Does Aflac Cover Dental? Plans, Waiting Periods, and Costs

Aflac does cover dental care. It sells two very different products under that label: a traditional network dental plan that pays a share of the dentist’s bill, and a supplemental dental plan that pays you a fixed cash amount for each covered procedure. Both cover preventive visits, fillings, and major work like crowns, root canals, and implants, but what you actually get back, and how long you wait to get it, depends entirely on which plan you buy.

The Two Kinds of Aflac Dental Coverage

Before anything else, it helps to know which product you’re looking at, because they behave differently at the dentist’s office.

The network dental plan works the way most people picture dental insurance. You visit a dentist, the office bills Aflac, and the plan pays a percentage of the covered charge up to an annual maximum. Many plans use a PPO structure, so you can see any licensed dentist but pay less with an in-network provider.¹ A typical split is 100% for preventive care, 80% for basic services, and 50% for major services.²

The supplemental dental plan (Aflac’s A82000 policy series) does not pay percentages. It assigns a fixed dollar amount to each covered procedure and pays that amount to you, no matter what the dentist charges. There is no provider network and no precertification.³ Aflac designed this product to sit alongside other dental coverage and fill its gaps, not to replace a primary plan.¹

Aflac also offers a bundled Dental, Vision, and Hearing policy (DVH Elite and DVH Core) that packages dental coverage with eye and hearing benefits in one policy.⁴

What Dental Services Are Covered

Across both plan types, Aflac groups dental work into three tiers, with orthodontics and some cosmetic coverage available as add-ons.⁵

Preventive and diagnostic: routine exams and cleanings twice a year, bitewing X-rays once a year, full-mouth X-rays once every three years, and sealants for children under 16.
Basic: amalgam and composite fillings, emergency palliative care, simple extractions, basic oral surgery, and non-surgical periodontal treatment.
Major: crowns, bridges, dentures, inlays, onlays, root canals, surgical periodontics, oral surgery with anesthesia, prosthodontic installation and repairs, and occlusal guards.

Implants

Dental implants are listed under major services on both network and supplemental plans, with frequency limits. One network plan document limits implants to one per tooth every five calendar years at 50% coverage.² Group plan documents include an important caveat: charges for implants and related procedures are excluded unless they are specifically listed in that plan’s Schedule of Covered Procedures.⁶ Check the schedule attached to the specific policy you’re considering.

Orthodontics

Orthodontic coverage is an optional rider or add-on, and it typically applies to both children and adults. One employer group plan covers orthodontics at 50% with a $1,000 lifetime maximum per person, including exams, braces, continuing treatment, and clear aligners.⁷ Another plan document shows a $1,500 lifetime orthodontic maximum.²

For the supplemental plan’s orthodontic rider, there is a 24-month waiting period. After that, the rider pays $500 for initial treatment and $50 for each monthly visit for up to 18 continued treatments, with a $1,400 lifetime maximum per covered person. Braces and clear aligners cannot both be covered for the same person.⁸

What Aflac Dental Does Not Cover

Some common items sit outside Aflac’s dental coverage no matter which product you buy:

Replacement of teeth that were already missing before the policy’s effective date.⁹
Cosmetic or elective procedures not generally recognized by the American Dental Association, unless they appear on the specific plan’s Schedule of Covered Procedures. Teeth whitening and veneers are not listed on any plan reviewed.⁶
Dental treatment received outside the United States.
Services performed before coverage begins or during a waiting period.
Repairs made within six months of the original dental work.⁹
Crowns, inlays, or onlays when a filling would restore the tooth adequately.²

Aflac also notes that its dental products are not qualified health plans under the Affordable Care Act and do not satisfy ACA essential health benefit requirements.⁶

Waiting Periods You’ll Hit Before Coverage Starts

Preventive care has no waiting period on any Aflac dental plan. Everything else depends on the plan type and the category of service.

Supplemental plans have the longest waits:³

Fillings and basic services: 3 months
Pain management and adjunctive services: 3 months
Other preventive services beyond routine exams: 6 months
Oral surgery, gum treatments, and prosthetic repair: 6 months
Crowns and major services: 12 months
Major prosthetics such as dentures and bridges: 24 months

If a supplemental policy lapses and is reinstated later, all waiting periods start over from zero.⁹

Network plans run shorter. One employer group network plan applies no waiting period at all, even for major work and orthodontics.⁶ On the individual DVH plans, major dental services wait 9 months on Elite and 12 months on Core.⁴

What You’ll Actually Get Back

Annual Maximums and Deductibles

Supplemental plan annual maximums range from $1,200 to $1,980 depending on plan level and state.³¹⁰ After every 12 consecutive months the policy stays in force, Aflac increases the policy-year maximum by $100, up to a total increase of $500 per covered person. A plan starting at $1,400 would reach $1,900 by year five.¹¹ Supplemental plans have no annual deductible.

On the DVH plans, the Elite annual maximum starts at $1,500 in Year 1 and grows to $2,000 by Year 3. The Core plan starts at $1,000 and grows to $1,500.⁴ Network and DVH plans use a decreasing deductible: $75 per person in Year 1, $50 in Year 2, $25 in Year 3.⁵

How the Supplemental Plan Pays Per Procedure

Because the supplemental plan pays set dollar amounts rather than percentages, it’s worth seeing the ranges. Scheduled benefits by category include:³

Preventive (wellness and X-rays): $15 to $35
Fillings and basic services: $15 to $260
Pain management and adjunctive services: $30 to $140
Oral surgery, gum treatments, and prosthetic repair: $25 to $865
Crowns and major services: $20 to $405
Major prosthetics: $50 to $520

Those amounts pay out regardless of what the dentist charges and regardless of any other dental coverage you carry. If the dentist’s crown bill is $1,200 and your plan’s scheduled benefit for that procedure is $350, you receive $350 and cover the rest yourself.

In-Network vs. Out-of-Network on the Network Plan

On the network plan, where you go changes your bill. In-network dentists accept reduced fees. Out-of-network dentists can balance-bill you for the gap between their charge and the amount Aflac treats as usual and customary.¹² One employer plan illustrated a crown: in-network, the member’s total cost was $600 with no balance billing; out-of-network, the same crown cost the member $800 plus $120 in balance billing, a $320 difference.¹³ Supplemental plans have no network, so the cash benefit is the same wherever you go.⁹

What Aflac Dental Costs

Aflac doesn’t publish a single price list; premiums vary by state, plan, and tier. The company cites average dental insurance costs of $26 to $52 per month, with HMO-style plans averaging around $15 per month and PPO-style plans around $42.¹⁴

One school district’s employer group pricing shows per-paycheck costs for two network tiers. The High Plan, which covers major services at 50% and includes orthodontics, runs $24.31 per paycheck for employee-only coverage and $62.36 for family. The Low Plan, which covers major services at 15% and excludes orthodontics, runs $7.04 for employee-only and $17.21 for family.¹⁵ Plan type, coverage limits, geography, deductible level, and optional riders all affect the premium you’ll see quoted.¹⁴

Where You Can Buy It

Aflac dental is not available in every state, and the underwriter depends on the product. The main dental insurance line (A82000 series) is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, except in New York, where coverage comes from American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. That series is not available in New Mexico or Nevada.¹⁶ Group policies are issued by Continental American Insurance Company, which is not licensed in New York, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.¹⁷ The direct-to-consumer DVH product is underwritten by Tier One Insurance Company and is not available in New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, or Virginia. The DVH product was opened to individuals buying outside the workplace in 2022.¹⁸

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