Dental Coverage for Families in Clark County
Clark County is Las Vegas — the global capital of resort gaming and entertainment, where a massive workforce of casino dealers, hotel workers, restaurant staff, and entertainment employees has historically had limited employer dental coverage outside of major union contracts.
Families buy dental coverage for two different groups: children and adults. Adult dental care isn’t an essential health benefit under the ACA, so a health plan in Nevada doesn’t have to include it. In Clark County that means choosing a health plan on Nevada Health Link first and treating adult dental as its own purchase.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Clark County
Under a family dental plan, each person’s claims count against their own deductible until the family cap is reached ($50 per person and $150 per family on SecureDental PLUS), and preventive care generally skips the deductible.
Orthodontia is where family plans differ most. Many exclude braces or cover them only on higher tiers; SecureDental PLUS covers orthodontia only on its Premium tier, at 70% after a 12-month wait, up to $500 a year and $1,500 lifetime.
Enrolling Your Family in Dental Coverage in Nevada
In Nevada the Marketplace is Nevada Health Link, which offers dental plans next to its health plans during Open Enrollment and special enrollment periods. Outside the Marketplace there is no enrollment window for stand-alone dental, and coverage usually starts the first of the next month. Use the ZIP code form below and Daniel will send you the dental options for your address.
Waiting periods are the catch. On SecureDental PLUS, cleanings are covered right away, fillings after 1 month, and crowns, bridges and orthodontia after 12 months, and HealthCare.gov warns that separate dental plans in general can have waiting periods for adults.
Serious dental emergencies, such as spreading infection or a broken jaw, are usually treated in a hospital and billed to health insurance rather than the dental plan. In Clark County, Medicare’s hospital directory shows 17 hospitals with emergency departments, among them Boulder City Hospital, Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center and 15 others. Two of the county’s hospitals are critical access hospitals, the small rural facilities Medicare designates to keep emergency care close.
Stand-alone dental plans are excepted benefits under federal law, so they don’t count as minimum essential coverage and never stand in for a health plan.
Call (713) 575-9904 to compare family dental plans for your address in Clark County, with the network checked before you apply.