Dental Benefits

Education Colleges Universities Dental Benefits Benchmarks

Real dental plan data from verified employers in your industry

Verified Data
159Employers
158Plans
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Dental benchmarks

Education Colleges Universities Employee Benefits Overview

Updated November 2026

Dental plans typically feature predictable costs and high employee participation rates, making them a staple of most benefit packages.

Our database includes 159 education colleges universities employers offering 158 verified benefit plans. DPPO plans are the most common (88% of employers), followed by DMO (12%). Fully-Insured funding is the predominant model, used by 82% of industry employers. Most employers offer one plan to employees (54%).

Dental benchmarks cover preventive care coverage, basic and major service cost-sharing, and annual maximums.

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Education Colleges Universities plan design & cost benchmarks

In-Network Cost Sharing: sample layout
In-Network Benefits
LimitedBalancedRobust
Your Plan
Individual Deductible
$29
$54
$68
$5452Bal
Family Deductible
$98
$144
$177
$14452Bal
Annual Maximum
$1,178
$1,791
$2,486
$1,79152Bal
Ortho Lifetime Maximum
$1,160
$1,420
$1,840
$1,42052Bal
Preventive Coverage
82%
90%
98%
90%52Bal
Basic Coverage
70%
76%
79%
76%52Bal
Major Coverage
51%
55%
59%
55%52Bal

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Real plan-design and cost benchmarks for education colleges universities, with percentile rankings and exportable data.

What's inside the full report
In-Network Cost Sharing

Deductibles, copays, coinsurance & out-of-pocket maximums

Employee Contributions

Monthly employee premium contributions by tier

Gross Premium Rates

Total monthly premium costs by coverage tier

Plus full benchmarks for Life, Voluntary Life, Short- & Long-Term Disability, and Stop-Loss.

Percentile rankings (25th / 50th / 75th)
Live, real-time data (this preview refreshes monthly)
Exportable to PDF & CSV

Plan Type Mix

% of employers offering each

VERIFIED
DPPO88%
DMO12%

Plan Funding

% of employers by funding

VERIFIED
Fully-Insured82%
Self-Insured16%
Level-Funded2%

Plans Offered

% of employers by plan count

VERIFIED
One Plan54%
Two Plans35%
Three or More Plans11%

Education Colleges Universities Benefits Landscape

Industry trends and benchmarking considerations

Higher education institutions traditionally offer comprehensive benefits as part of total compensation, partially offsetting lower base salaries compared to private sector alternatives. Our benchmarking data shows universities typically provide multiple plan options with competitive employer contributions. Many participate in state systems or consortiums that influence plan design.

Key Trends

Multiple Plan Options

Colleges and universities in our database commonly offer three or more medical plan options, often including HMO options more prevalent than in private sector.

Higher Employer Contributions

Educational institutions typically show above-average employer contribution rates, reflecting benefits as a key recruitment tool.

Public vs Private Variation

Public universities often participate in state employee health plans, while private institutions have more flexibility in plan design.

Benchmarking Considerations

Higher education benefits vary significantly between public and private institutions. State university systems may have standardized benefits with limited flexibility. Consider institution type when evaluating benchmarks.

Frequently Asked Questions

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