Best Pet Insurance for Dental Care

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Updated: August 24, 2026

Advertising & Editorial Disclosure

My top recommendations for the best pet insurance for dental care are:

  • Choose If You Want the Best Value and Broad Base Coverage: ASPCA
  • Choose If You Want to Reduce Upfront Costs Through Direct Payment: Pets Best
  • Choose If You Want Coverage for Pre-Existing Dental Conditions: Lemonade

I evaluated major providers based on their coverage for dental accidents and illnesses, options for policy customization, and terms for waiting periods and pre-existing conditions. I also assessed their average rates and customer experience for buying, policy management and claims.

We evaluated coverage, affordability and customer experience across 18 major pet insurers using more than 67,000 pet profiles. These covered mixed breeds and purebreds in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Every provider was compared against the same two base profiles: a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever and a 7-year-old Ragdoll, each with a $5,000 annual limit, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate. This kept the comparisons consistent.

We assessed coverage breadth and flexibility for dental-specific health risks specifically, compared pricing across breeds and locations and tracked customer experience from enrollment through claims. Coverage options and terms count for 50% of the overall score, affordability for 30% and customer experience for 20%.

See the full methodology for the complete metric breakdown and scoring approach.

ASPCA

ASPCA: Best Pet Dental Insurance Overall

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

ASPCA is my pick for dental care overall, with the best coverage and the lowest average rate of my picks at $29 a month, a 38% savings against the national average.

Its Complete Coverage plan covers tooth extractions from dental accidents, dental illnesses like periodontal disease and gingivitis, and teeth cleanings prescribed to treat a dental issue, once the 14-day waiting period ends, all at no extra cost. This makes ASPCA effective if you want coverage against both unexpected dental injuries and long-term dental disease without a high premium.

But ASPCA doesn't cover endodontic or orthodontic dental services like crowns, fillings, implants, root canals or planing. If your pet has a damaged tooth that can be saved rather than extracted, you may pay the full cost of these specialized procedures yourself.

Read our review: ASPCA Pet Insurance Review

Pets Best

Pets Best: Best for Direct Vet Pay

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

Pets Best is my pick if you want to reduce upfront vet costs for expensive dental procedures. Vet Direct Pay lets the insurer pay licensed vets directly for covered claims once you submit a claim with a signed veterinarian reimbursement release form. It also imposes a short accident waiting period of zero to three days depending on state, so coverage kicks in fast after enrollment. But dental cleanings aren't covered at all, even when a vet prescribes one to treat a covered condition, so you'd need the optional wellness add-on for that.

Read our review: Pets Best Pet Insurance Review

Lemonade

Lemonade: Best for Pre-Existing Dental Conditions

On Lemonade's site
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

Lemonade is the only provider that covers pre-existing dental conditions. If your dog or cat already has documented gingivitis or early periodontal disease before enrollment, you can still get coverage for dental illness treatments, procedures, routine cleanings, diagnostics and medications, up to $1,000 a year with no deductible (as long as Lemonade's Dental Care add-on is available in your state and you add it to your base policy).

But the Dental Care add-on isn't available everywhere, and where it is, you can only buy it for pets under 3 years old.

Read our review: Lemonade Pet Insurance Review

How Dental Coverage Terms Affect Your Pet Insurance Decision

Dental disease is one of the most common health conditions in both dogs and cats, so the value of pet insurance depends less on whether a policy includes dental coverage and more on how it covers dental care.

80% to 90% of dogs over the age of 3 have some component of periodontal disease, according to Cornell University's Riney Canine Health Center. For cats, between 50% and 90% of those older than 4 years of age suffer from some form of dental disease, per the Cornell Feline Health Center. 

Choose a policy that is more likely to cover the dental treatment your pet may need over its lifetime:

  • Coverage for dental accidents: Look for policies covering dental injuries like fractured or broken teeth, since these often need expensive extractions or oral surgery after an unexpected accident.
  • Coverage for dental illnesses: Check whether the insurer covers common dental diseases like periodontal disease and gingivitis in the base plan or requires an add-on.
  • Coverage for teeth cleaning: Prioritize insurers that cover teeth cleanings prescribed to treat a covered dental condition as standard because these can be medically necessary but often get excluded as routine preventive care.
  • Waiting periods: Compare how long each insurer's accident and illness waiting periods run, and look for a short or no accident waiting period, plus illness waiting period waivers through a physical exam.
  • Pre-existing condition policy: Favor insurers with the most flexible pre-existing dental condition terms, like covering curable conditions after a symptom-free period, to improve the odds future dental treatment gets covered.
  • Enrollment eligibility: Choose a provider with no enrollment restrictions to maximize your pet's chances of qualifying for dental coverage before dental disease develops.

