I was just working with a young guy that was interested in Dental Insurance.  Right now there are not that many different companies that carry a stand alone dental insurance product in Illinois.  I've usually recommended people to try out Vital savings by Aetna which is a dental discount plan.

Since his employeer was going to give him some money toward dental insurance he didn't want a discount plan but instead we went for actual insurance.  Most individual dental insurance policies don't pay for dental accidents (that is what your health insurance is for) and they usually have low maximum annual benefits (around $1000) anyway.  I compare this to having "insurance" for your oil changes and minor repairs for your car. 

The Aetna PPO plus plan covers 100% of diagnostic and preventative cleanings and are not subject to deductible.  The Aetna PPO dental plan covers 80% of your diagnostic and preventative cleanings and also is not subject to deductible

The price difference is 38 a month vs 27 a month for the 30 year old guy I was talking about. for everything else the coverage is basically identical (50%) expect for denture repair, rebase and relining and major periodontal maintenance cleanings.  If some one insist on a dental insurance plan I only recommend the regular aetna ppo dental plan and for them to take that extra 11 bucks and month and either add that to their HSA account or go out and buy are really nice electronic tooth brush.  

Soon I will discuss my thoughts on the difference between a dental discount plan like Vital savings vs and dental insurance plan.