Although many stand-alone dental insurance plans, such as Cigna dental or Met Life, offer some dental coverage, most of your dental needs will not be covered by your typical health insurance plan. Unfortunately, most people can’t afford the monthly payment for a dental plan that truly covers everything you might need. Here are some tips to help you determine whether or not you need to have dental insurance.

Did you know that supplemental dental insurance is not meant to be your primary dental insurance? Rather, it is intended to help cover costs associated with your dental needs that may not be covered by your dental or primary health coverage.

In fact, there are several varieties of supplemental dental insurance plans, including a preferred provider plan, a dental discount plan, and student-specific plans.

If you’re lucky enough to have a network of preferred providers in your area and have dental insurance through your employer, you’ll save a lot. Simply choose any dentist who is a member of the network for your dental care, without any restrictions on staying there.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have dental insurance, you can literally choose any dentist because you will pay the going rate for their services. The question you have to ask yourself is how many times a year you go to the dentist. Does it justify getting a dental policy and paying the monthly fees?

The answer to this question is that if you haven’t been to the dentist in a few years, or if you only go for an annual cleaning and have no family, then you probably wouldn’t get a dental insurance plan. If you’ve been to the dentist recently, get two cleanings a year, and have children, you should have a dental coverage plan.

You could even get a dental discount plan designed to lower your overall dental costs by using the cutting power of many people to lower monthly costs, sort of like buying in bulk at Costco. These plans are not actually dental insurance, but rather act as a buffer to lower your overall costs.

If you are a student, it is your lucky day! College students, who typically lose their parents’ health and dental coverage after leaving the proverbial nest, can choose to enroll in cheap college or university student dental plans. Of course, these plans only cover the basics, but it’s better than nothing and everything helps when you’re on your own for the first time.

The best way to do this is to find an affordable plan. Check out the big boys like Cigna or Delta Dental. Then see what your workplace offers and compare costs. Chances are, if your workplace offers health benefits, you should probably go with what your job offers because it’s probably much lower than whatever monthly fee you’d pay for a stand-alone dental plan.