Family-Friendly Dental Membership Plans
Dental membership plans are designed to make high-quality care more affordable by bundling preventive services and offering consistent discounts on additional treatments. Instead of dealing with deductibles, annual maximums, or surprise bills, patients pay one predictable fee and enjoy savings year-round on everything from routine cleanings to major procedures like crowns and implants. While the exact amount varies, patients who use their plan regularly can save hundreds—or even thousands—each year, all while gaining peace of mind, stability in costs, and added benefits that make their care more comprehensive and accessible.
At Norman Smile Center, affordability is at the heart of our approach to dental care. Led by Dr. Kristen Campbell and Dr. Donna Sparks, our in-house dental membership plans make it easier for patients to manage costs and enjoy real savings on the care they need without sacrificing quality treatment. For one flat annual fee, members receive essential preventive services—like cleanings, exams, and x-rays—plus 15% off all additional treatments, giving patients predictable pricing, fewer financial barriers, and greater access to high-quality care. By cutting out insurance hassles and middlemen, our plans create stability and transparency in dental costs, allowing our patients to focus on maintaining their oral health with confidence.
How Dental Memberships Help Reduce the Cost of Care
Dental memberships reduce the financial barriers that often keep patients from getting the care they need. By removing insurance middlemen, bundling preventive services, and offering consistent discounts on additional treatments, these plans create more predictable costs and deliver better overall value. Instead of worrying about deductibles, waiting periods, or surprise bills, patients pay one flat fee for preventive care and receive year-round savings on everything from fillings to crowns.
Here’s what those savings look like in real dollars:
Dental care in Oklahoma varies, but average private-practice fees include:
- Adult cleaning and exam: ~$90 each visit
- Full x-ray set: ~$150
- Composite filling: ~$225
- Amalgam filling: ~$176
- Porcelain crown: ~$1,136
With a membership plan (around $399/year for adults and $350/year for children), preventive care like cleanings, exams, and x-rays are included, plus members receive about 15% off additional treatments.
Here’s how that adds up:
Single Adult (with one filling):
- Typical private fees: ~ $555/year
- With membership: ~ $391/year
- Savings: about $160 annually
Family of Four (two adults, two children, each with one filling):
- Typical private fees: ~ $2,122/year
- With membership: ~ $2,180/year (a near break-even scenario)
- Savings grow significantly if additional care is needed. For example, one crown discounted by 15% saves nearly $170.
Even in cases where the total out-of-pocket cost is similar to traditional private fees, membership plans provide more for the money, adding the stability, convenience, and long-term value that further enhances oral health.
- No hidden costs. All of your preventive services are fully covered, creating predictable expenses.
- Additional benefits. Emergency exams, fluoride treatments for kids, and unlimited x-rays are included.
- Peace of mind. Patients know they can access care without worrying about insurance approvals or annual maximums.
- Encouragement of preventive visits. Regular cleanings and exams reduce the risk of bigger, more expensive problems down the road.
Dental Membership Plans vs Traditional Dental Insurance in Oklahoma: Comparing Costs
Traditional dental insurance often looks affordable at first but can be more expensive once premiums, deductibles, and coverage limits are factored in.
While dental membership plans offer one flat annual fee and discount, traditional dental insurance plans typically include:
- Premiums. Premiums are a fixed monthly amount you pay just to keep dental insurance active, whether or not you use it. In Oklahoma, premiums average around $29–$30/month (~$350–$360/year per person).
- Deductibles. These are the out-of-pocket amounts you must pay for dental services each year before your insurance begins covering costs. They typically range from $25–$100 per person annually.
- Coverage limitations. After your deductible is met, there will be a percentage of treatment costs you’re responsible for. Typically, insurance covers 70–85% of basic preventive services (like fillings) and only 50–60% of major services (like crowns or root canals), leaving you to pay the rest.
- Annual maximums. Annual maximums are a cap on the dollar amount your insurance will pay for covered services in a year, usually between $1,500–$2,500. Once that cap is reached, you pay all additional costs.
- Year-to-year changes. Premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance rates can increase annually, meaning your costs may go up even if your dental needs stay the same.
- Use-it-or-lose-it benefits. Most insurance plans reset at the end of the calendar year, so if you don’t use your preventive visits or available coverage before December 31, those benefits typically expire.
- Waiting periods. Many plans require that you wait 6–12 months after enrolling before certain services are covered and you can use benefits for basic or major procedures like fillings, crowns, or root canals.
By comparison, a membership plan:
- Has no premiums, deductibles, waiting periods, or annual caps.
- Covers preventive care immediately.
- Applies 15% savings to every additional procedure with no limit.
- Keeps pricing predictable and transparent year after year.
Because dental insurance spreads costs through premiums, limits, hidden expenses, and restrictions, the built-in discounts and guaranteed preventive coverage of a membership plan often add up to greater financial value, making memberships the smarter, more cost-effective choice for many patients.
