Topical Application of Fluoride
Open-data reference.
About topical application of fluoride
What it is: Standard topical fluoride treatment
What it costs: The national private-market average is $42 based on the ADA Health Policy Institute Survey of Dental Fees (2024). State variation pushes this between $37 (lowest cost-of-living states) and $51 (highest). State Medicaid programs that cover topical application of fluoride for adults reimburse an average of $21 (range $14–$32 across the 40 covering states). The highest-paying Medicaid programs are Alaska ($32), New York ($30), District of Columbia ($29), worth checking if you're comparing states for Medicaid access to this procedure.
(across covering states)
Topical Application of Fluoride cost by state
| State | Medicaid fee | Private estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $32 | $45 |
| New York | $30 | $51 |
| District of Columbia | $29 | $50 |
| Minnesota | $28 | $43 |
| Hawaii | $27 | $49 |
| Connecticut | $26 | $47 |
| North Dakota | $26 | $40 |
| Massachusetts | $26 | $48 |
| Washington | $24 | $47 |
| California | $24 | $49 |
| New Jersey | $24 | $49 |
| Maryland | $23 | $47 |
| Oregon | $23 | $44 |
| Vermont | $23 | $43 |
| Iowa | $22 | $39 |
| Virginia | $22 | $44 |
| Wyoming | $22 | $41 |
| Rhode Island | $21 | $43 |
| New Hampshire | $20 | $45 |
| Montana | $19 | $40 |
| Wisconsin | $19 | $41 |
| Colorado | $19 | $44 |
| Michigan | $19 | $41 |
| Maine | $18 | $43 |
| Nebraska | $18 | $39 |
| North Carolina | $18 | $40 |
| Illinois | $17 | $43 |
| Nevada | $17 | $43 |
| New Mexico | $17 | $40 |
| Utah | $17 | $42 |
| Kentucky | $16 | $38 |
| Louisiana | $16 | $39 |
| Ohio | $16 | $39 |
| Idaho | $16 | $40 |
| Missouri | $15 | $39 |
| Pennsylvania | $15 | $42 |
| Arkansas | $15 | $38 |
| Indiana | $15 | $39 |
| South Carolina | $14 | $39 |
| West Virginia | $14 | $38 |
| Delaware | – | $43 |
| Florida | – | $43 |
| Arizona | – | $42 |
| Texas | – | $42 |
| Georgia | – | $40 |
| Kansas | – | $39 |
| Tennessee | – | $39 |
| Oklahoma | – | $39 |
| South Dakota | – | $38 |
| Alabama | – | $37 |
| Mississippi | – | $37 |
Analysis: how to think about topical application of fluoride costs
The preventive category spread for topical application of fluoride (CDT D1208) runs 36% between the cheapest and priciest states in our 2024 dataset, and cost of living explains most of that gap, not procedure difficulty.
40 of 50 states reimburse adult Medicaid patients for this code, averaging $21 (about 49% of the private rate). Practices in the other 10 states have no Medicaid fee schedule entry for D1208, which is part of why Medicaid-accepting providers can be scarce for this procedure. Related: finding affordable dental care.
Related
Source: ADA HPI Survey of Dental Fees (2024). State Medicaid fee schedules (2026 Q1). Estimates, not quotes, see our disclaimer.