Dental Care Without Insurance — Plans From $36.67 a Month

Most people without dental insurance are not broke. They are stuck.

You looked into an individual dental policy. You found a monthly premium, a waiting period before major work is covered, an annual maximum that runs out fast, and a deductible before any of it starts. You did the math and decided to just skip cleanings for now. That is a completely rational decision, and it is also how a filling turns into a root canal and a crown.

Smile Savers is our answer to that. It is not insurance. It is a membership you buy directly from us, and everything about it is published on this page. You can see exactly what you pay and exactly what you get before you call anyone.

We are, as far as we can tell, the only practice in the Fort Smith market that publishes its membership pricing at all. Go look at the others. You will find a "club" with no name attached to a number, or a plan page that ends in "call for pricing." We think that tells you something.

All five tiers, in writing

Every additional family member after the first costs $330 a year. The fifth is $325. A family of four pays $1,430, which works out to $357.50 per person, and a family of five pays $351 per person.

One member at $440 a year is $1.21 a day.

What $440 a year actually buys

Every Smile Savers membership includes, per member, per year:

• 2 comprehensive or periodic exams — the full look, with the doctor
• 2 limited exams — for when something hurts between visits and you need it looked at now
• All needed X-rays — not a fixed number, what your care actually requires
• 2 cleanings — standard preventive cleanings
• Fluoride treatment
• 20% off comprehensive treatment — fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, dentures, gum treatment

Not included: implants, CT scans, and orthodontics. We would rather tell you that in bold on this page than have you find out at the front desk.

Run the numbers yourself

Membership is priced per person, and it gets cheaper for each family member you add.

Adding family members costs far less than a second individual membership, so a family of four pays well under half per person what a single member pays.

Now add the part most comparisons leave out. The 20% discount applies to everything else you need that year. If you end up needing a crown and a filling that would total $1,500, the discount saves you $300 on its own, which is more than two-thirds of the annual membership fee. On a $2,200 treatment plan it saves $440, which is the entire annual fee, and your cleanings and exams were free on top of that.

That is the whole design. Preventive care is covered so you actually come in, and everything else is discounted so that finding a problem early does not feel like a punishment.

Where a membership beats a dental policy, and where it does not

To be straight with you: if your employer offers dental insurance and pays part of the premium, take it. That is usually the better deal, and we are in-network with twelve carriers.

Smile Savers is for the people employer coverage does not reach. Self-employed. Retired and off a group plan. Working part time. Between jobs. On a policy so limited that it functions as a discount card with paperwork.

The two structural things insurance does that a membership never does: it makes you wait, and it stops paying. The waiting period means the crown you need in March is not covered until September. The annual maximum means that once a hard year crosses $1,500, you are on your own for the rest of it. Smile Savers has neither, because there is no risk pool to protect. It is just an agreement between you and us.

Smile Savers is not insurance and does not replace a medical or dental insurance policy. Membership is non-transferable and covers the specific services listed above.

Add-on plans and warranties for the work you already had done

Smile Savers covers your baseline. Forever Smiles is the second layer, five plans built around specific things people actually invest in and then worry about protecting.

VIP Whitening & Cosmetics Club — $50/month A professional whitening kit every six months, discounts on veneers, Botox, and clear aligners, and priority scheduling for cosmetic appointments. Members typically save $300 or more a year. For people who want to stay bright and are going to keep doing cosmetic work anyway.

Sleep & TMJ Wellness Plan — $50/month A quarterly mouth tape supply, discounts on sleep apnea oral appliances, TMJ consultations with Botox discounts, and a 5-year warranty on your appliance. Members typically save $250 or more a year. For people in our sleep and airway programs who want ongoing support and coverage on the device.

Bridges & Implant Crown Warranty — $50/month Up to two bridge replacements within five years, free re-cementation, and priority repair scheduling. After-hours emergency visits are $250. For people who have invested in a bridge or implant crown and do not want a sudden failure to become a sudden bill.

Crowns Warranty — $360/year Up to two crown replacements within five years, free re-cementation, and priority scheduling. After-hours emergency visits are $250. Crowns fail at the worst moments. This covers the replacement.

Retainers & Ortho Warranty — $50/month Up to three replacement retainers over five years, quarterly checkups, 80% off minor re-treatment of up to four teeth, and 50% off moderate re-treatment of five to ten teeth. Available to patients who completed braces or aligner treatment. Lost retainers are the single most common reason people pay for orthodontics twice.

Savings figures are typical member estimates and vary with how often you use the benefits. Warranty terms apply to work performed at Valley Family Dental and require that you keep your recommended checkups.

How to enroll {#enroll}

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There is no application, no health questionnaire, no underwriting, and no approval to wait on.

1. Call or tell us at your visit. Fort Smith (479) 226-3500 or Roland, Oklahoma (918) 503-6262, Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
2. Pick your tier. One through five members. Family members do not have to live at the same address, but they do all have to be patients here.
3. Choose annual or monthly. Pay the year up front or set it up monthly.
4. Use it the same day. No waiting period means exactly that. Enroll at the front desk before your cleaning and the cleaning is covered.

If you are already sitting on a treatment plan you have been putting off, ask us to price it both ways before you enroll. Sometimes the 20% discount alone justifies the membership in the first month.