Dental cleanings can vary in price depending on where you are located and what you have done during that exact visit. Some visits might cost more than others. Certain dentists may run prices that are higher than others. However, in this post, we will talk about the “average” that is paid for dental treatments and what you can expect to pay for your treatments when you visit the dentist.
Insurances Help:
Many dental insurance plans help cover a large fraction of your 6-month cleaning appointments. However, if you go more often than every 6 months for whatever reason, you might have to pay for those visits entirely. If you can get insurance to help cover the cost of your visits, it’s likely worthwhile to take advantage of it and use it to the fullest possible extent.
Average Costs Without Insurances:
If you don’t have dental insurance or a plan that helps cover dental needs, you will likely find yourself having to pay out of pocket for your 6-month dental checkups.
Average Cleaning Cost:
The average dental cleaning will cost a patient about $127.00 nationwide. That only includes your basic cleaning and not any extras that you might need at your appointment. The base cost means that if you go every 6 months, you will pay over $300+ per year just for basic dental cleaning services.
Extras Cost More:
It’s probably no surprise that any extra services you need when you get your cleanings will cost more than the average $127.00 nationwide. Standard hygienist services US-wide vary greatly between $75 and $200 per cleaning. Moreover, the extras can sadly add up quite fast.
If you need extra services like dental x-rays or scaling (an advanced cleaning process) you can expect to dole out a lot more than the average cost for a cleaning. Deep cleanings can run the average patient without insurance up to $1200 for just a single cleaning!
If You Have Insurance, What Is Covered?
Most dental insurances will help cover some or all of the cost of the following:
- regular cleanings
- some parts of deep cleanings (you may have copays)
- non-surgical procedures (i.e. fillings, root canals, etc.)
- x-rays
- scaling & planing
- gum disease treatments
These types of treatments are usually treated through your dental insurance and you are likely to only have small copays to help treat these issues. IF you don’t have insurance for dental work, you may be responsible for paying much of this on your own. Read more about tips on choosing the dentist for you.