Stains, cracks, chips, gaps — there are plenty of things people want to change about their smiles. Dental veneers offer a great solution, hiding a wide variety of imperfections under straight, white, natural-looking teeth. But if there is one universal downside to veneers, it’s their cost.
Ranging from $250 to $2,500 per tooth, veneers are expensive, especially when covering multiple teeth. It’s natural to want to apply your dental insurance benefits towards the cost. But is it possible? There’s a bit of nuance here, so let’s dig into everything you need to know about dental veneers and insurance coverage.
Table of Contents
Basic vs. Full Dental Insurance Coverage
There are two general types of dental insurance policies: basic and full. Basic dental insurance strictly covers basic services — though how these are defined can vary between insurance companies.
Basic Coverage Dental Insurance
In general, basic services include treatments and procedures that are simple to perform and don’t require an outside laboratory. They include:
- Amalgam fillings
- Composite fillings
- Routine tooth extractions
- Root canals
- Pain relief
- Sedation
- Periodontal scaling
- Root planing
- Re-cementing restorative dentistry
- Basic X-rays
Full Coverage Dental Insurance
Full coverage dental plans include the services covered under basic plans, plus preventative care, major restorative care, and — in some cases — orthodontic treatments. Treatments often covered under full dental plans include:
- General dental exams
- Dental cleanings
- Bitewing, periapical and panoramic X-rays
- Space maintainers
- Tooth sealants
- Crowns, bridges and implants
- Inlays and onlays
- Wisdom teeth removal
- Complex oral surgery
- Anesthesia
- Dentures, denture repair, relines, and rebases
- Braces, aligners, and retainers
All that said, even if you have a full dental policy, you won’t get coverage for certain procedures. Most providers exclude two categories of care: pre-existing conditions and cosmetic treatments. With pre-existing conditions, any dental issues you have that predate your policy won’t be covered. For example, if you lost a few teeth a year before you started your current policy, your insurer likely won’t pay for dentures or implants.
Cosmetic treatments focus on improving the appearance of the smile rather than the function of your teeth. Teeth whitening is a common cosmetic dental procedure: it brightens your smile, but doesn’t make your teeth healthier. As a result, policies rarely, if ever, cover it.
Differentiating Cosmetic vs. Restorative Treatments
You might think the line between cosmetic and restorative dental treatments is clear: one is aesthetic and one is functional. But there’s actually a lot of overlap. General or specialized dentists can administer either of them, and both can help correct damaged, decayed, and missing teeth. The line gets blurry, and sometimes it’s tough to determine where your desired treatment falls. Here are some guidelines that can make it easier.
Elective or Essential?
An elective dental treatment is one that isn’t necessary to maintain your oral health; an essential one is the opposite — without it, you might suffer physical pain, tooth decay or loss, gum disease, or other complications.
Cosmetic procedures are elective. They’re nice to have, and they might boost your self-esteem, but they aren’t warding off any dental health issues. In rare cases where they can help protect the teeth, certain restorative alternatives typically work better.
Restorative treatments are essential. They build back the teeth, stop bone and gum loss, and set you up for a healthy smile that will last for years.
Primary Purpose
If some cosmetic treatments can restore function and some restorative treatments improve smile aesthetics, how can you know where they fall? A great way to classify them is by looking at their primary purposes.
Take fillings, for example. A tooth with a hole is less attractive than one with no holes. However, you don’t fill the space where the tooth was drilled to make it look better; you do it to preserve the tooth. Restoration is the main goal, and aesthetics are just a bonus.
On the flip side, consider whitening. Whitening gels brighten smiles, but they can also break up plaque and tartar on the teeth. This leaves the teeth cleaner and can help prevent cavities, but that’s not the primary purpose and other treatments do it better.
Materials
Here’s an interesting aspect of the cosmetic vs. restorative issue: a treatment’s classification can depend on its materials. Let’s go back to dental fillings. All fillings are restorative because they protect the remaining tooth structure. However, you have options with the materials, and the most affordable ones aren’t the most aesthetic.
