Jesse Smedley is a Principal of Oakbridge Insurance and the founder of iHealthBrokers. He founded iHealthBrokers in 2007, and Oakbridge acquired iHealthBrokers in 2025. He has spent nearly two decades teaching people how to save money on their health insurance and navigate Medicare, and he is the author of Medicare A to Z: Your Roadmap to Medicare.
There are many dental plans to choose from, but we definitely have one that is our clients’ FAVORITE: National Care Dental (NCD)
You or your dentist may never have heard about NCD and that’s ok. National Care Dental offers PPO coverage and the ability to go out of network if your provider isn’t in their expansive network.
COPAYS/COINSURANCE
Most PPOs operate on the traditional 100/80/50 split. So 100% of the costs for preventative services are covered. 80% of the costs of basic services are covered and 50% of the costs of major services are covered. Preventative services are things like cleanings and xrays. Basic services would be fillings or simple extractions. Major services are things like root canals or implants. This plan is no different. Where NCD really differs is the yearly max.
YEARLY MAX
So if you have dental insurance that covers a significant portion of the costs, why have you received such large dental bills in the past? Dental plans have yearly maximums. Once you hit this yearly maximum, you are responsible for the remainder of your dental bills for the year. Unfortunately most plans max out in the thousand dollar range. If you’ve ever had major work, you know that’s not going to cut it! NCD does offer a dental plan with a $1500 max, but they also offer a plan with a $3000 and $5000 max! That’s a significant difference. But you may be asking with such a large yearly max, what are the premiums?
PREMIUMS
Your monthly premium is what you pay on a monthly basis to keep your insurance active. Most private dental plans will average between $35-$65. They can be more or less expensive but these are just current average ranges. NCD has three plans it offers:
$1500 max
$3000 max
$5000 max.
For the $1500 max plan, the monthly premium is $57. For the $3000 max plan, the monthly premium is $67. And for the $5000 max plan, the monthly premium is $77. They also offer +one and family plans as well. So, are these premiums a little higher? Yes, but when you compare the yearly maximums it is absolutely worth it at least in our estimation.
This is all well and good, but what do you do if you need insurance now? Let’s talk about waiting periods.
WAITING PERIODS
Preventive and Basic services are covered on day 1. While most other dental plans make you sit through a 12-month waiting period for major services, NCD allows you to waive that waiting period with prior credible coverage on another dental plan. Additionally, there is no waiting period for preventative or basic services.
Call iHealthBrokers at 866-260-9829 or schedule an appointment today. Our services are 100% FREE!
