Last updated June 2026
Roughly 72 million Americans have no dental coverage. If you're one of them, the question isn't whether dental care is expensive — it's how expensive, because almost nobody quotes you a price before you're in the chair. So we built the number you actually want: a national-average price for every common procedure, the realistic range around it, and the source behind each figure.
A few honest caveats up front. Dental fees vary more by ZIP code than almost any other kind of healthcare — a crown in Manhattan and a crown in rural Ohio can differ by $1,000 for the same tooth. Specialists (endodontists, oral surgeons, prosthodontists) charge more than general dentists. And "average" hides a lot: the figures below are national averages with the typical out-of-pocket range you should expect, not a quote. Use them to know when a number is fair and when you're being gouged.
Cheapest
Bitewing X-rays
~$60 average
Most common pain point
Crown
$800–$2,500
Biggest hit
Single implant
$3,000–$6,000
National averages and typical ranges for care without insurance. The right-hand column shows roughly what you'd pay with a dental savings plan (a 20–60% discount off the dentist's usual fee). Numbered citations link to sources in Methodology & sources.
| Procedure | National average | Typical range | With a savings plan | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Routine exam (periodic)Checkup + evaluation | $75 | $50–$150 | $30–$60 | [1] |
| Teeth cleaning (prophylaxis)Adult routine cleaning | $125 | $75–$200 | $50–$100 | [1] |
| Bitewing X-raysSet of 4, routine | $60 | $40–$120 | $25–$50 | [2] |
| Full-mouth / panoramic X-rayComprehensive imaging | $140 | $60–$250 | $55–$110 | [2] |
| New-patient visitExam + cleaning + X-rays | $285 | $200–$450 | $115–$230 | [1] |
| Composite fillingTooth-colored, 1 surface | $200 | $100–$400 | $80–$160 | [3] |
| Dental crownPorcelain / ceramic, per tooth | $1,300 | $800–$2,500 | $520–$1,040 | [4] |
| Dental bridge (3-unit)Traditional fixed bridge | $3,500 | $2,000–$5,000 | $1,400–$2,800 | [5] |
| Root canal — front toothAnterior | $900 | $700–$1,100 | $360–$720 | [6] |
| Root canal — molarBack tooth (most complex) | $1,250 | $900–$1,500 | $500–$1,000 | [6] |
| Deep cleaning (SRP)Scaling & root planing, per quadrant | $242 | $185–$444 | $95–$195 | [7] |
| Full-mouth deep cleaningAll four quadrants | $1,000 | $600–$1,600 | $400–$800 | [7] |
| Simple extractionErupted tooth | $250 | $130–$500 | $100–$200 | [8] |
| Surgical extractionSectioned / soft-tissue | $400 | $250–$650 | $160–$320 | [8] |
| Wisdom tooth removalPer tooth (simple to impacted) | $450 | $200–$1,100 | $180–$360 | [8] |
| Single dental implantPost + abutment + crown | $4,500 | $3,000–$6,000 | $1,800–$3,600 | [9] |
| Full denture (per arch)Complete upper or lower | $1,800 | $1,000–$3,000 | $720–$1,440 | [10] |
| Partial dentureReplaces several teeth | $1,500 | $800–$2,700 | $600–$1,200 | [10] |
| Night guard (custom)From a dentist, for grinding | $500 | $300–$800 | $200–$400 | [11] |
| Porcelain veneerCosmetic, per tooth | $1,500 | $900–$2,500 | $600–$1,200 | [12] |
Figures are 2024–2026 US national averages compiled from the sources cited below; your actual quote will vary by location and provider. "With a savings plan" applies a representative 20–60% discount and excludes the plan's annual membership fee (~$99–$150).
Sticker shock? You can pay 20–60% less.
A dental savings plan applies a discounted fee schedule to these same procedures — no insurance, no waiting periods. Use the free savings calculator to add up your specific procedures, or talk to the advisor to find the cheapest plan your dentist accepts.
Free to reuse on your own site with attribution. Paste the snippet to embed the live, always-current table, grab the citation line, or download the raw numbers as CSV.
A dental savings plan isn't insurance. There's no claims, no annual maximum, no waiting periods, and no "not a covered benefit." You pay an annual membership (typically $99–$150) and, in return, your dentist bills you off a discounted fee schedule — usually 20–60% off their normal price — at every visit, for every procedure, with no cap on how much you can save in a year.
That structure is why a plan tends to pay for itself the first time you need real work. Run the math on the three most common "ouch" procedures:
| Scenario | Full price | With plan (incl. ~$99 fee) | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| One molar root canal | $1,250 | $599–$1,099 | $151–$651 |
| One crown | $1,300 | $619–$1,139 | $161–$681 |
| Full-mouth deep cleaning | $1,000 | $499–$899 | $101–$501 |
The honest counterpoint: if all you ever need is one cleaning a year, a plan only roughly breaks even. The case gets strong the moment a filling, crown, root canal, or extraction enters the picture — exactly the work that's most painful to pay for at full price.
Careington shows its discounted fee schedule and lets you confirm your dentist is in-network before you buy — and most plans activate within a few business days.
Each of these breaks down the cost, what drives the price, and how to pay less:
It depends entirely on the procedure. Preventive care is cheap — a routine exam runs about $50–$150 and a cleaning $75–$200. Restorative work is where it hurts: a filling is $100–$400, a crown $800–$2,500, and a molar root canal $900–$1,500. Major work is in another league: a single implant runs $3,000–$6,000 and a full set of dentures $2,500–$5,000. These are national averages; big metros and specialists charge more.
A root canal without insurance runs roughly $700–$1,100 for a front tooth and $900–$1,500 for a molar, which is the most complex. That price usually covers the root canal itself, not the crown most molars need afterward — budget another $800–$2,500 for the crown.
A dental crown without insurance averages around $1,300 and typically runs $800–$2,500 depending on the material (porcelain, zirconia, metal) and where you live. Temporary/provisional crowns are far cheaper, around $200–$700.
A simple extraction of an erupted tooth runs about $130–$500. A surgical extraction (where the tooth has to be sectioned or is below the gum) runs $250–$650. Wisdom teeth range from about $200 for a simple removal to $1,100+ for a fully impacted tooth.
A single tooth implant — including the post, abutment, and crown — typically costs $3,000–$6,000, with most people paying around $4,500 when there are no complications. The implant post alone averages roughly $1,500; the abutment and crown on top add the rest.
Yes. Dental savings plans (also called discount plans) aren't insurance — you pay an annual fee (around $99–$150) and get a discounted fee schedule at participating dentists, typically 20–60% off, with no annual maximum and no waiting periods. On a $1,250 molar root canal that's roughly $250–$750 saved on a single visit, which is why the plan usually pays for itself the first time you use it for anything beyond a cleaning.
Every figure in the price index is a US national average or typical out-of-pocket range for 2024–2026, drawn from publicly available dental-cost surveys and consumer-health sources. Where sources disagreed, we used the most commonly reported national average and widened the range to reflect real variation. We deliberately omit any procedure we couldn't source to a credible published figure. The "with a savings plan" column applies a representative 20–60% discount band — the verified discount range on a major plan such as Careington — to the national average, and excludes the plan's annual membership fee. These are estimates to help you judge a quote, not a guarantee of price.
Cite this index: "Dental Savings Guide, Cost of Dental Procedures Without Insurance (2026)," dentalsavingsguide.com/cost-of-dental-care. Figures may be reproduced with attribution and a link.