Dentists that accept TRICARE
The short answer
Your TRICARE medical plan does not cover dental. That single fact is behind almost every dental surprise military families run into. Dental is a separate program with its own enrollment, its own premium and its own directory of dentists — so searching for "dentists that take TRICARE" using your Prime or Select information will get you nowhere.
Find yourself in the table below, then search that program's directory. That is the only list that reflects who is actually accepting the coverage today.
| If you are… | Your dental program | Where to find a dentist |
|---|---|---|
| An active duty service member | Military dental clinics; the Active Duty Dental Program (ADDP) where no clinic is nearby | ADDP dentist finder |
| A family member of an active duty service member | TRICARE Dental Program (TDP), run by United Concordia | TDP dentist finder |
| A National Guard or Reserve member not on active duty | TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) | TDP dentist finder |
| A retiree or a retiree's family member | FEDVIP — not TRICARE dental at all | BENEFEDS |
Active duty: you go to the dental clinic first
If you're an active duty service member, you get most dental care at a military dental clinic and you don't enroll in anything or pay a premium. The exception is distance: if you're stationed more than 50 miles from a military dental clinic in the United States, or you're enrolled in TRICARE Prime Remote overseas, your care runs through the Active Duty Dental Program, also administered by United Concordia. Call 866-984-2337 in the United States or 844-653-4058 overseas.
One thing that trips people up: active duty service members are not eligible for the TRICARE Dental Program. That program is for your family, not for you.
Family members and Guard/Reserve: the TRICARE Dental Program
The TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) is voluntary, you enroll in it separately, and you pay a monthly premium. United Concordia administers it — TRICARE confirmed that as recently as April 2026, and the contract runs through November 2029, so the directory you use today should stay put for a while.
You're eligible if you're a family member of an active duty service member, a family member of a Guard or Reserve member, or a Guard or Reserve member who is not currently on active duty and not covered by the Transitional Assistance Management Program.
What the TRICARE Dental Program costs
These premiums cover the plan year running March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027.
| Sponsor category | Single | Family (two or more) |
|---|---|---|
| Active duty family member, sponsor E-4 and below | $8.79/mo | $22.85/mo |
| Active duty family member, sponsor E-5 and above | $11.72/mo | $30.47/mo |
| Selected Reserve / Individual Ready Reserve (not mobilized) | $29.30/mo | $76.18/mo |
Source: tricare.mil TRICARE Dental Program premiums, verified August 1, 2026. Premiums are billed a month in advance and change each plan year — check the source before you budget around them.
Retirees: your dental is FEDVIP, and it is not TRICARE
This is the split that catches people at retirement. When you retire, you lose TRICARE Dental Program eligibility. Dental coverage from that point comes through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), which is run by the Office of Personnel Management, not by TRICARE, and enrolled through BENEFEDS. Each FEDVIP carrier has its own network and its own dentist directory, so "does this dentist take TRICARE" is the wrong question to ask — ask whether they take your specific FEDVIP plan.
FEDVIP enrollment normally happens during the Federal Benefits Open Season, which OPM has held in November in recent years. As of August 1, 2026, OPM had not yet published the dates for the next one, so we're not going to print a date range you might plan around and find wrong. Check OPM's open season page directly.
Surviving spouses: if the sponsor died on active duty, TRICARE pays the full TRICARE Dental Program premium. Surviving spouses keep that for three years and then move to FEDVIP; surviving children stay enrolled until they otherwise lose TRICARE eligibility. Source: tricare.mil.
Why we don't list individual dentists here
Whether a specific dental office accepts your program is a contract between that office and United Concordia or your FEDVIP carrier, and it changes without any announcement. A list of names published on a site like this one is stale the week after it goes up, and a wasted appointment is worse than no list at all. The directories linked above are queried live against the actual contracts. Use those — and when you call the office, ask specifically whether they're in network for the TRICARE Dental Program or your FEDVIP plan by name, not whether they "take TRICARE."
Related: TRICARE dental explained in full · Doctors that accept TRICARE · Vision coverage
Verified against tricare.mil's TRICARE Dental Program page, its active duty dental page and its retiree and survivor dental page on August 1, 2026.