Spirit Dental Insurance in 2026: What Each Plan Pays and What It Costs in Your State
Independent guide. Spirit Dental & Vision plans are underwritten by Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.; we are not affiliated with Spirit Dental, Spirit Dental & Vision or Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., and we earn nothing from a sale. This is independent pricing and plan-data research, not insurance advice. For a quote, visit spiritdental.com or call 844-833-8440.
Spirit Dental's median starting price is $20.00 a month per individual, ranging from about $12.75 in New Hampshire to $47.32 in Connecticut. Preventive, basic and major care all start with no waiting period, and the $100 deductible is paid once for life — but on five of the six plans the share Spirit pays rises with your years on the policy, so a crown needed in year one is paid at the lowest rate.
Estimate what Spirit would pay for your treatment
Every Spirit plan pays a different share depending on the procedure's class — preventive, basic or major — and how many years you have held the policy. The tool below applies each plan's published grid to your own state and treatment basket, so you can see the dollar amount rather than just the coinsurance percentage.
Spirit plan cost check
Your treatment at Texas cash prices, what the selected Spirit plan would pay in the contract year you choose, and your total with the premium — against paying cash.
$1,670
Paying cash in Texas
$543
Core PPO 1200 pays (year 1), you owe $1,128
$1,342
Your year with Spirit: $215 premiums (incl. $25 enrollment fee) + your share — $328 less than cash
- Check-up: exam, cleaning & X-rays: $200 cash → plan pays 100%
- Tooth-colored filling (1 tooth): $220 cash → plan pays 25% — Core PPO 1200 files fillings under major care
- Crown: $1,250 cash → plan pays 25%
- The check-up is priced as exam + cleaning + X-rays; most Spirit plans file bitewing X-rays under basic care, so the plan can pay slightly less than 100% of it.
- The $100 lifetime deductible is applied in year 1 to non-preventive care.
| Plan | Plan pays | You pay | Top maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preventive Plus PPO 1500 | $474 | $1,196 | $1,500 (grows) |
| Core PPO 1200 | $543 | $1,128 | $1,200 |
| Preferred PPO 3500 | $474 | $1,196 | $3,500 (grows) |
| Pinnacle PPO 5000 | $573 | $1,098 | $5,000 (grows) |
| Flex Dental Plan 2000 | $406 | $1,265 | $2,000 (grows) |
| Flex Plus 2500 Dental Plan | $510 | $1,160 | $2,500 (grows) |
Plan shares: Spirit plan pages (in-network, read September 11, 2026). Cash prices: Real Dental Costs state averages. Pricing research — not insurance advice; Spirit Dental & Vision plans are underwritten by Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., and Real Dental Costs is not affiliated with either.
The six Spirit plans side by side
All six plans share the same no-waiting-period rule and the same $100 lifetime deductible. What changes from plan to plan is the annual maximum, how fast coinsurance increases, and which class each procedure falls into. Figures below are the in-network share Spirit's own plan pages publish, year 1 through year 3-plus.
| Plan | Top annual maximum | Cleanings/yr | Basic yr1→yr3 | Major yr1→yr3 | Fillings counted as | Implants | Child ortho |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preventive Plus PPO 1500 | $1,500* | 2 | 50% → 50% | 20% → 20% | Major | Not listed | Not listed |
| Core PPO 1200 | $1,200 | 3 | 50% → 80% | 25% → 50% | Major | 10% → 25% | 10% → 50%, $1,200 max |
| Preferred PPO 3500 | $3,500* | 3 | 65% → 100% | 20% → 50% | Major | 10% → 20% | Not listed |
| Pinnacle PPO 5000 | $5,000* | 3 | 50% → 80% | 25% → 60% | Basic | 10% → 20% | 10% → 50%, $1,200 max |
| Flex Dental Plan 2000 | $2,000* | 2 | 50% → 80% | 15% → 40% | Major | Not listed | Not listed |
| Flex Plus 2500 Dental Plan | $2,500* | 3 | 50% → 80% | 20% → 50% | Basic | Not listed | Not listed |
*Published as "up to" or as a maximum reached after one or more years; the plan pages do not state the lower caps that apply before then. "Not listed" means the plan page does not mention the benefit.
