The best way to minimise the cost of dental treatment is to take better care of your teeth. More than three out of four adults do not floss regularly and a fifth do not brush their teeth twice a day. Therefore, one solid investment is to buy a decent toothbrush.   However, if you are adamant on getting dental insurance there are a few choices to make. This guide is designed to help you make the right decision for those choppers, leaving a smile on your face.

NHS

Firstly, decide what service you want.  Although everyone is entitled to treatment by an NHS dentist finding one is not easy and in some places there isn’t a single dentist willing to take on new NHS patients. About one in seven dentist’s lists is closed to adults; one in ten for children and this number is expected to increase.

If you do find a dentist on the NHS, do not assume it is free. Whilst pregnant women, children and people receiving means-tested benefits will still receive free treatment others won’t. NHS dental charges fall into three cost bands. The cost of basic treatments such as polishing and scaling is £15.90; intermediate treatment such as fillings costs £43.60; and complicated work such as crowns or dentures costs £194.

If you would prefer to go private some employers include private dental for employees, so check if you have it. Do note though that if your employer pays for your insurance, you pay tax on it like your salary as it’s a ‘benefit in kind’, however, this usually works out cheaper than paying it yourself.

There are many types of dental plans. Most dentists organise ‘caption’ schemes which spreads the cost, but these tend to be beaten by simple dental insurance policies, which have the advantage of not needing your teeth being inspected to have cover. Also the problem with capitations plans is that you are tied to a certain dentist and you have to pay a fixed sum regardless of how much treatment you need.

Buying insurance is a good idea. However, some dental insurance policies will make you wait before you can make a claim, so check before signing. With private dental treatment, the cost of and demand to go private increases with age, so older people should be especially aware to check very policy.

Other options

If neither going private nor joining the NHS feels right for you, there are other options.

The first is pay as you go – Private dentistry is not cheap, some private dentists charge four times as much as an NHS dentist for similar treatments. Around three-quarters of all private dental treatment are paid for on a ‘fee per item’ basis, which the patient pays directly for the dental practice. Therefore, for those who do not need to visit the doctor regularly pay as you go is a good option.

Secondly is self-insure – One sensible alternative to buying dental insurance is to self-insure. Instead of paying £20 a month for dental cover, save the same amount in a high-interest savings account. When you need to make a claim use the cash pot and a pay as you go to pay for your treatment.

Third use a healthcare cash plan – Instead of buying a tailored dental insurance policy, you could cover some of the costs of private dental treatment with a healthcare cash plan. This plan is a good low cost way of covering dental costs. If you pay the NHS or private treatments for dental treatments, you can reclaim the cash up to a set limit.

Consider dentist tourism – For major treatments consider going abroad. It is often much cheaper to do this, but it means finding a dentist abroad. There are also reports of very high class dentistry in some former Eastern block countries which even include travel costs.

Like all insurance policies, dental insurance plans do not guarantee saving you money. However, getting the right policy does count.