Dentist Survey Results: How Do Your Dental Exam Fees Compare?

November 29, 2021 By Jim Du Molin

We’ve done a few dental management surveys recently on various fees, including root canals, dental implant and crown, and fees for missed appointments.

This time, we wanted to know about typical fees for a dental exam with dental hygiene treatment and x-rays.

We often get responses from dentists all over North America. But in this survey, all of them came from dentists practicing within the United States.

Dental exam fees varied a lot!

They ranged from a low of $27 (from an urban dentist in Florida) to high of $380 (from a suburban California dentist).

Most of the fees below the median of $191 came from dentists in the southern part of the United States. This makes sense, since the cost of living is typically lower.

“$56 is a recall exam; it is thorough. The initial exam is $65.00 and is more so, and lasts longer.” South Carolina general dentist

“$170 is our fee for a 6 month recall visit which includes prophy, exam, and 4 BWX [bitewing x-rays].” Louisiana general dentist

Fees at the high end of the range were mostly reported by dentists in areas known for their high cost of living, notably California and New York.

“New patients receiving a comprehensive exam, full mouth X-rays and prophy is $380. Existing patients for periodic exam, bitewings and prophylaxis is $249.” California dental office worker

A Texas dentist expressed her frustration with her patients’ resistance toward paying for basic preventative dental care:

“I think it doesn’t matter what our fees for this service are because the general public is always going to perceive it as too high no matter what it is. They just don’t value preventive dental care as much as they value their cars’ engines. I always ask people who tell me they haven’t been to the dentist because they don’t have dental insurance if they get the oil in their cars changed at least twice a year, and if so, who pays for it? Do they have insurance for that?”