Pet Insurance Dental Coverage: What's Paid and What Isn't

Does pet insurance cover dental?

Yes, partly. Most accident-and-illness policies cover dental accidents, many cover dental illness, and almost none cover routine cleanings without an add-on. Forbes Advisor describes the usual split: broken teeth are typically covered, gum disease and tooth removal are often covered but vary by company, and cleanings are excluded unless you add a wellness plan.

Insurers sort every dental bill into one of three buckets. Which bucket your bill lands in decides whether you get money back.

Type of dental care	Example	Typical base policy	How to get it covered
Dental accident	Tooth broken on a bone or in a fall	Covered	Base accident-and-illness policy
Dental illness	Periodontal disease, abscess, tooth resorption	Varies by insurer	Base policy or a dental illness add-on
Routine dental care	Annual scale and polish	Not covered	Wellness or dental care add-on
Cosmetic or orthodontic	Braces, caps, fillings	Usually not covered	Rarely available

What counts as a dental accident?

A dental accident is sudden physical damage to a tooth or jaw. Think of a fractured canine from chewing a hard toy, or a jaw injury from being hit by a car. Because it is an accident, it falls under the same rules as a broken leg. You still pay your deductible, the amount you cover each policy period before the insurer starts paying. Then the insurer pays its reimbursement rate, the percentage of each eligible bill it returns to you, usually 70%, 80% or 90%.

Forbes Advisor puts the cost of treating a fractured tooth at around $950, and a root canal at $1,500 to $6,000.

What counts as dental illness?

Dental illness is disease that develops over time. Gingivitis, periodontal (gum) disease, tooth root abscesses and tooth resorption are the common ones. This is where policies differ most.

• Included with limits. Forbes Advisor reports that Embrace caps dental illness at $1,000 per year.
• Included with conditions. Trupanion covers new dental illnesses, extractions, root canals, and even caps and crowns, as long as your pet has an annual dental exam and you follow your vet’s recommended dental care.
• Sold as an add-on. Lemonade’s base plan is accident and illness, and dental illness is a separate add-on with an annual limit of up to $1,000, according to its FAQ.

NerdWallet notes that “dental disease coverage can vary widely among providers,” so read the dental section of any policy line by line.

Does pet insurance cover tooth extraction?

Yes, if the extraction treats a covered accident or covered dental illness. A fractured tooth, an abscess, or a tooth eaten away by resorption are all reasons a vet pulls teeth, and all can be eligible. An extraction for a problem your vet noted before you enrolled is excluded as a pre-existing condition, meaning any illness or injury that showed signs before coverage began or during the waiting period.

Extractions are rarely cheap because the tooth is only one line on the bill. Your pet needs general anesthesia, and most vets take full-mouth X-rays to see the roots. Here is what the pieces cost:

Line item	Typical US price	Source
Oral exam	$50 to $90	Vety
Pre-surgical bloodwork	$100 to $200	Vety, GoodRx
Full-mouth dental X-rays	$200 to $400	Vety
General anesthesia	$50 to $200	Vety
Simple extraction, per tooth	$10 to $40	Vety
Surgical extraction, per tooth	$100 to $200 or more	Vety
Medications	$50 to $100	Vety

Vety puts the total at $500 to $1,300 at a standard vet office and $1,000 to $3,000 or more at a specialty dentist. GoodRx gives a wider range of $500 to $4,000 for the whole procedure. NerdWallet says complicated cases can reach $2,500 or more.

The example receipt on this page shows two surgical extractions with X-rays and anesthesia, for a total near the top of the standard-office range. With a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement, the insurer would pay most of it. The exam fee line is the one most likely to be refused, which we explain below.

Dogs vs cats

Coverage rules are usually the same for both. Costs and risks differ. Forbes Advisor lists extractions at $150 to $1,500 per tooth for dogs and $300 to $1,300 per tooth for cats. Breeds with crowded mouths, such as the bulldog, tend to need more dental work, which makes the illness coverage question more important. Owners comparing plans for a cat should also read our cat insurance guide.

Does pet insurance cover dental cleaning?

Not in a standard accident-and-illness policy. A routine cleaning is preventive care, like vaccines, so it belongs to a wellness add-on: an optional extra that pays fixed amounts toward routine care each year. NerdWallet says these add-ons typically put $100 to $150 a year toward a cleaning.

That rarely covers the whole bill. CareCredit puts the national average for a routine dog cleaning at $379, and NerdWallet cites an average of $388. Forbes Advisor gives a range of $170 to $350 for dogs and $150 to $300 for cats.

Lemonade’s preventative package includes routine dental cleaning, described on its site as “including dental x-rays, anesthesia, polishing, and more,” and it has no deductible or waiting period. Its Dental Care add-on, available in certain states, pays toward routine cleaning. Whether any wellness add-on is worth it comes down to simple math: compare the yearly add-on price with what it pays back. Our planned guide to wellness plans walks through that comparison.

Why annual dental exams matter for coverage

A dental exam is the vet’s record that your pet’s mouth was healthy, and insurers lean on that record. Some make it a condition. Trupanion’s dental coverage applies “as long as your pet has an annual dental exam, you follow your veterinarian’s recommended dental care, and they don’t show signs of illness or injury pre-policy or during applicable waiting periods.”

Even when a policy does not require exams, they help you in three ways:

1. They prove a problem is new. If last year’s notes say “mild tartar, no gum recession,” a new abscess is easier to show as a new illness rather than a pre-existing one.
2. They catch disease early. Treating gingivitis is cheaper than extracting teeth later.
3. They protect future claims. Skipping recommended care can give an insurer grounds to deny a dental illness claim on policies with care requirements.

Note that the exam itself is often not reimbursed. An exam fee is what the vet charges for the visit and hands-on assessment, separate from tests and treatment. Some insurers exclude exam fees (NerdWallet notes Healthy Paws won’t pay the vet’s exam fee), and others sell coverage for them as an optional vet visit fee add-on.

What dental care is never covered?

A few things are excluded almost everywhere:

• Pre-existing dental disease. Tartar, gum disease or broken teeth noted before enrollment or during the waiting period.
• Cosmetic and orthodontic work. Forbes Advisor lists caps, fillings and implants as common exclusions. Trupanion is one insurer that does cover caps and crowns for covered conditions.
• At-home care. Toothpaste, brushes and dental chews. Lemonade lists at-home dental care and orthodontics as not covered, while NerdWallet notes Embrace’s wellness plan pays toward toothpaste and chews.

Because existing tartar can be labeled pre-existing, the best time to buy is when your pet is young and its teeth are clean. Our guides to pre-existing conditions and puppy insurance explain why early enrollment matters. Dental disease also rises with age, which is a key point in our senior dogs guide.

How to choose a policy for dental

Ask four questions before you buy:

Question	Why it matters
Is dental illness in the base plan or an add-on?	Decides whether gum disease and extractions are covered at all
Is there a separate dental illness cap?	A $1,000 cap may not cover a full-mouth extraction
Are annual dental exams required?	Missing one can put future dental claims at risk
Is routine cleaning available, and for how much?	Most add-ons pay only part of a typical cleaning

Then compare the full accident-and-illness policy, not only the dental section. A strong dental benefit on a weak policy is a poor trade.

Bottom line

Pet insurance dental coverage reliably pays for accidents, often pays for dental illness, and almost never pays for routine cleanings without an add-on. Tooth extractions for a covered problem are usually reimbursed, including the X-rays and anesthesia that make up most of the bill. Check for a dental illness cap and any annual exam requirement before you buy. Enroll while your pet’s teeth are healthy, because existing dental disease will not be covered.