Simplyhealth's dental plan is a monthly insurance plan that pays back part of your dentist's bills: you pay the dentist, send in the receipt, and Simplyhealth refunds a set percentage up to an annual limit. It has four levels, and Simplyhealth's dental plan page advertises it "From just £11.95 a month". If you are weighing it against private medical insurance, the two do different jobs. Hospital cover with a dental extra is a separate product, while the form on this page starts a free call with a broker holding FCA authorisation, who quotes for hospital cover. The rest of this page is about the dental plan itself.
Everything about the plan below comes from Simplyhealth's own dental plan page and the two consumer documents it links to, the table of cover (print code TOC-DCONSUMER-1125), the insurance product information document or product summary (IPID-DCONSUMER-1125) and the policy terms (T&C-DCONSUMER-1125), all read on 29 October 2026. Check the figures against the documents you are sent when you join.
The four levels: monthly price and what each pays out
The table of cover gives one monthly premium for a single adult at each level, and separate prices for adding a partner or up to four children. The yearly column is our own arithmetic (twelve times the monthly premium), not a Simplyhealth figure. Premiums include Insurance Premium Tax where applicable.
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly premium, you | £11.95 | £19.60 | £28.50 | £36.50 |
| Twelve months of that premium | £143.40 | £235.20 | £342.00 | £438.00 |
| Monthly premium, you and a partner | £23.90 | £39.20 | £57.00 | £73.00 |
| Monthly premium, up to four children under 18 | £4.00 | £7.00 | £10.50 | £16.00 |
| Check-ups, paid at 100% up to | £45 | £75 | £105 | £135 |
| Scale and polish, paid at 75% up to | £35 | £65 | £95 | £125 |
| Treatment, paid at 50% up to | £200 | £400 | £600 | £800 |
| Of the treatment limit, the most for crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays | no separate limit shown | £200 | £300 | £400 |
The limits are per person, per year. Check-ups cover examinations and x-rays as well as the check-up itself, scale and polish includes hygienist fees for maintenance, and treatment is described as including fillings, dentures, periodontal care, crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays. The treatment benefit pays half of each receipt, so a Level 2 member who has a £300 filling bill gets back £150 at most, and the £400 limit is reached only after £800 of receipts. Simplyhealth's page says there are no excesses to pay.
What waits three months and what does not
Check-ups and scale and polish have no qualifying period in the table of cover. The treatment, accident, emergency visit, NHS hospital and mouth cancer benefits all sit under a three-month qualifying period, and the dental plan page repeats it: "Cover applies after you have been with us for 3 months." The product summary also says those benefits are not payable for the first three months of cover. If you are joining because a tooth already hurts, that matters: a filling needed in week two is not what the treatment benefit is for.
A separate rule concerns readers who have not seen a dentist for a while. Simplyhealth's product summary says that if you have not seen a dentist in the two years before you join, it will not pay for any treatment identified as necessary, planned or received during the first dental examination you have after joining. Book that first examination knowing treatment found at it will not be paid.
What the plan does not pay for
Simplyhealth's page states the main exclusions in one sentence: "Pre-existing conditions, treatment identified in a qualifying period or cosmetic dentistry are not covered." The product summary adds that you must be at least 18 to join, that a partner must live with you and be on your level, that a child must be under 18 and on your level, and that people who are not residents of the United Kingdom or UK Territories are not insured. Cover is for treatment in the UK, apart from the accident and emergency benefits described next. Each benefit also has its own exclusions in the full policy terms.
The policy terms (T&C-DCONSUMER-1125) add general exclusions that catch many readers out: orthodontic treatment, new veneers unless your dentist deems them clinically necessary, hypnosis or sedation, and any costs for treatment in a hospital following a referral from a dentist. The treatment benefit also leaves out appliances for grinding or clenching, such as mouth guards.
