Dental Insurance (2026): Orthodontics

[Anonymous]

My teenager will be getting braces in 2026. The ortho’s office suggested the high options for both MetLife and FEP Blue.


On benefeds, the top line summaries for these two plans appear very similar.

Do folks have experience with either plan with regard to ortho specifically and dentistry generally?

Any other plans folks would recommend for ortho?

For the adults, one needs only regular cleanings; I have an implant that needs to be finalized in 2025 but hopefully no additional high cost needs.

[Anonymous]

Ask how much would it cost on cash? Sometimes its less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask how much would it cost on cash? Sometimes its less.

I’m considering an option without insurance; however, right now I’m focused on the merits of the two plans I mentioned and of any other plan available to federal employees.

[Anonymous]

I have Met Life high for the orthodontia and it's been fine/good. As expected. They were recommended as one of the options from our orthodontist. The claims go through quickly. They have better coverage for dentists in their network. Ours are not in network and we've chosen to remain with our previous providers.

Here's the link they sent me re: 2026 benefits - https://fedvip.metlife.com/dental/?cid=ezjap&utm_id=ezjap&utm_source=metlifefedvipsite&utm_medium=e&utm_campaign=eb_fv_4q_25_MetLife&utm_content=email_DentalRetention5&utm_term=&promoid=ezjap

I would try to get a quote from your orthodontist - ours gives a total cost upfront and you don't pay more than that. With that quote I was able to calculate out the premiums plus what I would pay for orthodontia and determine what make the most sense financially. Met Life was the clear choice after I did that.

[Anonymous]

Do they have lifetime limits?
We ended up doing one round of orthodontia and now we have to do complete round 2. Ortho is of course giving discounts but it's not great to start all over financially.

(long story short child has teeth that would not fall out and jaw still growing- it's a genetic issue that DH also went through.)

[Anonymous]

We got the FEP Blue dental insurance. One kid in braces. It’s been fine. It maybe gave us 50% on the braces and then family members have had other procedures. We haven’t done a deep dive into the math to see how we’ve come out on it but I think it helped some but not a whole lot.

[Anonymous]

If you're not a lawyer, hire one and take them with you when you talk to these places and avoid some of them all together.

[Anonymous]

We got GEHA dental before our kids started braces. At the time it seemed like it offered the best braces coverage. It’s also covers 6 month cleanings for the family as long as we go to an in plan dentist and covers a little for the one dentist we go to who is out of plan.

[Anonymous]

We had Met Life during the time our kids had braces, and it was pretty good. They drastically reduced their coverage for regular dentistry about two years ago (not sure about orthodontics), so we switched to GEHA. GEHA covers a bit more, but it is a nightmare to be reimbursed for out of pocket claims.

I would talk to your orthodontics’ billing office. They can tell you which is the best one for your situation.

[Anonymous]

You should call the provider.