Many dental insurance policies will classify dental resin and porcelain restorations as cosmetic because amalgam accomplishes the same thing for less money — the only difference is how they look. Depending on the policy, they may cover as much as amalgam would cost and then you’ll pay the difference, or they might refuse coverage completely.
Does Insurance Cover Veneers?
Unfortunately, there’s no across-the-board answer here. Some policies always exclude them, since their primary purpose is aesthetic. Others evaluate this on a case-by-case basis. If your insurer takes the latter approach, it all comes down to how you and your dentist justify your veneers. With a solid case, you should get at least partial coverage (30–50% with most comprehensive plans).
Here are a couple of cases where you might receive coverage under a comprehensive policy, and a couple of others where you probably won’t.
Covering Cracks on the Front of the Teeth: Possibly Covered
When cracks form in the enamel, they create a pathway for bacteria to reach the tooth’s dentin and pulp, leading to cavities and decay. To prevent this, you need to get these cracks covered. If they’re only on the front surfaces of your teeth, veneers are an option and your insurance policy might cover them.
If the cracks wrap around behind your teeth, they won’t, since veneers do not offer protection there. Just be prepared for your insurer to refuse coverage since there are more affordable alternatives, like dental bonding.
Hiding Severe Discoloration: Not Covered
Tooth staining, even when severe, is a cosmetic issue. Left alone, existing stains will not lead to decay, tooth loss, or gum disease. The rare exception is when the color of a tooth changes because of an injury. But in most cases, this is because the nerve has died and you’re better off having the tooth extracted and replaced.
Replacing Eroded Enamel: Possibly Covered
Thin or weak enamel means a tooth has lost its first — and really, only — line of protection. It allows bacteria to penetrate deeper into the dentin and pulp. Without artificial protection, the tooth will decay in time.
There are other options besides veneers, including bonding and sealants, but veneers are the strongest and longest-lasting option. As long as the enamel loss is only on the front surfaces of the teeth, your comprehensive policy will likely provide coverage.
Hiding Misaligned Teeth: Not Covered
Misaligned teeth are a genuine oral health issue. For example, crowded teeth are harder to clean, making them more prone to decay. And when the teeth come together incorrectly, they can wear down the teeth, jawbone, and jaw joint. Veneers can cover up minor misalignments, but they don’t correct them. As a result, insurers don’t cover them as an orthodontic treatment.
Covered Alternatives to Veneers
Even if your veneers will help restore function, there’s a chance your insurance company will deny coverage. If this happens, you need to look into alternative covered treatments. Below are some of your options.
Fillings
After your dentist drills your tooth to eliminate a cavity, they’ll insert a filling. They are often the best restorative option when the outer edges of the tooth remain intact but the center has been partially removed. Fillings can be made from different materials, including dental resin that’s customized to blend in with the rest of the tooth.
Crowns
Crowns are prosthetic caps that encircle all or most of a tooth that has sustained significant damage, protecting whatever remains. They can step in when a cavity is so large that a filling alone isn’t enough or if a tooth has crumbled because of decay or bruxism. Crowns can be made of various materials, some more aesthetic than others, and they restore function plus prevent further decay and disease.
Braces
Assuming your dental plan includes orthodontics for adults, braces could be a good option. Instead of just hiding misalignments, braces bring the teeth into their ideal positions. This results in not just a more attractive smile, but a healthier one, lowering your risk of developing everything from TMJ disorders to gum disease.
Clear Aligners
Another option for correcting tooth position is clear aligner therapy. Like braces, they bring the teeth into alignment. The difference is that they use clear trays rather than brackets and wires. This makes treatment more aesthetic and convenient since you remove the aligners to eat, drink, brush, and floss.
