Dental costs in Pennsylvania: implants, crowns, braces and more
Pennsylvania pays dentists round, rarely changed Medical Assistance fees that sit low against the market, so its estimates sit well above them; a crown comes to $2,013.
You pay for crown in Pennsylvania
$524
$998 billed, $474 paid by the plan.
| Estimated dentist charge (full fee) | $2,013 |
| Estimated in-network price | $998 |
| Plan pays (50 % after deductible) | $474 |
| Deductible | $50 |
| Pennsylvania Medicaid fee, same codes (2024) | $500 |
Estimate: Pennsylvania Medicaid fee ÷ 28.2 % (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| D2740 | Crown, porcelain or ceramic | 1 | $500 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How prices are estimated · Pennsylvania Medical Assistance (Medicaid) fee-for-service dental fee schedule, ADA ratios of Pennsylvania · not a quote
A porcelain crown is estimated at $2,013 in Pennsylvania, a molar root canal at $2,013 and a front tooth root canal at $1,107, comprehensive braces for a teenager at $3,674, four impacted wisdom teeth at $3,222 and a full set of dentures at $4,228, in September 2026 dollars before any dental plan. The base is the Medical Assistance Program dental fee schedule effective May 28, 2024, in force on July 1, 2024 and identical, for every code used here, to the edition in force today. The American Dental Association's 2024 study found that Pennsylvania's Medicaid paid 28.2 % of what the state's dentists charge adults, below the national 29.9 %: the 6th lowest share of the 42 states with an adult figure.
Round fees that have not moved
Pennsylvania's dental fee schedule reads like a price list set by hand: $500 for a porcelain crown, $500 for a molar root canal, $525 for each complete denture, $1,000 for comprehensive orthodontic treatment of an adolescent. The edition attached to the June 2024 bulletin gives the same amounts, and so does the October 2023 edition, so the fees the ADA measured are the fees paid today. A simple and a surgical extraction are paid the same amount, $65.
Low, stable fees and a low ratio go together. Dividing $500 by 28.2 % and carrying the result to September 2026 gives $2,013, well above the Medicaid amount. The same division turns the $275 paid for a front tooth root canal into $1,107 and the $500 paid for a molar into $2,013.
A Pennsylvania procedure with or without a plan
You pay for root canal, molar in Pennsylvania
$524
| Estimated dentist charge (full fee) | $2,013 |
| Estimated in-network price | $998 |
| Plan pays (50 % after deductible) | $474 |
| Deductible | $50 |
A root canal and its crown in one plan year
A back tooth that needs a root canal usually needs a crown afterwards, and the two together test a plan's yearly maximum. At Pennsylvania network prices of $998 and $998, the example plan, which pays 50 % of major work after a $50 deductible, would pay $973 and leave $1,023 to the patient. The root canal page and the crown page compare each bill with other states.
The schedule also marks which adult services need a benefit limit exception from the program, among them crowns, root canals and scaling and root planing for members 21 and older. That rule concerns Medical Assistance members, not the price a dentist charges others. Codes for implants and fixed bridges are not in the schedule, so neither can be priced for Pennsylvania. Most members are enrolled in managed care, whose rates are not published.
For a patient paying cash, the full fee is the number to hold a written estimate against; for a patient with a plan, the network price is, provided the office belongs to the plan's network. A quote far above either usually includes other codes, such as a core buildup under a crown, X-rays or sedation, which the office can list line by line. The state comparison shows how Pennsylvania's estimates compare with its neighbors.
Pennsylvania price list, procedure by procedure
| Procedure | Unit | Full fee | In network | Medicaid fee, 2024 | Medicaid fee today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crown | per tooth | $2,013 | $998 | $500 | $500 |
| Root canal, front tooth | per tooth | $1,107 | $549 | $275 | $275 |
| Root canal, premolar | per tooth | $1,510 | $748 | $375 | $375 |
| Root canal, molar | per tooth | $2,013 | $998 | $500 | $500 |
| Braces, teen | full treatment | $3,674 | $1,828 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Full dentures, both arches | both arches | $4,228 | $2,095 | $1,050 | $1,050 |
| Full denture, one arch | one arch | $2,114 | $1,048 | $525 | $525 |
| Partial denture | one arch | $2,215 | $1,098 | $550 | $550 |
| Simple extraction | per tooth | $262 | $130 | $65 | $65 |
| Surgical extraction | per tooth | $262 | $130 | $65 | $65 |
| Wisdom teeth, four impacted | four teeth | $3,222 | $1,596 | $800 | $800 |
| Deep cleaning (scaling and root planing) | full mouth | $1,208 | $599 | $300 | $300 |
| Filling | per tooth | $242 | $120 | $60 | $60 |
| Checkup and cleaning | one visit | $338 | $168 | $84 | $84 |