Optional dental insurance

Student Health Benefits offers an optional dental insurance plan to supplement students' health insurance coverage.

All students are eligible to enroll in the Dental Plan, whether you are covered by Cornell's Student Health Plan (SHP) or a private health insurance plan. Plan enrollees may also choose to enroll dependents (spouses, domestic partners, and children).

NOTE: Student Health Plan–Medicaid (SHP-M) members have dental and vision coverage included as a benefit of their plan.

Plan highlights

Cornell's student Dental Plan is offered through Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York. The plan ...

  • is tailored to fit the needs of Cornell students (and their dependents) studying in Ithaca, New York City, or anywhere in the United States or abroad
  • provides preventive and basic coverage at a reasonable price anywhere in the United States
  • includes access to a nationwide Participating Provider Organization (PPO) of approximately 7,000 New York dental provider access points, with more than 80,000 access points nationwide
  • provides support finding dental care when traveling outside the United States
  • offers prescription discounts 

2017-2018 Plan Information

Please refer to the 2017−2018 Dental Plan brochure (pdf) for details about coverage and benefits.

Plan policy & ID card

  • Dental Plan Insurance Policy (pdf)
    Note: This document also contains information about Cornell's Vision Plan.
  • Your dental plan ID card:
    Log in to ameritas.com to access your ID card. You can then print your card, or save it to your smartphone. When visiting the dentist, provide your ID card or your student ID (including the two leading zeros) instead of your social security number. 

Coverage dates

  • Annual: August 1, 2017 – July 31, 2018
  • Spring semester only: January 1, 2018 – July 31, 2018 (available only to new spring admits)

Rates

2017-2018 Plan Term (August 1, 2017  – July 31, 2018):

  • Student: $278
  • Spouse / domestic partner: $294
  • One or more children: $447

Spring 2018 Plan Term (January 1, 2018 – July 31, 2018):

Available only to new spring admits

  • Student: $185
  • Spouse / domestic partner: $196
  • One or more children: $299

Enrollment

Eligibility

  • Annual plan term:
    • Registered Cornell students
    • Dependents (spouse, domestic partner, children) of students enrolled in the Dental Plan
  • Spring semester only:
    • Students entering Cornell for the first time in the spring (and their dependents)
    • Enrolled students (and their dependents) returning to Cornell in the spring after a fall semester off campus (restrictions apply for students who were eligible to enroll in the fall, but chose not to)

Enrollment application

Enrollment for fall 2018 will begin in June. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Finding participating providers 

You will get the most out of your plan by using an Ameritas participating (or "in network") provider. Refer to page 2 of the 2017−2018 Dental Plan brochure (pdf) for coverage details. 

> Find a participating provider 

Enter the zip code where you want to receive care, and select the "Class (PPO)" network. Visit Ameritas's Find a Provider page for more information and resources.