Accidents, emergencies, hospital stays and mouth cancer
These benefits are what separate a dental plan from a simple discount scheme, and they sit on the same three-month wait as treatment:
- Accident: 100% of receipts up to £5,000 a year per person, for treatment to return you to your pre-accident oral health. The table of cover says you must see a dentist or doctor within 30 days of the accident, and the product summary says treatment must be received within 30 days, so acting quickly is the safe reading.
- Emergency visit: 100% up to £500 a year, for urgent appointments such as severe pain needing immediate treatment.
- NHS hospital: £50 for each day or night you are admitted to an NHS hospital for dental treatment, up to 20 days or nights a year. The web page adds that this follows a referral.
- Mouth cancer: one payment of £5,000 per person for the lifetime of the membership, on a specialist's diagnosis of primary mouth cancer.
Accident and emergency cover applies anywhere in the world; the web page says that is for UK residents on a trip of up to and including 28 days.
Dental plan or cash plan: how Simplyhealth's two products differ
Simplyhealth also sells a Health Plan, a cash plan that pays back towards dental, optical, physiotherapy and other costs. Its dental benefit is a single annual limit paid at 100% of receipts and, in the table of cover read on 29 October 2026, it starts at Level 2 with limits from £60 up to £220. That table lists no accident, emergency visit or mouth cancer benefit like the dental plan's, while the dental plan pays only 50% of treatment receipts. Which is the better fit depends on the bills you actually have: is a Simplyhealth cash plan worth it does that sum, Simplyhealth cash plan levels explained sets out the five levels, and the cash plan's own qualifying period has a separate page.
What the work costs without any plan, and what a plan will not stretch to
The dental plan's largest treatment limit is £800 a year at Level 4, paid at half of each receipt. Self-pay hospital prices show how quickly a single procedure can pass that. Spire Healthcare's published self-pay prices for wisdom teeth removal at 23 hospitals, captured 4 September 2026, run from £2,322 to £3,396, with a median of £2,894. These are cash prices, not what any insurance would pay. The policy terms list extractions under the treatment benefit, but their general exclusions rule out any costs for treatment in a hospital following a referral from a dentist, so a hospital operation of this kind is not something the plan pays towards.
Where the bill could be large, the useful question is often whether medical insurance with a dental extra is a better fit than a dental plan. Private health insurance and dental cover explains how that works, and, Simplyhealth plan aside, hospital insurance with dental benefits is something a broker can price, so say dental matters when you request that call through the form on this page.
Joining, paying and cancelling
You take the personal dental plan out with Simplyhealth itself, through its dental plan page; its employer product, Simply Dental, is a separate plan sold through intermediaries. Payment is by monthly Direct Debit on a minimum 12-month term. The cover lasts one year and renews automatically unless cancelled. You can cancel by writing or calling; within 14 days of receiving your documents or of a renewal date, the product summary says the premium is refunded unless you have made a claim (the policy terms put it as a refund with any claims paid deducted), and after that, before the end of the 12-month minimum, you would owe the remaining premiums for that policy year.
Dentures, cosmetic work, implants and a first visit: quick answers
Can I use a private dentist with the Simplyhealth plan?
The plan is a reimbursement plan, and Simplyhealth's page says you can use your own local NHS or private dentist. You pay the dentist and claim a percentage back, by sending a photo of the receipt online or in the app. The policy terms ask you to claim as soon as you can, ideally within 6 months of the treatment date, and say invoices and card receipts are not accepted.
Are dentures part of the treatment benefit?
Yes, dentures are in the list of examples under the treatment benefit, which pays 50% of the receipt up to the annual limit for your level, after the three-month qualifying period.
Does the Simplyhealth dental plan cover implants?
Yes, within limits. The policy terms list implants with crowns and bridges under the treatment benefit, which pays 50% of the receipt up to your level's annual treatment limit, after the three-month qualifying period, for treatment that is clinically necessary. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, so tell Simplyhealth about any missing tooth before relying on it.
Is cosmetic dentistry covered?
No. Simplyhealth's documents say cosmetic dentistry is not covered.
Can I join if I have not been to a dentist recently?
Yes, but read the two-year rule in the qualifying section above first, as treatment found at your first examination would not be paid.