Can You Use HSA For Dental Cleanings?
Published on 3/14/2025
A Health Savings Account (HSA) allows employees to save for health-related expenses. It’s a great means of lowering your tax bill. However, plenty of complexity arises when it comes to how the HSA can be used.
In our explainer, we’ll dive into the topic of your HSA. We’ll go over what is and isn’t covered with regards to dental work. And we’ll ensure you know how to best use your HSA for cleaning appointments.
What Is an HSA?
An HSA is essentially like a pre-tax savings account for medical procedures. It is siphoned off of your paycheck earnings before taxes are calculated. The tax free money is then placed into a savings account that is separate from your personally owned bank accounts.
Most HSA programs offer a debit card that can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses.
What Is a Qualified Expense?
Unlike a flexible spending account, an HSA must be used on health-related expenditure only.
In truth, HSAs allow for countless expenditures, assuming the expense falls under a covered category. Many common uses for HSAs include:
- Regular checkups with your primary care physician
- Ambulance rides
- Surgeries
- Vaccinations
- Prescription drugs
- And more
However, HSA funds also cover many common dental procedures. This includes dental expenses like:
- Regular teeth cleanings
- Crowns
- Braces
- Dental surgeries
- X-rays
- And more
So, if you’re wondering can an HSA be used for dental cleaning or other common procedures, the answer is yes! Really, anything that is not cosmetic in nature is likely qualified and covered by your HSA. However, it’s always a good idea to read up on what is qualified at the source for the latest info.
How Are Procedures Determined as ‘Qualifying?’
You’re likely wondering, now that I know can I use my HSA for dental cleaning, who makes that call?
While you might be inclined to think that qualifications are determined by your employer or by the HSA provider, that is not the case. In fact, it’s the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that determines the qualifying list for HSA coverage. This is because money used in an HSA is non-taxed, so it isn’t counted at tax time.
Who Can Use HSA Benefits for Dental Work?
It’s not just you who can use your HSA for cleanings or other dental procedures. In fact, your spouse and your dependents can also use money stored in your HSA for qualified procedures.
As an added bonus, you pay for a procedure out of pocket, you can use your HSA to reimburse yourself. You’ll often receive a check or a direct deposit for the amount the HSA would have paid directly to you.
Schedule Your Appointment and Let Your HSA Pay for It!
We recommend at Dentologie that patients keep up with their regular cleanings and other needed oral procedures. After all, a small but unresolved issue today can lead to a bigger issue tomorrow.
Thankfully, we accept HSA payments at our practice for many common patient procedures. This is just one of the many ways we offer service from dentists who are different by design.