Does pet insurance cover dental care?

It's not common for pet insurance providers to offer standalone dental insurance coverage. However, plans categorized as comprehensive or preventative may cover some dental procedures. For instance, Progressive Pet Insurance by Pets Best offers plans that can cover care for periodontal disease and other dental issues, and routine cleanings if your pet meets certain qualifications.

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How to look for pet insurance that covers dental

While pet dental insurance isn't a typical offering, look for pet insurance plans that cover dental care via comprehensive and routine/preventative care coverage:

Comprehensive plans typically cover accidents and illnesses — so unless there are dental exclusions to the plan's coverage, care for dental-related accidents and illnesses should be covered. Note that for dental coverage to apply, your pet may need to meet certain qualifications before enrollment and keep up with regular teeth cleanings.
Routine/preventive care plans, while far less common, may provide dental cleaning coverage and coverage for checkups to help prevent disease and catch issues early.

Pets Best offers comprehensive pet insurance plans (BestBenefit) as well as routine care plans (EssentialWellness and BestWellness) that can provide your pet with different types of dental coverage. Here's how these different pet insurance coverages work for dental-related care:

BestBenefit dental coverage

The BestBenefit plan provides comprehensive accident and illness coverage that also helps with dental emergencies and illnesses if your pet meets certain qualifications. If an issue such as periodontal disease is caught early by your vet, treatment can often be more successful and less expensive. BestBenefit offers coverage for periodontal disease as long as your pet meets these requirements:

Free from dental disease at enrollment
For pets aged 3 and up, records of dental cleanings under general anesthesia within the last 13 months as proof of no signs of periodontal disease

EssentialWellness dental coverage

The EssentialWellness plan provides routine care coverage for dogs and cats and is available as an add-on to the BestBenefit plan. This plan offers some coverage for annual wellness exams, which should help catch dental problems like periodontal disease or gingivitis early on. It doesn't include coverage for regular teeth cleanings, but it does cover some of the costs of other preventive measures such as heartworm prevention, urinalysis, and flea/tick prevention.

BestWellness dental coverage

Also available as an add-on to the BestBenefit plan, the BestWellness plan includes routine teeth cleanings as part of your pet insurance dental coverage. The policy can cover numerous other routine measures such as deworming, microchipping, and heartworm prevention.

Dental insurance for dogs

Dental issues often don't occur until your dog gets older. Having coverage in place now can help you stay prepared for common illnesses like gingivitis and periodontal disease, which can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars to treat. Dental coverage via a dog insurance plan can help alleviate those expensive vet bills in case of an emergency or if your pup develops a dental disease that requires ongoing care.

Dental insurance for cats

Cats are more independent, making it more difficult to notice signs they're suffering from a dental issue. Having a cat insurance plan that includes preventive care provides coverage for routine wellness checks. And dental coverage that includes teeth cleanings and preventative measures can help you ensure your kitty ages well.

Does pet insurance cover teeth cleaning?

Teeth cleaning is considered a preventative or routine care procedure, and whether it's covered or not will depend on your insurer and policy. Preventative care coverage is uncommon in pet insurance, but Progressive Pet Insurance by Pets Best covers routine dental cleaning via the optional BestWellness plan that can be added on to your BestBenefit policy.

Are there any gaps in dental coverage with pet insurance?

Preventative care coverage like what Pets Best offers is uncommon among pet insurers, which means coverage for preventing dental issues might be a gap in your pet insurance. Remember to always read the fine print on your pet insurance policy to understand exactly what's covered. For example, with an accident-only plan, a tooth extraction is likely only covered if it was necessitated by a physical accident.