Dental Insurance for International Students in 2024

Posted on Friday, March 1st, 2024 at 8:30 am

In preparing to become an international student, it’s likely you’ve been warned about how expensive medical treatment can be in the United States including dental treatment. Your student health insurance plan may cover doctor visits and/or potential hospitalizations, but more than likely won’t cover your bills if you were to chip a tooth, get a cavity, or need a root canal. To add a bit of perspective, here are the average costs of dental treatments in the United States:

Routine Dental Care
Dental Examination	$100-$175
Professional Dental Cleaning	$75-$210
Dental Sealant	$20-$50 per tooth
Root Canal Treatment	$500-$1,500
Tooth Extraction	$75-$220 per tooth

While you’re still trying to decide if dental insurance is a good investment, it’s important to understand how this type of coverage works in the United States and what your options are. 

Dental insurance is much more straightforward and specific than medical insurance and if you don’t have a dentist at all, you can choose from the dentists in the network and again have the option of a less expensive plan. Although dental insurance works a little like health insurance, the premiums are typically much lower. Most health insurance policies cover a hefty percentage of even large expenses once you’ve paid your deductible; but this is not the case with dental insurance, which usually follows a 100-80-50 coverage structure for in-network dentists.

We offer three different levels of coverage plans : Lite, Boost and Complete. They all offer 100% preventative coverage and a comprehensive amount starting from day 1 and increased coverage after one year. Plans are available in monthly payments, and they can start as soon as the next day of purchase. A minimum purchase of three months is required. As for cancellation of your plan, it can be canceled prior to the start date for a full refund and after the start date, it can be canceled at any time after 90 days of coverage.

In addition to dental insurance plans, you can also get dental discount options. Referred to as dental savings plans, these types of plans require you to pay an annual fee (usually very low cost) and then in turn, you receive about 10% – 60% discount on specific dental care at select dentists. One additional benefit with discount dental plans is that you’re able to purchase them in the event you need something specific done. 

So remember, dental visits in the U.S don’t come cheap and it’s always good to hope for the best but prepare for the worst! If you have any questions about dental plans please contact us, we’ll be happy to help.