Does pet insurance cover dental?
Dental is one of the most commonly excluded areas of pet insurance. Most accident and illness policies cover dental injuries from an accident, like a broken tooth, but exclude dental illness such as periodontal disease, which is the claim owners actually file. Fetch is the standout in our lineup: it covers dental disease in its base policy, which most competitors do not. Lemonade’s dental coverage is thin and only available through an optional add-on. Routine cleanings are never covered by the base policy anywhere; they fall under wellness add-ons at most.
The accident vs illness split
Nearly every policy draws the same line: dental injury caused by an accident is treated like any other injury, while dental disease is treated like a preventable condition and excluded. That split matters because periodontal disease is one of the most common health problems in adult dogs and cats, and treatment routinely runs into the hundreds or thousands.
Which insurers actually cover dental disease
Fetch covers dental disease in its base accident and illness policy and covers behavioural care that others exclude, which is a large part of why it appeals to owners of older pets. It sits mid-table on price with a $15,000 listed annual cap. Lemonade is the opposite case: its base dental coverage is thin and a dental illness add-on costs extra. Most of the rest of our lineup, including Healthy Paws, Trupanion, Spot, Pets Best, Embrace and Figo, exclude dental illness from the base policy.
For breeds where dental disease is a known risk, this difference can decide the plan. Our Siamese guide flags dental cover as the thing to check for that breed specifically, and small dog breeds with crowded mouths have the same exposure.
What about cleanings and preventive dental?
Routine cleanings are preventive care and are excluded from every base policy. Some wellness add-ons reimburse a fixed allowance that can go toward a cleaning, but the allowance rarely covers the full cost of an anesthetized dental. If dental health is your main worry, buy on the illness coverage, not the wellness allowance.
Related questions
Keep reading
WhichPetPlan currently earns no commission from any insurer listed, so no ranking on this site is paid placement. Premium figures are illustrative starting estimates, not quotes. See our methodology for how scores are set.