Does pet insurance cover dental care?

Insurers split teeth care into three groups. Each one is treated in its own way, so it helps to know which one your pet needs.

• Dental injury. Your dog breaks a tooth on a bone, or your cat gets hit in the mouth. This is an accident. Most pet insurance pays for it.
• Dental disease. Gum disease, an infected tooth, or a tooth that has to come out. This is an illness. Many plans pay, but some cap it or add rules.
• Routine cleaning. A planned cleaning to keep teeth healthy. This is preventive care. Regular plans almost never pay for it.

A plan that pays for both accidents and illnesses is called an accident and illness plan. An accident-only plan pays for injuries but not for dental disease.

This table comes from each insurer's own website or sample policy, checked October 29, 2026. Terms change and can differ by state, so read your own policy.

Trupanion and other insurers also sell dental coverage. We list only the terms we could read on the insurer's own pages.

Dental disease grows slowly. So insurers want to know your pet's mouth was healthy, or treated, before the plan started. That is why some plans have exam rules.

Pets Best sets a rule for pets 3 and older. To pay for pulling teeth (and some root canal work) because of gum disease, your pet must have had a cleaning and exam under anesthesia (medicine that puts your pet to sleep) in the 13 months before signs show up. Any gum disease found at that visit must be treated before coverage applies.

Embrace asks for a vet exam within 12 months before the start date or 14 days after it. Its policy also says that if gum disease, tartar or plaque was already there, dental illness is not covered until it is treated and the exclusion ends.

Signs that were there before you bought the plan count as a pre-existing condition at most insurers. Keep copies of your vet's dental notes. They can decide a claim.

Routine cleanings are paid by wellness add-ons, not by the main plan. These pay a set dollar amount each year. Some examples from the insurers' own pages:

• Spot: the Gold add-on pays up to $100 for a cleaning. Platinum pays up to $150 for a cleaning OR a spay or neuter. These amounts come from a notice Spot posts for California residents, so they may differ in your state.
• Pets Best: up to $150 for teeth cleaning with BestWellness. That limit is shared with spay and neuter.
• Fetch: preventive mouth care is paid from a limit of $175 to $250, based on the tier. It is shared with spay and neuter. Fetch says these new plans are not in every state yet.
• ASPCA Pet Health Insurance: both its Basic and Prime preventive options list dental cleaning.

A shared limit matters for puppies and kittens. If you use it for a spay or neuter, there may be nothing left for a cleaning that year.

Some vet chains sell memberships that include a cleaning. Banfield says a yearly dental cleaning is part of its Active Care Plus and Senior Care Plus plans. These are clinic plans, not insurance. Our guide to pet wellness plans compares all three ways to pay.

In a 2015 pet owner brochure, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) says gum disease is the most common dental problem in dogs and cats. By age 3, your pet will very likely have early signs of it. It gets worse with age if it is not prevented.

The AVMA says a vet should check your pet's teeth at least once a year. It also says a full cleaning is done under anesthesia, because most dental disease is below the gumline where you cannot see it. The brochure says the AVMA, the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Veterinary Dental College do not recommend cleanings without anesthesia.

Brushing your pet's teeth at home is the single best thing you can do between cleanings, the AVMA says. Older pets often need more dental work, so see senior pet insurance if your pet is getting on in years.

Dental terms are some of the most different from one insurer to the next. Ask these questions and get the answers in writing.