Dental costs in North Carolina: implants, crowns, braces and more
North Carolina's Medicaid dental rates have barely moved since 2024, so the base of the estimate and today's fee agree; a molar root canal comes to $1,342.
You pay for root canal, molar in North Carolina
$457
$864 billed, $407 paid by the plan.
| Estimated dentist charge (full fee) | $1,342 |
| Estimated in-network price | $864 |
| Plan pays (50 % after deductible) | $407 |
| Deductible | $50 |
| North Carolina Medicaid fee, same codes (2024) | $429 |
Estimate: North Carolina Medicaid fee ÷ 36.3 % (Medicaid pay as a share of dentists' charges, ADA HPI 2024). Brought to September 2026 with the dental services price index (BLS). Not a quote.
| CDT code | Service | Count | Medicaid fee, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| D3330 | Endodontic therapy, molar | 1 | $428.62 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How prices are estimated · NC Medicaid (Medicaid Direct / fee-for-service) Dental fee schedule, ADA ratios of North Carolina · not a quote
A molar root canal is estimated at $1,342 in North Carolina, a front tooth root canal at $928, a full set of upper and lower dentures at $3,829 and the removal of four impacted wisdom teeth at $2,532, in September 2026 dollars before any dental plan. The fees come from the general dental rates of NC Medicaid, one amount per code for all ages. The American Dental Association's 2024 study found that the program paid 36.3 % of what North Carolina dentists charge adults, a little above the national 29.9 %, and 54.8 % of what private plans pay them. Dividing by those shares gives the typical full fee and the network price. Crowns are not in the general dental file and are not priced here; a checkup with cleaning and X-rays comes to $314.
A schedule that stood still
NC Medicaid publishes its dental rates on a fee schedule portal, one file per type of dentist. The base of this page is the general dental file posted on July 1, 2024; the current file was revised in April 2026 and dates every rate from October 1, 2025. Of the 45 codes this site reads, 45 carry the same amount in both editions, the rest differing only by rounding to the cent. A molar root canal, D3330, is $429 in each.
The current file states that all rates depicted do not contain rate reductions, so it shows the full schedule amounts. Dental care for North Carolina Medicaid members is paid by the program itself, fee for service, rather than through managed care plans. Because the fees did not change, the estimates here move only with the national price index for dental services, which rose 6.0 % over the last twelve months.
A North Carolina procedure, with or without a plan
You pay for root canal, molar in North Carolina
$457
| Estimated dentist charge (full fee) | $1,342 |
| Estimated in-network price | $864 |
| Plan pays (50 % after deductible) | $407 |
| Deductible | $50 |
Root canals by tooth, and what a plan leaves
A root canal is priced by the tooth: $928 for a front tooth, $1,097 for a premolar and $1,342 for a molar. The crown often placed afterwards is billed on its own and cannot be estimated from this schedule. Plans that follow the Covered California pattern class root canals as major work, paid at half after the deductible; at the network price of $864, a molar root canal leaves $457 to the patient if the yearly maximum is not yet used. The root canal page compares the states.
Comprehensive braces for a teenager, code D8080, come to $2,835 before insurance, from the $856 the program pays for that code. The braces page explains how orthodontic benefits differ from the rest of a plan. Records, retainers and follow-up visits can be billed in addition to the treatment code, so a written orthodontic quote often lists several lines that the estimate does not cover.
North Carolina price list, procedure by procedure
| Procedure | Unit | Full fee | In network | Medicaid fee, 2024 | Medicaid fee today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root canal, front tooth | per tooth | $928 | $598 | $297 | $297 |
| Root canal, premolar | per tooth | $1,097 | $707 | $350 | $350 |
| Root canal, molar | per tooth | $1,342 | $864 | $429 | $429 |
| Braces, teen | full treatment | $2,835 | $1,792 | $856 | $856 |
| Full dentures, both arches | both arches | $3,829 | $2,467 | $1,223 | $1,223 |
| Full denture, one arch | one arch | $1,914 | $1,233 | $612 | $612 |
| Simple extraction | per tooth | $208 | $134 | $66 | $66 |
| Surgical extraction | per tooth | $358 | $230 | $114 | $114 |
| Wisdom teeth, four impacted | four teeth | $2,532 | $1,631 | $809 | $809 |
| Deep cleaning (scaling and root planing) | full mouth | $1,316 | $848 | $421 | $421 |
| Filling | per tooth | $347 | $224 | $111 | $111 |
| Checkup and cleaning | one visit | $314 | $202 | $100 | $100 |