Five Ways to Get a Cheap Dental Cleaning Without Insurance

Keeping your teeth healthy can be expensive. The average cost of teeth cleaning can be upwards of $100 (a cavity filling without insurance could be double that), and dentists often recommend that you get two cleanings per year. Luckily there are a few ways to preserve your personal finances and your teeth at the same time.

1. Join a dental savings plan

If you can’t afford traditional dental insurance, consider joining a dental plan to gain savings on a visit-by-visit basis. DentalPlans and Carefree Dental are two options to bookmark online. Within the plans offered on these sites, you pay a membership fee for the benefit of receiving discounted rates from participating dental providers.

You can search for providers based on essential criteria, such as location and procedure type, should you require more than just an ordinary cleaning. A dental network may be a good option for young families who don't have the luxury of insurance but plan to make the most of their membership.

2. Look for one-time discounts

If you're simply looking to get a cleaning and don’t currently need other exams or procedures,, browse the web for discounts, such as Groupon's. Frequently, dental offices offer price reductions for first-time patients (or patients looking to make a multi-appointment commitment). You can zero in on dentist offices in your area and go from there.

3. Go to a dental school or low-cost health clinic

There are about 70 accredited dental schools in the U.S., and 327 programs for dental hygienists. Most of them offer free (or near-free) services, including cleanings, to walk-ins in search of lower costs. Dental students need to practice, after all.

You may be able to easily find a program near you online by searching for local schools or get the contact information for your state dental director by visiting the website for the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD).

There are also no- and low-cost dental clinics across the country. You can google to see if one is located near you or use the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration mapping tool to find a low-cost health center that offers dental care too. Once you've zeroed in on an office that's close enough to you, see if there's additional wiggle room or a sliding scale within their pricing. You can also go a step further by participating in a clinical trial to get free dental services. Visit ClinicalTrials.gov to see what might be available and howyou can participate.

4. Negotiate with a dentist near you

See if a dentist near you offers a sliding scale. Talk frankly with them about what you can afford. Among the things you can ask about: whether paying upfront could result in a 10 percent or more discount on your total bill, and, if not, whether you could pay your bill in installments.

5. Do-it-yourself dental cleaning

Buy your own at-home dental cleaning kit. It will still cost some money — and you may not be comfortable sticking a tarter scraper, for example, inside of your mouth — but if you're willing to put in some time, you can learn to help train yourself or a friend to help you maintain your teeth, all from the comfort of your own home.

Take-home kits products , like products of every type, vary in quality, however, so it's important to do your research about the best possible purchase.