Does Medicare cover dental, vision and hearing?

Dental

Original Medicare doesn't cover routine dental care. It does cover dental care tied to certain medical treatment, such as:

• An exam and treating infection before an organ, stem cell or bone marrow transplant, or heart valve replacement.
• An exam and treating infection before or during cancer chemotherapy, CAR-T therapy or certain bone-strengthening drugs for cancer.
• Care before, during and after treatment for head and neck cancer.
• An exam and treating infection before or during dialysis for kidney failure (since 2025).
• Pulling teeth to prepare for radiation to the jaw, and certain jaw fracture and tumor surgery.

You usually pay 20% after the Part B deductible. Your doctor and dentist need to coordinate.

Vision

Not covered

Routine eye exams for glasses or contacts, and glasses or contacts themselves.

Glasses after cataract surgery

One pair with standard frames, or one set of contacts, after each surgery that implants a lens.

Glaucoma test

Once a year if you're at high risk: diabetes, a family history, African American and 50 or older, or Hispanic American and 65 or older.

Diabetic eye exam

Once a year for people with diabetes.

Macular degeneration

Certain tests and treatments, including some injected drugs.

Hearing

Not covered

Hearing aids and exams for fitting them.

Diagnostic hearing and balance exams

Covered when a provider orders them to see if you need treatment.

Seeing an audiologist directly

Since 2023, once every 12 months without a doctor's order for hearing loss that developed over time.

Over-the-counter hearing aids

Since October 2022, sold in stores and online without a prescription for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. Medicare doesn't pay for them.

Ways to get more coverage

Medicare Advantage

Many plans include some dental, vision and hearing benefits. What's covered varies a lot: some cover only cleanings, others more.

Standalone dental or vision insurance

Sold separately, alongside Original Medicare and Medigap. Discount plans aren't insurance, just lower prices at certain providers.

Medicaid

Adult dental coverage is optional for states, so it varies. If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, plans built for you often include extras.

PACE

For people 55 and older who need nursing-home-level care but live at home, in some areas. It can include dental care.

Checking a plan's extras

1. 1

   Find the yearly limit

   Dental benefits often have a yearly maximum, and hearing aids and glasses an allowance.
2. 2

   Check what kind of dental care

   Cleanings only, or fillings, crowns and dentures too? Is there a waiting period?
3. 3

   Check the network

   Are your dentist and eye doctor in it? Do you need approval first?
4. 4

   Weigh the whole plan

   Extras shouldn't outweigh your doctors, drugs and yearly cost. Questions to ask.

Plans don't have to send a mid-year reminder of extras you haven't used (a planned rule was dropped), so keep track of yours.

Common questions

Keep reading

• Medicare Advantage or Medigap? The questions that decide itNeither is better for everyone. How the two common Medicare set-ups differ, the questions that point to one or the other, and why the first choice is the hardest to undo.
• "Medicare flex card" and "giveback" ads: what's real and what isn'tThere's no Medicare flex card from the government. What the ads are actually selling, which plans offer allowance cards or a Part B "giveback," and what to check before switching for one.
• Have Medicare and Medicaid? What changes, and how an agent can helpIf you qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, you have extra help with costs, special plans, and more chances to change coverage. What to know, the 2025 rule changes, and what to watch for.