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Compare Dental Insurance and Dentist Plans

Our guide explains who offers dental insurance policies, alternative dental plans, dental care finance options and tips to save money and get the best treatment.
Updated 18 July 2024
Summary
  • For most people, a trip to the dentist comes with a lot of anxiety, and that’s before you get a bill. If you would like to insure yourself against ongoing dental costs, dental insurance can help. However, unlike health or income protection insurance, dental insurance in New Zealand is relatively limited, and current specialist cover is only offered by nib and Southern Cross.
  • In this guide, we outline how dental insurance works and how to find the right policy for your needs. We cover

Option 1: nib nz Everyday health plans offers dental insurance

nib is a New Zealand-based insurance company, most commonly known for health insurance. It continues to be the only insurer offering stand-alone dental insurance policies. There are two options:
  1. Standard Everyday - from around $10/week
  2. Premium Everyday - from around $180/week

The difference between the two policies is the level of co-payment. Standard policies cover 60% of dental expenses, up to a maximum repayment of $750/year, whereas Premium policies cover 80%, up to a maximum repayment of $1,000/year. This means if your dental bill is $500, you’ll pay $200 with a Standard policy (40%), and $100 with a Premium policy (20%), while Nib will pay $300 (60%) or $400 (80%) of the costs. There are no claim costs, and you can claim back as many bills as you like within the policy's annual limit.

What nib dental insurance covers:
Per their policy wording, the following dental treatments performed by a registered dental practitioner or oral surgeon, are included:
  • Examinations
  • Cleaning and scaling
  • Fillings
  • Extractions (including wisdom teeth)
  • Associated x-rays
  • Orthodontic treatment (e.g. braces)
  • Endodontic treatment (e.g. root canal)

Limits:
  • As stated above, nib is clear with its annual benefit limit: $750 (Standard Everyday policy) or $1,000 (Premium Everyday policy).

Be aware: There are 'wait before you claim' periods, which is a typical feature of health-related insurance policies. This means you'll need to wait between two and twelve months after signing up for the insurance policy before you make a claim. The purpose is to discourage people from taking advantage of the policy's benefits. These include:
  • Two months for preventative (e.g. examinations, scale and clean, fluoride treatments) and general (e.g. fillings, basic extraction (excluding wisdom teeth), x-rays)
  • Twelve months for major and orthodontic (e.g. crowns, bridges, root canal, removal of wisdom teeth, dentures, implants).

Is nib dental insurance worth the cost?
Policy
Annual Estimated
​Policy Cost
Maximum Claimable Amount Per Year
Net Benefit (if $1,250 Expenses Claimed)
Standard (60% cover)
Around $540
$750
$210
Premium (80% cover)
Around $940
$1,000
$60​
nib insurance: cost vs benefit
  • Per the table above, the 60% and 80% co-payment means you can claim up to $1,250 of dental bills in one year. If you incur up to this amount, the dental insurance policy is most beneficial.
  • Beyond dental benefits, the policy does cover other items in excess of dental bills. These include:
  1. Optical examinations, glasses & contact lenses (Benefit Limit: $350/$500) - covers the cost of prescription glasses and contact lenses, and the cost of examination fees
  2. GP visits & prescriptions (Benefit Limit: $350/500) - covers the cost of GP visits and prescriptions.
  3. Physio, chiro & osteo (Benefit Limit: $350/500) - covers the cost of physiotherapy, or chiropractic or osteopathic treatment, whether or not you’ve been referred by your GP.
  4. Acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, remedial massage and vaccinations (Benefit Limit: $150/300) - covers the cost of acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, remedial massage and vaccinations.
  5. Speech therapy (Benefit Limit: $200/400) - covers the cost of speech therapy.
  6. Mental health consultations (Benefit Limit: $350/500)

nib Dental Insurance - Our view:
  • If you are likely to use a range of allied health providers in addition to dental care and want the certainty of a co-payment arrangement, a nib insurance policy may be beneficial.
  • We believe that the inclusions are very good. Even if someone on the basic plan does not spend $813 on dental, they have a good chance of spending a total of $813 on dental, doctors and opticians etc. combined in the year. 
  • You’ll need to abide by the wait period before you can start claiming, which can range from two months to twelve months depending on what you need.
  • Self-insuring for pure dental work, i.e. setting money aside to build up a dental care fund may work out to be more cost-effective. The minimum policy cost per year with nib insurance is around $500, and you’ll still have to pay 40% of the costs.

