Dental costs in South Carolina: implants, crowns, braces and more
South Carolina raised its Medicaid dental rates for children on July 1, 2024, the last month of the ADA's fee collection; a molar root canal is estimated at $1,444.
You pay for root canal, molar in South Carolina
$498
$946 billed, $448 paid by the plan.
| Estimated dentist charge (full fee) | $1,444 |
| Estimated in-network price | $946 |
| Plan pays (50 % after deductible) | $448 |
| Deductible | $50 |
| South Carolina Medicaid fee, same codes (2024) | $600 |
Estimate: South Carolina Medicaid fee ÷ 47.2 % (Medicaid pay as a share of dentists' charges, ADA HPI 2024; South Carolina lists these codes for patients under 21 only, so its children's fees and children's ratio are used). 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 | $600 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How prices are estimated · South Carolina Healthy Connections Medicaid - State Plan Dental Services (FFS) fee schedule, ADA ratios of South Carolina · not a quote
A molar root canal is estimated at $1,444 in South Carolina, a front tooth root canal at $1,059, the removal of four impacted wisdom teeth at $3,392, a full set of dentures at $3,467 and a checkup with cleaning and X-rays at $305, in September 2026 dollars before any plan. The fees come from the dental fee schedule of the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in the edition updated on July 1, 2024, the day a new set of children's rates took effect. That edition prints a children's column and an adult column for the adult preventive benefit. The ADA's 2024 study classed the state's adult benefit as limited and found that Medicaid paid 37.6 % of dentists' charges for adults and 47.2 % for children.
Rates set on July 1, 2024
The South Carolina dental fee schedule updated July 1, 2024 labels its children's column as the rate set on that day, after a children's rate increase. The ADA collected Medicaid fees through July 2024, so that edition matches the period of its ratios, with one doubt recorded in our notes: if the ADA read South Carolina's fees before the increase took effect, its children's ratio was measured on the older, lower rates, and the children's estimates here would then run high. The edition of January 1, 2025 prints the same amounts for every code read here.
The adult column belongs to the adult preventive dental benefit, which carries a yearly cap set by state policy. It lists exams, cleanings, fillings and extractions for adults, but not root canals or dentures, so those are priced from the children's column with the children's ratio.
A South Carolina procedure, with or without a plan
You pay for root canal, molar in South Carolina
$498
| Estimated dentist charge (full fee) | $1,444 |
| Estimated in-network price | $946 |
| Plan pays (50 % after deductible) | $448 |
| Deductible | $50 |
Extractions and wisdom teeth
A simple extraction, D7140, is paid $89 for an adult and $144 for a child in the 2024 schedule; the estimate comes to $268, and a surgical extraction to $433. Four impacted wisdom teeth, the bony removal code times four, come to $3,392, sedation not included. The wisdom teeth page compares the states.
Fillings and checkups under a plan
A two-surface filling on a back tooth is estimated at $240. Plans like the Covered California example pay basic work at 80 % after the deductible, which leaves $72 on the network price if the deductible is still due. Checkups are preventive, paid in full in network by that plan. The coverage page explains the classes.
The schedule was read from an unaltered archived copy of the official file, because the state's site refused our requests; a later notice of the department shows the same exam fee for July 2026, so the rates appear unchanged. Most South Carolina Medicaid members receive dental care through a dental benefits administrator, whose rates are not public; the fees used here are the state's own schedule.
South Carolina price list, procedure by procedure
| Procedure | Unit | Full fee | In network | Medicaid fee, 2024 | Medicaid fee today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root canal, front tooth | per tooth | $1,059 | $694 | $440 | $440 |
| Root canal, premolar | per tooth | $1,206 | $790 | $501 | $501 |
| Root canal, molar | per tooth | $1,444 | $946 | $600 | $600 |
| Full dentures, both arches | both arches | $3,467 | $2,271 | $1,440 | $1,440 |
| Full denture, one arch | one arch | $1,733 | $1,135 | $720 | $720 |
| Simple extraction | per tooth | $268 | $177 | $89 | $89 |
| Surgical extraction | per tooth | $433 | $286 | $143 | $143 |
| Wisdom teeth, four impacted | four teeth | $3,392 | $2,240 | $1,123 | $1,123 |
| Filling | per tooth | $240 | $158 | $79 | $79 |
| Checkup and cleaning | one visit | $305 | $201 | $101 | $101 |