Dental work in the US can be expensive, and patients often pay a large share out of their own pocket even when they hold dental insurance. Some procedures are costly enough that patients look at treatment abroad rather than paying local prices.
The figures below are typical US ranges. Actual prices vary considerably by region, by practice and by the complexity of your case, and private practices can charge well above these ranges.
How much does teeth cleaning cost?
Seeing a dental hygienist regularly keeps your smile bright and supports your general health. A hygienist will remove the stains that discolor and dull your teeth, and regular cleaning helps prevent the gum disease that leads to tooth loss.
A standard cleaning typically runs $75 to $200. A deep cleaning, needed once gum disease has set in, is more involved and usually costs $150 to $350 per quadrant of the mouth. Dental X-rays add roughly $25 to $200 depending on how many images are taken.
What does wisdom tooth removal cost?
Wisdom teeth come through at the back of the mouth, well after the rest of the adult teeth. They cause problems when there is not enough room for them, which can mean discomfort, pain, or damage to neighbouring teeth when they come through at an angle.
A simple extraction starts at around $100 per tooth. A surgical extraction, needed when the tooth is impacted, commonly runs to $500 or more.
Dental implants
Implants are more involved than most treatments, and they are among the most expensive things you can have done. Cost rises the longer you leave a gap, because the jawbone loses density once a tooth is missing. If you are missing a tooth you are far from alone: around 178 million people in the US are missing at least one.
- Where the jaw has already lost bone density, a bone graft is needed before an implant can be placed, which adds to the bill.
- A single implant, including the post, the abutment and the crown, typically costs $3,000 to $6,000. That is more than most dental insurance will pay out in a year.
- Most dental insurance policies cap what they will pay annually. Typical annual maximums run somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000, so a single implant can exhaust a whole year's cover on its own, leaving the balance with you.
- That is the cost for one tooth. Multiple implants scale accordingly, and the final figure always depends on your circumstances.
Full mouth dental implants
Losing a single tooth affects the teeth either side of the gap and can lead to further problems, so some patients end up needing a full arch or a full mouth restored.
- All-on-4 style treatment, where a full arch is supported on four implants, averages around $15,000 per arch. A full mouth, meaning both arches, commonly runs from $30,000 upwards depending on the approach and the materials used.
- The advantage is that implants are fixed in place and behave like natural teeth, with no adhesives and no removal for cleaning.
- Because the work involves several appointments with both a dentist and a surgeon, the total is beyond what many patients expect. A discount dental plan is one way to bring the cost of implant work down, since the discount applies to the dentist's usual fee.
Bone grafts
Where the jaw has lost bone mass, a graft is usually needed before implants can be placed, because the jaw will not otherwise support them. The price depends on how much bone has been lost and where the replacement material comes from, which may be synthetic or donor material.
Grafts commonly range from $500 to $3,000. Harvesting bone from elsewhere in your own body costs considerably more, because it means two surgical procedures rather than one.
Porcelain veneers
Veneers are used to repair worn, chipped or uneven teeth, and to address discoloration. They are ultra-thin shells of porcelain color-matched to your teeth, and they are considered cosmetic dentistry because they restore the appearance of a smile rather than treat disease.
Dentists work with external laboratories that use CAD and CAM technology to make each veneer, and that cost feeds into your bill. Porcelain veneers typically run $925 to $2,500 per tooth, with a national average of roughly $1,765. Since veneers are usually done across several teeth at once, the total mounts quickly.
Root canals and crowns
When infection reaches the nerve of a tooth, a root canal is normally the way to save it. Root canal treatment typically costs $700 to $1,600, with front teeth at the lower end and molars at the upper end because they are more complex to treat.
- A root canal usually needs a crown afterwards to protect what remains of the tooth. A crown typically costs $800 to $2,500 depending on the material.
- Taken together, a root canal plus crown commonly comes to $1,700 to $3,200.
Gum surgery
Periodontal disease, or gum disease, is far more common than most people realize. What treatment costs depends entirely on how advanced the disease is and which procedure is required, from deep cleaning through to surgical treatment, so it is worth getting a written estimate before you agree to anything.
How a discount dental plan helps
Dental insurance caps what it pays each year, and often makes you wait before you can claim for major work. A discount dental plan works differently: there is no annual limit and there is no waiting period on most plans, so you can use it straight away.
It is important to be clear about what a discount plan is. It is not insurance, and it does not remove your costs. You pay the dentist directly at the time of treatment, at a reduced rate off their usual fee. On expensive work like implants, crowns and veneers, that reduction is where the money is saved.
Enter your ZIP code on Dental Plan Provider to see the plans available in your area and what they discount, and your 10% discount will be applied automatically when you join, with no code to enter.
