Many dental professionals believe insurance should evolve to prioritize preventive healthcare, integration and transparency to support patients’ overall health and simplify the claims process.
Becker’s spoke with four dental leaders about the changes they would make to improve the current dental insurance system.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: If you could reimagine the way dental insurance works, what changes would you make and why?
Hussam Asker, DDS. Owner of Apolonia Smiles (Pflugerville, Texas): Clarity is the most significant factor in reimagining dental insurance. Currently, patient benefits are often not fully transparent, requiring staff to spend hours on the phone verifying information. My proposed solution is the implementation of a standardized “Dental Insurance Benefits Form,” similar to the [American Dental Association] claim form.
This form would be used by every insurance carrier to communicate policy details, including percentages, limitations, alternative benefits, maximums and deductibles, all on a single, standardized sheet. Just as the ADA form streamlined claim submissions, a universal verification form would ensure 100% standardization across all policies. This standardization would make it easier for insurance companies to communicate data and for dental staff to accurately understand each patient’s coverage.
Jerin Murray. Director of Hygiene at InterDent (El Segundo, Calif.): If I could reimagine the way dental insurance works, I would want to see dental and medical insurance align much more closely to support the holistic health of our patients. For too long, oral health has been separated from overall health, when in reality the mouth is deeply connected to the rest of the body. We need to “put the head back on the body,” and recognize that conditions such as periodontal disease, inflammation, caries and oral infection can directly impact systemic health, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy outcomes and more.
I would also like to see insurance shift from a reactive model to a preventive and wellness-focused model. Too often, benefits prioritize treatment after disease has progressed instead of supporting early intervention, prevention and patient education. Expanding coverage for preventive therapies, adjunctive periodontal services, minimally invasive treatments and evidence-based technologies would help patients achieve better long-term outcomes while ultimately reducing overall healthcare costs.
At the end of the day, insurance should empower providers to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care rather than limiting treatment based on outdated benefit structures.
David Nguyen. CEO of URBN Dental (Houston): Dental insurance has spent decades optimizing around cost control instead of human health. That mindset shaped an entire industry. We built systems that wait for disease, approve treatment slowly and reward intervention more than prevention. Meanwhile, dentistry itself has transformed. We now have AI diagnostics, digital imaging, predictive analytics and the ability to detect problems earlier than ever before, yet the insurance experience still feels analog.
If I could redesign it, I would start with a simple idea: the best dentistry is the dentistry you never need. The future model should reward keeping people healthy, not just fixing problems after they become expensive. Insurance should function more like a health partnership powered by data, personalization and early intervention.
I also believe simplicity matters. Patients should instantly understand their benefits, costs and options without navigating layers of friction and confusion. In every great consumer experience, technology fades into the background. Healthcare should feel the same way.
Most importantly, oral health can no longer exist in isolation. The mouth is not separate from the body. The future of dentistry sits at the intersection of healthcare, AI and human experience.
The companies that redefine this space will not just process claims faster. They will redesign trust, transparency and the relationship people have with their health altogether.
Mariz Tanious, DDS. Chief Dental Officer of Affinity Dental Management (Holyoke, Mass.): I would reimagine dental insurance as a shared success model where patients, providers and insurers all do better when oral health improves. Instead of building plans around annual maximums and exclusions, I’d center them on prevention, engagement and outcomes. As [patients] stay engaged in preventive and recommended care, their benefits would improve over time (higher annual maximums and lower out‑of‑pocket costs), so the healthiest behavior is also the most affordable.
Equally important, I would separate coverage decisions from clinical decisions. Insurance would define what is financially supported, but it would no longer dictate which specific procedure a provider “should” choose based on a narrow benefit design. Providers would be empowered to recommend the best, evidence‑based treatment for each patient, and payment models would reward the quality and outcome of that care, which means fewer emergencies, better periodontal stability and higher patient satisfaction, rather than the cheapest covered option. In that structure, patients get better long‑term results, providers can truly practice at the top of their license and insurers benefit from healthier populations and more predictable costs, all aligned around the same goal: keeping people healthy instead of just managing claims.
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