Option 2: Southern Cross HealthEssentials plans offers dental insurance

Health Essentials is Southern Cross’s general healthcare plan, which specifically offers a 75% co-payment towards dental costs. The total dental benefit is $500 per year. 

The following treatments are covered under the Southern Cross dental benefit:
  1. Extraction of teeth performed by a registered dental practitioner
  2. Root canals and root fillings
  3. The purchase of new dentures is covered under the dental benefit. This also includes denture
  4. repair/bridgework.
  5. X-rays on a dental practitioner’s account
  6. Fissure seals, dental crowns
  7. Bite splints by a dentist, for medical reasons only (not cosmetic, sports or snoring related)
  8. Braces and plates
  9. Implantation of teeth
  10. Bacteriology assay

The following are excluded under the Southern Cross dental benefit:
  1. Bleaching or whitening of teeth, as these are forms of cosmetic treatment
  2. Sundries such as dental floss, mouth guards and toothbrushes
  3. Dental veneers, as these are cosmetic
  4. Dental treatment provided at a public facility

Beyond the $500 dental cover, there are further benefits up to a total of $1,000+ claims per year, as outlined by category on the Southern Cross website.

Our view:
  • It’s arguable how much a $500 dental benefit will go in one year, given the total costs would be around $670 using a 75% co-payment.
  • However, given the total claim limit of $1,250 total benefit limit and premium cost, the advantages of such a policy may be limited.
  • Southern Cross promotes policies from $1 per day, but in our sampling, we found that a 35-year-old non-smoking male would pay around $504/year in policy costs. The $1/day was limited to younger applicants.

Be Aware: nib vs Southern Cross
  • When comparing the nib and Southern Cross policies, it’s clear that the benefits and obligations are different.
  • Our view is that the nib policy offers more benefits, but the quote you receive may not make it more cost-effective than Southern Cross.

Dental Insurance Must-Know Facts

​It goes without saying that the best way to lower the costs of dental treatments is to look after your teeth. Regular brushing and flossing keep most teeth in good shape, but this won’t protect you from dental emergencies or accidents. In such cases, dental insurance can lower your out-of-pocket costs. In this section, we outline useful tips to save you money when it comes to dental costs.

Do you need extensive dental work? Shop around by getting quotes from dentists

  • If you’ve been to the dentist and been told you’ll need a crown, veneer or root canal, you’ll likely to be told the estimated cost at the same time.
  • We suggest before booking yourself in for the procedure; it’s worthwhile getting three quotes from other dentists. While they are likely to be estimates rather than fixed quotes, it will help you get an idea of where your existing dentist is charging something in line with the others.
  • If you find a considerable cost saving by shopping around, you can check the reviews and reputation of a price-beating dentist and arrange an appointment. Be aware you may pay an additional consultation fee.
  • Our guide to dental costs has more information.

Consider self-insuring – it can work out to be more cost-effective than dental insurance

With dedicated dental insurance costing at least $10/week (with a co-pay arrangement), putting money aside can work out cheaper. For example, with the NIB policy, you’ll pay around $500 a year and still have to cover 40% of the cost.

If you incur around $500 a year on dental bills, it’s almost certainly likely that self-insuring is better value. It’s reasonable to believe that the better condition your teeth are in, the less likely you’ll incur dentist bills. And when you need the money for dental bills, you’ll be able to draw down from the funds you’ve saved.

