Pick the dental work you expect this year and your household size, and see what it would cost at full price versus on that plan's own savings discount — plus whether its actual annual fee is worth it for you. Everything below runs on the national-average costs from our accuracy-audited cost index. These are honest estimates, not quotes.
The honest caveat: for the default plan shown here (Careington, individual, ~$99/year), one cleaning alone does not cover the annual fee — the math works out to a net loss on a single visit. Two cleanings a year gets you close to breakeven on average, and the case gets strong the moment a filling, crown, root canal, or extraction enters the picture — exactly the work that hurts most at full price. These are illustrative estimates based on national averages and each plan's own disclosed discount and fee, not a quote; your real price depends on your dentist, your ZIP code, and the plan you pick.
Want to see which plan fits your numbers? Check the best dental savings plans of 2026 for the full price and network comparison.
Pick the procedures you expect to need this year, and your household size (individual, couple, or family). The calculator sums their US national-average costs for the full-price total, then applies the selected plan's own disclosed discount band to estimate the discounted price (its biggest disclosed discount for the low end, its smallest for the high end) — Careington (the default plan shown) runs 20–60%; other plans we track run anywhere from 10% to 100% off depending on the plan and procedure. It shows your estimated savings as a range and subtracts that plan's own annual fee for your household size (roughly $49–$300/year across the plans we track) to show net savings. The figures come from our accuracy-audited cost index and each plan's own published pricing — they are illustrative estimates, not a quote.
No. They are estimates based on US national-average dental costs and the selected plan's own disclosed discount band. Your actual price depends on your specific dentist, your ZIP code, and the exact plan you choose. Use this to gauge whether a plan is worth it for your situation, then check exact prices for your procedure and dentist before enrolling.
A plan pays off once your savings clear its annual fee. For the default plan shown here (Careington, individual, ~$99/year), one routine cleaning alone (national average ~$125) does not clear that fee on its own — even at the plan's best-case 60% discount, the math still nets out to a loss. Two cleanings a year gets you close to breakeven on average, and any single additional procedure — a filling, crown, root canal, or extraction — clears the fee comfortably. The exact breakeven point shifts with the plan and household size you select above.
Each plan's own disclosed discount band, not one fixed number applied to every plan. Careington (the default plan shown here) runs 20–60% off the dentist's usual fee. The other plans we track range from 10–60% (DentalPlans.com) to 15–50% (Aetna Dental Access, Humana) to 10–100% varying by procedure (Aspen Dental, redeemable only at Aspen Dental offices). Arrive here from a specific plan's review page (via its "run the numbers" link) and the calculator switches to that plan's own discount band and fee automatically. We show the result as a range because real discounts vary by procedure, plan, and provider.