Guides · vintage 2024
Dental cost guides
According to this archive's ADA Health Policy Institute private estimates and MACPAC adult-dental tiers (2024), these explainers sit on 62 CDT procedures across 51 jurisdictions.
- 62
- CDT procedures
- 40
- Adult dental Medicaid
- 19
- Extensive-tier states
- 2024
- Fee vintage
Download the dental cost statistics dataset (CSV) , open extract wired into this page's Dataset JSON-LD.
Coverage breadth ≠ uncovered basket
According to this archive's join of MACPAC adult-dental tiers and ADA Health Policy Institute private estimates, 19 extensive programs sharing 58 covered codes are coverage-breadth #1 of 51 ≠ Hawaii's limited program at $54,042 uncovered-basket #1 (39 of 62 codes without a Medicaid fee), above Delaware none-tier at $51,300. Iowa extensive is the basket floor at $12,065.
- 58
- Covered codes at breadth #1 (19 tied)
- $54,042
- Hawaii uncovered basket
- $51,300
- Delaware none-tier
- $12,065
- Iowa basket floor
Uncovered-basket dollars price uncovered CDT codes at that state's private estimates. Coverage is encoded at MACPAC program-tier, so same-tier states share a covered set; the dollar side is modeled, not billed. See /methodology/#uncovered-exposure.
Archive split · CDT×state cells
How 3,162 procedure×state cells split by fee layer
Exclusive inventory of modeled Medicaid vs private-only cells. Orthogonal to the MACPAC tier ChartBar and CDT category ChartBar below. Source: procedure_costs.medicaid_fee / private_estimate.
Coverage map in this snapshot
Two views of the same MACPAC adult-dental tier counts the guides below explain.
Jurisdictions by adult Medicaid dental tier
Extensive-tier share
Source: MACPAC adult dental benefit categories compiled in PlainDentalCost states.coverage_tier · 2024
- How dental procedures are coded (CDT D-codes)A plain-English guide to the standardized code set every dentist and Medicaid agency uses to bill for procedures.
- Medicaid dental coverage by state, what is covered for adultsComprehensive vs limited vs emergency-only: how MACPAC categorizes adult Medicaid dental coverage and what each tier means.
- Why dental costs vary by stateCost of living, Medicaid policy, and provider supply explain almost all of the cost spread between states.
- Wisdom tooth removal cost, state-by-state guideWhat the four CDT D-codes for wisdom tooth surgery cost across the US, and what drives the price differences.
- Dental crown cost in the US, what to expectPorcelain, PFM, and gold crowns, national private averages and the state spread from the fee archive.
- Dental implant cost, Medicaid coverage gapsMost state Medicaid programs do not list implant fees, leaving the private-market stack to the patient.
- How to find affordable dental care in your stateFQHCs, dental-school clinics, dental discount plans, and other paths to lower-cost dental care for uninsured adults.
Procedures by CDT category in the archive
Source: ADA CDT procedure catalog compiled in PlainDentalCost procedures.category · 2024
Methodology
Cost figures on PlainDentalCost are derived from state Medicaid agency dental fee schedules, the ADA Health Policy Institute Survey of Dental Fees (2024), and BEA Regional Price Parities. Per-state private estimates use national averages adjusted by state-level cost-of-living indices. See the full methodology page for details.