Not as standard — core Aviva health insurance doesn’t include routine dental or optical. You have to add the optional Dental & Optical benefit, which then reimburses part of the cost of check-ups, hygienist visits, fillings, crowns, eye tests and prescription glasses or contacts, up to annual limits. So the honest answer is yes, but only if you pay extra for the add-on; without it, everyday dental and eye care isn’t covered by an Aviva medical policy.

The add-on typically reimburses routine dental exams and hygiene (a guide limit around £200–£250), restorative treatment like fillings, crowns and extractions (often a higher limit around £500–£600), emergency dental within the dental allowance, eye tests (around £150–£250), and prescription glasses or contact lenses (around £150–£200). These are cash-back style benefits with annual caps — you pay the provider and claim back — and exact limits vary by policy and any employer scheme, so check your schedule.

It depends on how much routine care you use. If you have two check-ups, a hygienist visit or two, an eye test and new glasses every year or two, the reimbursements often offset much or all of the add-on’s premium — and restorative work tips it further into value. But if you rarely visit the dentist, already have a low-cost dental membership, or don’t wear glasses, a health cash plan or simply paying as you go can be cheaper. Value the care you actually use, not the benefit in the abstract.

The add-on excludes cosmetic dentistry (whitening, veneers and purely aesthetic work), orthodontics (braces and adult teeth-straightening like Invisalign), laser eye surgery and other elective vision correction, and experimental or non-standard treatments. You can still have these done privately — you’d just self-pay the full cost. Emergency dental after an accident or sudden pain is covered, but it counts towards your annual dental limit rather than sitting in a separate pot, so it eats into the same allowance.

It’s reimbursement, not direct billing. You book with a UK-registered dentist or optician, pay for the treatment, and keep an itemised receipt showing what was done. You then submit the claim through MyAviva or the Aviva app by uploading a photo of the receipt, and Aviva pays the eligible amount — up to your annual limits — straight to your bank account, usually within a few working days. Because you pay first and claim back, you need the cash upfront even though it’s covered.

It’s usually a relatively small extra on top of your core medical premium — often a few pounds a month, though the exact cost depends on your age, plan and whether the policy is personal or through an employer scheme, where it can be cheaper. Because it’s cash-back style with capped benefits, the sensible check is whether your expected annual reimbursement comfortably exceeds the added premium; a broker can show you the exact figure for your details.

Sometimes. Aviva most commonly lets you add the Dental & Optical benefit at renewal, and some plans allow a mid-term addition, but a waiting period may apply before you can claim on certain treatments — so you can’t always add it and claim immediately. Check with Aviva or your adviser whether your specific policy allows a mid-term change and what waiting periods apply before booking treatment you intend to claim for.

No — laser eye surgery is treated as an elective vision-correction procedure and is excluded from both Aviva’s core medical cover and the Dental & Optical add-on. The optical benefit covers routine sight tests and prescription eyewear, not corrective surgery. If you want laser eye surgery you’d self-pay privately; it’s worth pricing separately rather than expecting any part of a standard health policy or the dental-and-optical add-on to contribute.