Who Benefits the Most from Dental Membership Plans: By the Numbers
While dental membership plans can provide value to nearly anyone, they tend to deliver the greatest benefits to those who use their dental care consistently. Patients who make use of their plan regularly often see the greatest return, since preventive visits are already included and discounts add up quickly when additional treatments are needed. Those who want predictable costs, straightforward pricing, and freedom from insurance limitations also find memberships especially worthwhile.
In short, the more patients engage with their plan, the more value they receive over time, and as a result, certain patients are especially likely to see the greatest impact on both cost and overall value, such as:
Uninsured or self-pay patients.
If you don’t have dental insurance—or if your insurance has limited coverage or high out-of-pocket costs—a membership plan provides a predictable, affordable way to manage routine care.
Traditional dental insurance often comes with waiting periods, yearly maximums (typically around $1,500), and a host of exclusions. For patients paying out of pocket, those costs can be unpredictable and difficult to manage.
In Oklahoma, preventive care alone (two cleanings, two exams, x-rays, fluoride) can easily exceed $300–$400 per year per person, but with Norman Smile Center’s plan ($399/year for adults and $350/year for kids), these services are fully covered and members get 15% off any additional treatment like fillings, crowns, or implants. A single crown, for example, typically costs around $1,141 in Oklahoma, so a 15% discount saves $170, effectively covering almost half the cost of the membership itself.
Seniors and Medicare recipients.
Oral health is critical for aging adults, particularly with links to heart disease, diabetes, and overall wellness, but most Medicare plans don’t cover dental care beyond emergencies. This leaves many seniors to cover cleanings, exams, and restorative work entirely out-of-pocket, or delay care altogether due to cost.
With no insurance to offset expenses, for example, a senior needing routine cleanings and one or two fillings could pay $500–$700 per year. With a dental membership plan, they’d pay $399 for full preventive care, and save another $30–$200 per procedure with their member discount. If more extensive work like dentures, crowns, or implants is needed, annual savings can climb into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Families and parents with children.
Kids need regular dental care, including frequent restorative care, and the costs add up quickly, especially for large families or those without dental insurance. Families—especially those with multiple children—can save significantly through dental membership plans that bundle preventive care and discounts on treatments like sealants, fluoride, and fillings.
With Norman Smile Center’s plan, a family of four (two adults and two kids) pays just $1,498/year total. That includes:
- All cleanings, exams, fluoride, and x-rays
- One emergency exam per person
- 15% off additional services
Compared to paying out of pocket (around $1,848/year with one filling per person and preventive care), that’s an immediate savings of $350, not counting additional savings on any unexpected treatments or specialty services. And because the plan includes fluoride and emergency exams for kids—services not always fully covered by insurance—it also delivers greater value and peace of mind for parents.
Patients needing extensive dental work.
Even with insurance, many major treatments exceed annual maximums or come with high copays. Whether you’re planning for a crown, bridge, implant, or multiple fillings, dental membership plans significantly reduce the out-of-pocket costs associated with these larger treatments, offering an unlimited discount on all services and helping offset gaps in coverage.
For example, a crown in Oklahoma averages $1,100–$1,200, and implants can range from $2,000–$5,000 per tooth. A 15% membership discount would save you:
- Approximately $170 on one crown
- Between $500-$1000 or more on a full mouth restoration plan (e.g. multiple crowns, bridges, or implants)
Patients undergoing cosmetic dental treatments, periodontal therapy, sleep apnea treatment, or therapeutic Botox also benefit from membership savings that insurance often doesn’t apply to.
Patients who want predictable costs and fewer surprises.
Cost uncertainty is one of the biggest reasons patients delay care, but with a dental membership plan, you know exactly what’s covered, what you’ll pay, and what kind of discount you’ll receive on additional care before you ever sit in the chair. Even for those with insurance or basic dental needs, dental membership plans offer the advantage of predictable, transparent pricing and a direct relationship with your provider, especially in the event of unplanned dental expenses. Without the third-party interference, hidden fees, and risk of denied claims from insurance providers, dental membership plans make it easier to budget for future care while taking the stress out of unexpected needs like a cavity, a chipped tooth, or an emergency exam.
In terms of peace of mind for both your oral health and your budget, the savings from a dental membership plan are priceless, removing the guesswork and giving you access to consistent, affordable care anytime you need it. In real dollars, the savings can be sizable; the average adult who completes preventive care and one or two fillings each year can save $150–$300, while patients needing more advanced work can save $500 or more annually.
Save Money on Dental Care without Sacrificing Quality with Dental Membership Plans from Norman Smile Center
A dental membership plan from Norman Smile Center makes high-quality care more affordable by removing cost and insurance barriers to routine visits. With transparent pricing and discounts on additional treatments, it’s easier to stay consistent with cleanings, exams, and preventive services that catch issues early and help avoid costly procedures later.
Backed by more than 30 years of service to the Norman community, our privately owned, all-women practice combines advanced technology with compassionate, patient-centered care, and we’re committed to improving dental health throughout our community. Call us about a Dental Membership Plan today and enjoy a free bleaching tray with your first appointment.