How Much Do Dental Veneers Cost with Insurance per Tooth?

How much do veneers cost per tooth with insurance?

Every person will get a different answer because three critical variables go into the equation.

First, you have to get your insurance to cover veneers. Demonstrating a medically necessary reason is the crucial strategy – unless you have a plan that includes cosmetic procedures.

Second, most dental plans include an annual maximum benefit, so the number of teeth you restore in a single year affects the claims support you might receive.

Finally, the material used to fabricate your veneers have widely different price points and could affect whether insurance pays at all.

When does Insurance Cover Veneers?

The procedure’s reason and type of plan in question determine when insurance covers dental veneers. There is no single correct response. The people who get their veneers covered by insurance have a medically necessary reason, or their plan includes cosmetic dentistry.

You might need to find alternatives.

Medicaid

Medicaid may cover veneers depending on the rules in the state where you live. Each state determines what benefits to offer, and two sets of medically necessary rules could apply.

  • Medicaid covers restorative oral care for adults in thirty-three states, meaning it works like dental insurance in these regions.
  • Medicaid works like health insurance across the country, meaning treatment must extend to other parts of your body.

For example, Medicaid might pay for veneers for patients with Celiac Disease across the country, but only in thirty-three states after a biting accident.

Dental Insurance

Your dental insurance is more likely to cover veneers because these plans focus on oral health issues, and your policy might include two benefit types. Read through your plan document carefully to determine which version you have.

  1. Dental plans typically pay for veneers only when medically necessary
  2. Cosmetic dental insurance pays for veneers for aesthetic reasons

Bear in mind that cosmetic dental plans are not insurance because they do not protect your finances from unforeseen future calamities such as decay or tooth loss.

Health Insurance

Your health insurance might cover dental veneers when it deems the procedure as medically necessary under a stricter definition: arising from non-biting accidents, certain diseases, and treatments considered as integral to other included services.

The bar for health insurance is much higher because coverage generally stops inside the mouth – even though our teeth and gums are a critical part of the body. You must connect the veneers to another covered service.

For example, a broken tooth caused by a non-biting accident would need to include injuries to other parts of your body to qualify – such as a broken jaw.

Also, health insurance will not cover any decay-related services or cosmetic work under any circumstances.

Medically Necessary

You have to ask yourself when are veneers medically necessary to answer whether insurance will cover the procedure. Most dental plans will honor claims for treatments deemed medically necessary, while only a few include benefits for cosmetic procedures.

Ask your dentist to write a letter of medical necessity supporting the need for veneers to restore tooth enamel damaged by an accident, illness, or prescription drugs.

NecessaryCosmetic
Decay or diseaseTeeth not decayed or impaired
Accident or injuryTeeth not injured
Alter bite mechanicsEnhancing aesthetics
Replace missing teeth 

Next, we can provide examples of when veneers might fall into the medically necessary category: when they restore enamel damaged by injury, disease, or prescription treatments.

NecessaryCosmetic
Broken or chippedFill in gaps
Tetracycline stainsCoffee stains/ yellowing
Fluoride stainsChange shape or length
Acid refluxAdjust minor misalignments
Celiac Disease 
Enamel Hypoplasia 

Cost of Veneers with Dental Insurance

The average cost of veneers per tooth with dental insurance is about $1,000. However, you could wind up paying significantly more or less depending on several critical factors.

In this section, we assume your dental plan will honor claims (rare) and factor in these example expense-sharing features for illustration purposes.

  • Deductible: $100
  • Coinsurance: 50%
  • Annual Maximum: $1,500

Composite Cost

The cost of composite veneers with dental insurance is about $550 to $812 per tooth, depending on the number of choppers you upgrade in a single plan year.

The more teeth you fix in a single year, the higher your expenses will be because you trigger the example annual maximum of $1,500 very quickly. Two strategies can make veneers more affordable.

  1. Financing can spread the expenses out over time into installments
  2. Schedule treatment over two plan years to double the maximum benefit
    1. December: 1st set
    2. January: 2nd set

Composite veneers range in price from $400 to $1,500 per tooth, and we assume an average figure of $1,000 before factoring in possible claim payments.

1 Tooth4 Teeth8 Teeth
Deductible$100$100$100
Coinsurance$450$1,500$1,500
Above Max$0$900$4,900
    
Total$550$2,500$6,500
Per Tooth$550$625$812

Porcelain Cost

The cost of porcelain veneers per tooth with dental insurance will be in the middle range of about $800 to $1,312 because the retail prices are higher, shifting even more expenses above the example annual maximum benefit onto the patient.

Upgrading your coverage is a possible way to make treatment more affordable.

Porcelain veneers range in price from $925 to $2,500 per tooth, and we assume an average figure of $1,500 before factoring in possible claim payments.[1]

1 Tooth4 Teeth8 Teeth
Deductible$100$100$100
Coinsurance$700$1,500$1,500
Above Max$0$3,000$9,000
    
Total$800$4,500$10,500
Per Tooth$800$1,125$1,312

Lumineers Cost

The cost of Lumineers with dental insurance will be the highest, an average of about $1,400 per tooth because most patients self-pay for this premium treatment alternative.

Lumineers are ultra-thin and highly translucent, requiring less grinding down of your original tooth structures. However, the thinner laminate makes them unsuitable for restorative treatments, meaning your dental plan is unlikely to honor claims unless it covers cosmetic procedures (rare).

Lumineers range in price from $800 to $2,000 per tooth.[2] Patients typically fund the entire amount themselves without any claims support.


Article Citations

[1] Brook West Family Dentistry

[2] Manhattan Cosmetic Dentist