4 of Spirit's six plans — Preventive Plus PPO 1500, Core PPO 1200, Preferred PPO 3500 and Flex 2000 — list fillings under major care rather than basic, so a simple filling on those plans pays the major-care rate in year one: as low as 15% on Flex 2000, up to 25% on Core PPO 1200, instead of a basic-care rate of 50% or more. Pinnacle PPO 5000 and Flex Plus 2500 are the two plans that count fillings as basic care instead. Spirit also does not publish every step of its increasing maximums: the Preferred PPO 3500 and Pinnacle PPO 5000 pages state the maximum only for the year it is fully reached — $3,500 after one year, $5,000 in year three — without stating the lower caps that apply before then; those interim figures do not appear on the plan pages we read, so ask for the plan brochure for your state before counting on a large first-year payment.
Spirit Dental prices in every state
Spirit's cheapest published starting prices are in New Hampshire ($12.75), Pennsylvania ($13.80), Ohio ($14.91), while its highest are in Connecticut ($47.32), Alaska ($41.30), Montana ($31.95). Three states cap the annual maximum below the $5,000 most states can reach: New York at $2,000, and Illinois and Connecticut at $1,200 each. Massachusetts and Washington have no dedicated Spirit state page as of this audit, and Oklahoma's page gives no firm floor, only an approximate figure of about $15 a month. Every figure below is a per-individual starting price — the exact rate still depends on your ZIP code, the plan you choose and who else is covered.
| State | Starts from | Comprehensive plans |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $41.30 | $49.95–$82.44 |
| Alabama | $15.00 | $22.04–$39.32 |
| Arkansas | $15.00 | $22.04–$39.32 |
| Arizona | $22.00 | $32.33–$57.67 |
| California | $20.92 | $30.64–$54.82 |
| Colorado | $18.40 | $27.04–$48.24 |
| Connecticut | $47.32 | $68.24+ |
| Washington DC | $26.60 | $39.09–$69.73 |
| Delaware | $24.20 | $35.56–$63.44 |
| Florida | $16.09 | $23.93–$40.04 |
| Georgia | $25.77 | $31.17–$52.01 |
| Hawaii | $26.60 | $39.09–$69.73 |
| Iowa | $16.60 | $24.39–$43.52 |
| Idaho | $24.20 | $35.56–$63.44 |
| Illinois | $29.53 | $42.59+ |
| Indiana | $20.00 | $29.39–$52.43 |
| Kansas | $20.00 | $29.39–$52.43 |
| Kentucky | $15.00 | $22.04–$39.32 |
| Louisiana | $28.26 | $34.18–$56.88 |
| Maryland | $17.04 | $24.61–$43.90 |
| Maine | $20.00 | $29.39–$52.43 |
| Michigan | $16.74 | $24.61–$43.90 |
| Minnesota | $22.00 | $32.33–$57.67 |
| Missouri | $25.77 | $31.17–$52.01 |
| Mississippi | $23.29 | $28.17–$47.15 |
| Montana | $31.95 | $38.64–$68.02 |
| North Carolina | $18.20 | $26.74–$47.71 |
| North Dakota | $20.24 | $29.74–$53.06 |
| Nebraska | $18.20 | $26.74–$47.71 |
| New Hampshire | $12.75 | $18.74–$33.43 |
| New Jersey | $23.70 | $30.37–$37.02 |
| New Mexico | $15.00 | $22.04–$39.32 |
| Nevada | $15.27 | $22.44–$30.02 |
| New York | $28.79 | $33.50+ |
| Ohio | $14.91 | $25.83–$46.11 |
| OK | $15.00 (approx.) | — |
| Oregon | $26.62 | $39.12–$69.78 |
| Pennsylvania | $13.80 | $20.28–$36.18 |
| Rhode Island | $30.51 | $36.89–$64.96 |
| South Carolina | $18.20 | $26.74–$47.71 |
| South Dakota | $18.40 | $27.04–$48.24 |
| Tennessee | $15.00 | $22.04–$39.32 |
| Texas | $15.80 | $23.51–$39.32 |
| Utah | $26.60 | $39.09–$69.73 |
| Virginia | $18.12 | $31.40–$50.72 |
| Vermont | $18.20 | $26.74–$47.71 |
| Wisconsin | $20.00 | $29.39–$52.43 |
| West Virginia | $15.00 | $22.04–$39.32 |
| Wyoming | $18.20 | $26.74–$47.71 |
Spirit Dental and Ameritas: same insurer, different products
Spirit Dental & Vision is the retail brand; Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. is the licensed carrier that underwrites every Spirit plan and operates the dental network members use for in-network savings (spiritdental.com/about/about-the-carrier, September 2026). The two are easy to confuse with a third product: Ameritas also sells its own directly-branded PrimeStar plans on myplan.ameritas.com, a page about Ameritas's own plans that ranked in Google's top five for "spirit dental insurance" on September 11, 2026 without being about Spirit. PrimeStar is a separate lineup with its own premiums and benefit grid — see our Ameritas dental insurance review rather than assuming it prices the same as Spirit.
