More than 65% of consumers have some type of dental insurance or benefit, according to a new report from the American Dental Association.
The American Dental Association compiled the results from its "Dentist Trend Report" survey and "Consumer Trend Report" survey for its 2024 "Communications Trend Report." The report aims to identify emerging issues for the dental industry and help improve communication between dentists, the ADA and other dental organization decision makers.
The "Dentist Trend Report" survey was conducted between March and April with 560 respondents. The "Consumer Trend Report" survey was conducted in March with more than 1,000 consumers throughout the U.S.
Five notes from the report:
1. The percentage of consumers who reported having dental insurance was 4% less than last year.
2. Here are the types of dental insurance consumers reported having:
- Employer provided: 44%
- Government: 36%
- In-office plan from their dentist: 6%
- Personal HSA: 6%
- Employer-sponsored HSA: 3%
- Other: 6%
3. Here is how consumers responded to a question about how much their dental insurance meets their needs:
- Completely meets their needs: 29%
- Mostly meets their needs: 43%
- Partially meets their needs: 20%
- Not close to meeting their needs: 6%
- Does not meet their needs at all: 2%
4. Thirty-nine percent of consumers who have insurance that "completely" meets their needs also said a dental emergency would cause them moderate to substantial hardship.
5. Nearly 50% of consumers who have insurance that "mostly" meets their needs also said a dental emergency would cause them moderate to substantial hardship.