​If you’re concerned about the cost of check-ups and hygienist visits, there are plans offered by Lumino, Bupa and others which can assist with this. We discuss these below in point 6.
​

​Long-term finance cards offer interest-free deals on dentist bills, but shop around for the best quote before agreeing to any such finance

Two cards, GEM Visa and Q Card, are aligned with many dentists all over New Zealand. Lumino, Smilecare Dental and many independent dentists all offer finance options. This can extend repayment periods between 6 and 18 months, depending on the financing options available.

Before proceeding with dentist finance cards, read our reviews of GEM Visa and Q Card to fully understand the costs and repayment terms.

Children receive free dental treatments up to the age of 18

Dental insurance has less relevance for children, given the Ministry of Health funds a number of free treatments including:
  1. Routine examination to check teeth for decay and look at the gums and mouth for any problems
  2. X-rays used to find tooth decay and other problems that can’t be seen
  3. Fluoride treatment, which helps make the surface of the teeth more resistant to decay
  4. Fissure sealants, which are a thin layer of white filling, painted onto teeth that are at risk of developing tooth decay
  5. Cleaning to plaque, staining and tartar from teeth
  6. Fillings to restore teeth that have been affected by tooth decay
  7. Extractions to remove teeth that have been badly affected by tooth decay
​

​Dental insurance may be a benefit from your employer

If you have health insurance as part of your employment contract, check to see the dental benefits. If you’re not covered, you may be able to add it on for less than the stand-alone everyday price.
​

Be wary of getting dental plans sold through your dentist – it may cost more than it’s worth

Lumino, Bupa and Smile Club all offer dental plans. They are sold as preventative care, and won’t cover any dental work like fillings or root canals. The dental plans cost around $300 per year and include one full check-up and screening, two oral hygienist appointments and a limited number of x-rays (if needed). Lumino also includes 10% discount on all other treatment,which can add up for crowns and other higher-cost surgeries.

​Our view is simple: 
  • Approach the policies with caution and think about whether you want to commit $300 a year to non-essential appointments.
  • While it's almost certain that the benefits (dentist and hygienist appointments) would cost more if purchased outside of the plan, you're not buying dental insurance in any form.
  • Some of the dental plans offer a discount on treatments, but it’s arguable that shopping around could get you a better deal.
  • And, importantly, if you don't use the benefits (i.e. free check-up or hygienist visits), you lose them.

To see the plans in detail, visit:

​Overseas dental treatment is cheaper but does have its risks

Thailand is one country which promotes its dental services online and has a trusted reputation of delivering quality dental treatments at a fraction of New Zealand prices. While many testimonials online rave about the care and value for money, there are some horror stories as well.

Be aware that your travel insurance may not cover any medical complications, so there are additional issues to consider carefully before going ahead.

Dental Insurance Frequently Asked Questions

Dental insurance can be complicated - the frequently asked questions below help navigate the process of deciding if a policy is right for you.

What does dental insurance cover?

While the exact dental treatments covered varies between providers and policies, and generally, examinations, cleaning and scaling, fillings, extractions (including wisdom teeth), associated x-rays, orthodontic treatment (e.g. braces) and endodontic treatment (e.g. root canal) are covered. Remember, there is a claim limit per year and co-payment requirement.
As with any insurance policy, everything you need to know is in the schedule of benefits and fine print. Make sure you understand exactly what you’re covered for before purchasing a dental insurance policy.

How much does dental insurance cost?

Dental insurance costs anywhere from between $350 and $600 a year, although with nib and Southern Cross this will cover other health treatments.

What about ACC and dental care?

ACC only covers dental injuries caused by an accident, sporting injury or as the result of medical or dental treatment. You won’t be covered for anything else, such as general wear and teeth of your teeth. If you believe you are covered, this guide explains the next steps.

Which is the best dental insurance?

The primary choices are nib and Southern Cross, and each has their own annual limits. To compare side-by-side, get a quote from both providers. The $500 annual limit for Southern Cross suggests nib can be more appropriate if you're looking for greater coverage, given it covers dental claims up to $1,000. Before going ahead, consider self-insuring as this can be cost-effective in the long run if you don't believe you will spend more than $500 on dental bills in the next few years.
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