Yikes! It costs how much for dental insurance in NJ?

🔵 NJ is an expensive state for dental insurance, according to a report

🔵 Cost of living and supply and demand are to blame

🔵 Medical inflation has also played a role in high premium costs

You may notice some sticker shock at the dentist. That’s because New Jersey has the fourth most expensive dental insurance in the U.S. in 2024, according to research from Celebrate Dental and Braces.

The average monthly dental insurance premium in New Jersey is $55.58, according to Dr. David Ensley, an orthodontist and regional partner at Celebrate Dental and Braces.

Why is the cost so high?

There are a few reasons why New Jersey has high dental insurance premiums.
The big one is the cost of living, Ensley said.

The cost of living impacts the price that dentists must charge in a certain area. For example, the rent that dentists are charged for their building, or the staff costs for their employees, tend to make dental work a little more expensive for patients, he explained.
Another thing that affects dental insurance premium costs is supply and demand.

“Typically, the more dentists you have in an area, the more a supply of dentists helps keep costs down. If you see some of the states that are above you on the list like New Mexico and West Virginia, those are areas that don’t have a lot of dentists, and so that tends to increase the cost of dental work,” Ensley said.

Medical inflation is also another factor that can affect dental insurance premium costs.

The cost of everything in doing dentistry has gone up, he said. The costs of labor, rent, and dental supplies have all gone up. So, the inflation that is seen every day at gas stations and grocery stores is impacting dental, as well, Ensley added.

However, a person’s dental work history does not affect premium costs, he said. Dental is typically a set amount a person has, a yearly maximum rate. It’s more determined by a person’s employer and how much they are subsidizing a person’s dental insurance.

Research from Celebrate Dental and Braces found that in 2021, over 80% of insured individuals visited their dentist within the year, compared to 55% of those lacking dental coverage, which illustrates how important having dental insurance is to people, Ensley said.

How can NJ help lower dental insurance costs?

From a state policy perspective, decreasing the tax burden, decreasing regulatory barriers, and making a more business-friendly environment encourages more dentists to work in New Jersey, which decreases costs for everybody, Ensley said.

“Another thing that can be done to decrease dental costs is often public education. The better people are taking care of their teeth, the less dental work that they need,” he said.

Inflation

Dental insurance typically has a maximum yearly amount. But as inflation has crept up, that max yearly amount has covered less and less. What would be helpful for dental consumers is if dental insurance companies would raise that max yearly amount because it doesn’t cover very much anymore, Ensley said.

“Thirty years ago if you had a $2,000 maximum that might cover several crowns or maybe a couple of crowns and a root canal. While these days, it covers less and less where maybe that would only cover one or two crowns and the rest would be out of pocket,” Ensley said.

Inflation has been impacting consumers as it gradually eats at that yearly max amount in their dental insurance.

New York and Pennsylvania have cheaper dental insurance premiums per month than New Jersey. In New York, the average monthly cost is $49.50 and in Pennsylvania, it’s $32.33.

“When you see a neighbor with a better price than you, it does make you wonder. If you dig in more closely to your neighbor, the cost of living, cost of doing business, and just the ratio of providers to patients impacting the cost of the dental insurance in those different areas,” Ensley said.

Most Expensive State for Dental Insurance

West Virginia is the most expensive state for dental insurance with an average premium of $79.08, according to the study.

New Mexico is the second most expensive state at $63.33 per month, followed by Vermont, New Jersey, and South Dakota.

On the flip side, the cheapest state for dental insurance is Michigan, with an average monthly premium of $9.92.

Hawaii is the second cheapest state at $24.25 per month, followed by Indiana, Ohio, and Texas.

Full ranking and State Monthly Premiums (From Highest to Lowest)

1. West Virginia 79.08
2. New Mexico 63.33
3. Vermont 61.17
4. New Jersey 55.58
5. South Dakota 55.00
6. Nebraska 53.00
7. Kentucky 52.83
8. North Carolina 52.17
9. Wisconsin 51.17
10. New Hampshire 50.33
11. Alaska 50.08
12. Wyoming 50.00
13. New York 49.50
14. DC 49.17
15. Connecticut 47.83
16. Maine 47.25
17. Florida 46.00
18. Arizona 45.67
19. Delaware 45.67
20. Massachusetts 45.00
21. Tennessee 43.75
22. California 43.17
23. Georgia 43.17
24. Kansas 42.50
25. Illinois 42.17
26. Nevada 42.08
27. Maryland 41.83
28. Utah 41.67
29. Colorado 41.08
30. Oregon 39.92
31. Washington 39.92
32. Oklahoma 39.42
33. Idaho 38.92
34. Arkansas 38.08
35. North Dakota 37.25
36. Louisiana 37.08
37. South Carolina 36.83
38. Rhode Island 36.75
39. Missouri 35.00
40. Mississippi 34.08
41. Alabama 33.75
42. Iowa 33.50
43. Minnesota 33.08
44. Pennsylvania 32.33
45. Montana 31.83
46. Texas 28.67
47. Ohio 28.08
48. Indiana 24.33
49. Hawaii 24.25
50. Michigan 9.92

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