How to Find the Right Pet Insurance for Dental Care

Dental coverage terms and costs vary across providers, and the right plan depends on your pet's species, size, age and current dental health. Find coverage that suits your pet's risk profile without overspending on benefits that won't pay out:

  1. 1
    Determine if getting dental pet insurance is worth it

    Ask your veterinarian about your pet's expected dental health risks over its lifetime before comparing providers or premiums. Discuss whether your pet's breed, age or medical history raises the odds of dental disease or procedures like tooth extractions or periodontal treatment.

    Read stories from owners on breed-specific forums or subreddits like r/dogs, r/cats or r/AskVet, with the dental issues and treatments commonly reported for pets like yours.

  2. 2
    Decide on an annual limit that matches your pet's risk

    Your annual limit sets how much your policy pays out in a single policy year and resets at renewal. Total treatment costs for periodontal disease can reach up to $2,600 on average, based on MoneyGeek's vet cost data, and the annual limit matters even more when dental illness coincides with other conditions in the same policy year.

    MoneyGeek's pet insurance coverage needs calculator can help you find the right limit using your pet's species, breed, state and age.

  3. 3
    Research pet insurance providers

    Review how each provider handles dental coverage before requesting quotes. Most providers make sample policies available before purchase. Confirm:

    • Whether dental illness is included in the base plan or needs a separate add-on
    • Whether prescription medications for dental infections are covered under the base plan or need an add-on
    • How each provider defines pre-existing conditions
    • How long waiting periods run for both dental illness and accidents
  4. 4
    Compare multiple quotes

    Get quotes from your shortlisted providers using the same annual limit, deductible and reimbursement rate, so the comparison stays accurate. If you're evaluating optional wellness plans for routine teeth cleaning, price those separately and weigh the annual reimbursement cap against the extra monthly premium.

  5. 5
    Research claim approval rates and customer experience for dental conditions

    How consistently and fairly a provider handles each submission directly affects how manageable your out-of-pocket costs stay between appointments. Check platforms like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau, where policyholders leave detailed accounts of their claims experience, before committing.

    Pet owner communities on Reddit are useful too, since owners discuss specific claim outcomes and how providers handled dental condition disputes in practice.

  6. 6
    Enroll early to ensure dental coverage

    Enrolling while your pet's dental record is clean is the most effective step to avoid dental coverage exclusions. Any condition documented before your policy starts, even a passing mention of tartar buildup or early gum inflammation at a wellness visit, is a potential pre-existing condition that follows your pet through every renewal.

    Waiting periods for dental illness are usually 14 days, so enroll while your pet is young and healthy to clear that period when symptoms are unlikely to develop.

Best Pet Insurance for Dental Care: FAQ

Get Pet Insurance Quotes for Dental Care

Use the tool below to compare dental coverage quotes from the top providers. Your pet's age, size and dental history affect this decision. A puppy or kitten with a clean record needs a plan that secures coverage before dental conditions develop. A small breed dog or older cat with a documented dental history needs a provider whose terms account for what's already on the record.

Compare Pet Insurance Rates

Ensure you are getting the best rate for your pet insurance. Compare quotes from the top pet insurance companies.

About Ritchel Mendiola

Ritchel Mendiola, Pet Insurance Writer

Ritchel Mendiola is a Pet Insurance Content Writer at MoneyGeek. She produces coverage guides, provider comparisons and cost analyses so pet owners can understand their options and avoid overpaying.

Ritchel spent over four years as a News and Feature Writer at Asian Journal Publications, where she reported for the Asian Journal newspaper and Balikbayan Magazine, conducted interviews and covered media events. At MoneyGeek, she covers policy terms, exclusions, waiting periods and reimbursement structures the way she treated news facts. They're sourced, verified and reported accurately rather than summarized from marketing copy.

She joined MoneyGeek in late 2021 in the loans vertical and moved to pet insurance content, which she now leads. Her published work includes provider comparisons, breed-specific cost guides, age-specific coverage analyses and state-level pricing studies, all from the vertical's 5 million pet insurance profiles across 18 major providers and all U.S. states.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rianmendi/

Contact Email: ritchel.mendiola@moneygeek.com

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