Planning for your dental insurance coverage to last your retirement can be challenging. Many pensions are cutting out dental benefits, and Medicare doesn’t cover most dental care either. Luckily, there are dental insurance plans on the market that have everything retirees need – if you know what you’re shopping for. Here are three things you should be looking for to make sure you pick the best dental plan for your retirement.

1. The Right Covered Procedures

Chances are you’ll need the same dental care during your retirement as needed during other phases of your life – preventive care like cleanings and common procedures such as fillings. However, some oral health conditions, like periodontitis, are more common in older adults. So, make sure your dental insurance plan covers procedures related to periodontitis and tooth loss, such as deep cleanings, root canals, crowns, and dentures.

2. Cost

Another significant factor to keep in mind when picking a dental plan for your retirement is cost. And you want to be thinking about more than your monthly and annual payments too. Make sure you choose a plan with low copayments no waiting periods on your routine procedures, and an annual maximum high enough for you to get all the care you need to be covered during the calendar year.

3. Supplemental Coverage Options

Depending on your retirement plan, you might not need full dental coverage. Maybe your pension covers some of your dental needs, or perhaps you get dental through Medicaid, so you aren’t looking for a full-cost plan. This can make a supplemental coverage option like a dental savings plan lucrative. Dental savings plans are a low-cost membership that guarantees discounts at networked dentists, saving you money on your dental work.

When shopping for a retirement dental insurance plan, the biggest takeaway is to make sure you know what procedures and cost factors are most important to you before picking a plan. If you know you’ll need dentures or a lot of dental work in one year, invest in coverage that makes those procedures attainable. And if you want more help picking the right dental plan for your needs, check out our FREE dental plan selection tool below!