Insuring your smile... the options

By Jennifer Hill, Personal Finance Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - As more and more dentists go private and the cost of treatment soars, a growing number of consumers are insuring their pearly whites.

A standard filling can cost anything into three figures in many British surgeries and even a routine check-up on the NHS can dent your bank balance.

The mounting costs are leading to a growing number of people to neglect their oral care: almost a third of 1,000 adults surveyed earlier this year say they have not visited the dentist in the past two years.

A fifth has not had dental work that was recommended carried out due to the costs involved, according to the poll commissioned by dental firm Dentale, and an estimated 1.29 million people have had dental treatment undertaken outside Britain because of the lower costs involved.

Indeed, dental tourism is witnessing a boom similar to that experienced by overseas cosmetic surgery a few years ago. This can prove economical for those who need a lot of dental work, even after travel costs are taken into account.

But for those looking to cut the cost of more routine treatment closer to home, insurance is rising in popularity.

"NHS funding is going south in a big way -- the number of NHS dentists is dropping and access to dental work from the NHS is diminishing all the time," says Mike Izzard, chairman of the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries (AMII).

"In a way, we really shouldn't call it 'insurance' but 'assurance', because it's covering against the probable.