Real Dental Costs

Real Dental Costs is a free research site for people who want to know what dental work costs before they sit in the chair. It covers the United States and Canada, and it is built for a simple question that is surprisingly hard to answer: is the price I was quoted normal?

The site brings together public data that is normally scattered across government files, fee schedules and insurer documents. You can look up typical cash price bands for common procedures such as crowns, implants, root canals, braces, veneers and dentures, then compare them across states. Each figure says where it comes from, which period it covers, and whether it was observed or estimated. When there is no reliable figure at a given level, the site says so rather than filling the gap.

Beyond prices, the site explains how to pay less. It lists dental schools, health centers and other low-cost routes by state, describes what each state's adult Medicaid program covers, and sets out what Original Medicare does not pay for. Canadian visitors can read provincial fee information and check how the Canadian Dental Care Plan applies at their income level.

Free tools include a treatment plan and quote checker, a state comparison tool and a procedure cost list you can search by name. There is no account, no paywall and no lead form between you and the numbers.

Developers and researchers can use the same data directly. Real Dental Costs publishes an open JSON API with no key required, downloadable datasets with DOIs, and a read-only Model Context Protocol server, so an AI assistant can answer a dental cost question with a cited, dated figure instead of a guess.

The site is run by a small data and research team. It is pricing and market research, not a quote from a dentist and not medical advice. Your own cost depends on your dentist, your location, your plan and your clinical situation, so use these figures to prepare your questions and compare your options.