you want the most affordable dental plan, look at the Aetna Vital Dental savings plan. It covers any dental care for a low monthly fee. Aetna offers pharmacy discounts and doesn't have any deductibles or copays.
You present your card or ID as a dental discount plan and get discounted services and drugs.
Features:
- Monthly Cost: $164.95 for individuals and $199.95 for families
- Discount: 15-50% on dental treatments
- Waiting period: none
- Pre-existing conditions: covered
- Annual Maximum: none
| Pros | Cons |
| Has plans as low as $9.99 per month | Not available in all states |
| It comes with individual and family plans | Vision and drug benefits are a separate fee |
| Get instant access once you sign up | Some treatments have an upgrade charge |
| Accepted by over 131,000 dentists |
2. Careington 500 + Aetna Dental Access Preferred Plan
If you want the best value discounted dental plan for seniors, get the combined dental plan from Careington and Aetna. Two of the most popular dental plans joined forces to offer this affordable dental plan that gives maximum savings for general and specialist dental services.
Features:
- Annual Cost: $99 for individuals and $179 for families
- Discount: Up to 50% on dental treatments
- Waiting period: none
- Pre-existing conditions: covered
- Annual Maximum: none
| Pros | Cons |
| Highest savings for general and specialist dentists | Family plans are way more costly than individual plans |
| Includes vision with no additional cost | |
| Unlimited use |
3. Cigna Plus Savings
Get as much as 37% off on dental services such as x-rays, root canals, dentures, crowns, implants, and more. Cigna is a leading health insurance provider with affordable dental savings plans.
Features:
- Annual Cost: $174.95 for individuals and $209.95 for families
- Discount: 37% on dental treatments
- Waiting period: none
- Pre-existing conditions: covered
- Annual Maximum: none
| Pros | Cons |
| It comes with additional discounts on vision, hearing, and prescriptions | Pricey compared to others |
| It has over 110,00 participating dentists | Not available everywhere |
4. iDental Discount Plan by United Concordia
iDental Discount is an affordable discount savings plan by United Concordia Dental, a leading dental provider for 40 years. With a low annual membership fee, you enjoy bigger savings.
Features:
- Annual Cost: $144.95 for individuals and $199.95 for families
- Discount: 10%-50% on dental treatments
- Waiting period: none
- Pre-existing conditions: covered
- Annual Maximum: none
| Pros | Cons |
| Access specialists, even without referrals | It doesn't come with vision or hearing benefits |
| With over 140,000 participating dentists | |
| Save 55% on the extraction of impacted wisdom tooth | |
| Long experience in the dental industry |
5. Solstice Plus Plan Complete
Get a comprehensive dental care plan that's easy to use and offers big discounts. The Solstice Plus Plan Complete also comes with a prescription benefit.
Features:
- Annual Cost: $174.95 for individuals and $209.95 for families
- Discount: 10%-60% on dental treatments
- Waiting period: none
- Pre-existing conditions: covered
- Annual Maximum: none
| Pros | Cons |
| Follows an "open access" dental network | More pricey than other plans on the list |
| Includes cosmetic dental care like teeth whitening, and veneers | Not as popular as other plans, so it may not have the widest coverage |
| Covers orthodontia |
6. Patriot Plan
The Patriot Plan offers free periodic oral exams with 1 set of x-rays annually. This is on top of dental discounts from common and specialist dental services.
Features:
- Annual Cost: $144.95 for individuals and $199.95 for families
- Discount: 10%-60% on dental treatments, up to 20% on dental specialists
- Waiting period: none
- Pre-existing conditions: covered
- Annual Maximum: none
| Pros | Cons |
| Has free periodic oral exam with free x-rays per year | Includes only around 7,900 participating dentists |
| Has free bitewing x-ray per year | Not as popular as other plans, so it may not have the widest coverage |
| Doesn't need referrals to access dental specialists |
Get A Discounted Dental Plan Today
When finding affordable dental care as a senior citizen, there are plenty of options available that don't require breaking the bank or signing up for an expensive traditional insurance policy with high premiums and deductibles.
Discount dental plans for seniors offer discounted rates on services with participating providers while still providing quality care at a fraction of the Cost compared to an ordinary insurance policy. They usually come with no waiting periods either.
Explore some of the options above and take care of your golden smile. Are you looking for free dental care? Check out our post about low cost dental assistance for seniors.
