Dental insurance began with a partnership between dental service organizations and state dental associations with a view toward expanding the number of Americans receiving oral health care and as a means for permitting firms and other organizations to offer employee benefits. The goals have been achieved, but the alliance between dentistry and insurance has become strained. A lack of dialogue has fostered mutual misconceptions, some of which are reviewed in this paper. It is possible that the public, the profession, and the dental insurance industry can all be strengthened, but only through power-sharing around the original common objective.