Affordable Out-of-Pocket Treatment Options
If you are only making cosmetic changes, your insurance company probably won’t cover any treatment, so you’ll need to pay out of pocket. The good news is that there are budget-friendly options to consider, such as:
Snap-On Veneers
While veneers are in the name, snap-on veneers are more similar to dentures. You might even think of them as retainers that look like teeth. They pop on over your natural teeth, covering up anything you dislike — stains, gaps, crowding, missing teeth, peg teeth, and more. These appliances are custom made just for you and usually cost less than $600 per arch.
Teeth Whitening
If you’re interested in veneers because you want to cover up tooth discoloration, teeth whitening is a great alternative. At-home whitening kits are the most affordable option, and they can brighten your smile by 5–10 shades. Professional whitening options can offer even better results, but the price tag will be higher.
Dental Bonding
Using the same materials as direct composite veneers, dental bonding covers the teeth, hiding various issues, including chips, cracks, and discoloration. Sometimes, it’s covered by dental insurance, but not always. Even when it isn’t, it is pretty affordable — as low as $400 per tooth.
Teeth Contouring
If your issue is the shape of one or two teeth, contouring is a pretty affordable treatment. In most cases, it’s just $50–$300 per tooth. This is only an option for minor changes to tooth shape since larger ones will harm the enamel too much.
Final Thoughts
In most cases, dental insurance won’t cover veneers, though there are exceptions when they’re the best restorative option.
If you can’t get coverage for veneers, ask your dentist if there are restorative treatments that could work just as well for you. If there aren’t, look into more budget-friendly alternatives. No matter what, you can achieve the smile you want; it just might take a little research and creativity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn’t insurance cover cosmetic treatments?
Insurance is designed to help customers pay for the care they need, and cosmetic treatments aren’t typically a necessity. While there are certainly arguments for their impact on your self-esteem and overall health, for the moment, this just isn’t how dental insurance providers see it.
Am I more likely to get coverage if I see a general dentist instead of a cosmetic one?
No, it isn’t about the treatment provider but the treatment itself. Both general and cosmetic dentists offer restorative treatments, so both can deliver covered treatments, depending on your policy.
What if my veneers are both cosmetic and restorative?
There is a good chance you’ll get partial coverage, assuming you have a comprehensive policy. Your provider might request documentation proving that you have a legitimate need that veneers can address, but your dentist should provide it.
Is insurance more likely to cover some types of veneers than others?
While it’s the most expensive veneer material, most providers will lean towards covering porcelain or ceramic over composite. That’s because insurance providers cover restorative procedures, and ceramic and porcelain are thick and strong enough to fit the bill.
If my policy covers veneers, how much of the cost will they pay?
It varies between insurance providers and often between policies from the same provider. You need to contact your insurance company to get the details, but in most cases, they cover somewhere around 30–50% of the cost.
Can veneers damage my teeth in the long run?
If enamel removal is required, your teeth will be permanently altered, though “damaged” might not be the right word. You will need to wear veneers or another protective prosthetic for life, since less enamel means a great risk of decay and tooth loss. If your veneers are made wrong or placed incorrectly, it can cause tooth damage. This can also happen if your veneers become loose and you don’t get them fixed. However, veneers do not inherently harm the teeth.
Does dental insurance pay for veneer replacement?
If you got coverage for your original veneers and kept the same policy with the same provider, you’ll probably get coverage for replacements too — just make sure the terms of your policy haven’t changed. If you switched policies or providers, they might no longer be covered.
How do I know if I need a veneer or a crown?
Ask your dentist. It usually comes down to how much of your natural tooth you have left. Veneers only cover a small portion of the sides and bottom of the tooth, while crowns can cover the whole thing. If you have most of your tooth left, a veneer can work, but if you lose too much of it, you’ll need a crown.
What are my options for paying for veneers if I don’t qualify for insurance coverage?
You can pay out of pocket, ask your dentist for a no-interest payment plan, or look into financing options. Some dental offices offer financing directly, while others require you to go through a third party.
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