Spirit's own about page describes the Ameritas Dental Network as about 150,000 unique providers, 104,000 unique locations and 734,000 access points nationwide; a separate Spirit plans page, captured the same day, puts the provider count at over 149,000. Spirit has not reconciled that gap, so treat "about 150,000 providers" as an approximation rather than an exact count.
Waiting periods, deductible, cancellation and vision
Spirit publishes no waiting period on preventive, basic or major care on any of its six plans — coverage is active from your first day on the policy, even though the coinsurance percentage itself is lower in year one (spiritdental.com/dental-insurance/no-waiting-periods, September 2026). The one carve-out is orthodontia: adding an ortho benefit can trigger a waiting period, and Spirit says this depends on your state of residence without listing which states apply one.
The $100 deductible is a lifetime deductible: in Spirit's words, once it is satisfied, you do not have to meet it again while you stay on the plan. Spirit's 30-day guarantee lets you cancel for any reason within 30 days of your effective date, with a full premium refund if you have not yet used a covered service; if you have, you can still cancel but the premium already paid is not returned. Either way, the $25 enrollment fee charged at sign-up is never refunded.
Vision is a separate add-on, not bundled into the dental plans: $7 a month for one person or $20 for a family, through the EyeMed network. Spirit does not sell the vision add-on at all in AK, ID, MD, NM, NY, OH, and sells only an any-provider indemnity version — reimbursed by receipt rather than through a network — in TX, KS, PA, MT, RI.
Who Spirit fits — and who it doesn't
The plan grid above points to a few clear patterns rather than one verdict. If you need a crown or root canal in your first year on the policy, the low year-one major-care share — 15% on Flex 2000 and 20% to 25% on the other five plans — means you are still paying most of the bill yourself; the $100 lifetime deductible and no-wait structure matter more once you plan to stay on the policy long enough to reach the higher year-three shares. If your main need is routine cleanings and exams, the 100% in-network preventive benefit applies from day one on every plan, so the differences between tiers matter far less.
For anyone who wants predictable savings without a multi-year ramp, it is worth pricing Spirit against a dental savings plan, which discounts the fee immediately with no annual cap and no waiting period, or against paying cash outright. Readers comparing no-wait structures across carriers can see how other insurers handle the same trade-off in dental insurance with no waiting period.
Frequently asked questions
Is Spirit Dental the same as Ameritas?
What does Spirit Dental insurance cover?
Does Spirit Dental have waiting periods?
How much does Spirit Dental cost per month?
Is Spirit Dental insurance any good?
Can I cancel Spirit Dental?
Compare with other dental insurers
- Ameritas Dental Insurance
- Guardian Dental Insurance
- Aetna Dental Insurance
- Physicians Mutual Dental Insurance
- Dental Insurance Hub — How Coverage Works
Methodology note. Figures on this page were read directly from Spirit Dental's official pages (spiritdental.com) on September 11, 2026: the six plan pages, the state pages, the about-the-carrier page, the no-waiting-periods page, the 30-day guarantee page and the vision page. State starting prices follow the per-individual floor and comprehensive-plan range each state page publishes; Oklahoma's page gives only an approximate figure instead of a firm floor, and Massachusetts and Washington have no dedicated state page. Real Dental Costs could not load Trustpilot's review pages directly — access was blocked, and three indirect signals disagreed on the same day — so no Trustpilot rating or review count appears on this page, only the fact that Spirit's own site displays a Trustpilot widget. This is independent pricing and plan-data research, not insurance advice; always confirm current rates and terms directly with Spirit Dental before enrolling.
Independent dental pricing research — every series carries a named source, and corrections are logged publicly. Not medical advice.