Dental costs in Alabama: how much a dentist costs

Observed negotiated prices across 41 treatments from 320 located dental practices in Alabama.

Treatments priced

at or above threshold

Cities published

in this state

Largest sample

320

practices, best-covered treatment

Observed dataObserved negotiated rates. Every figure here is a real negotiated amount taken from payer files published under the federal Transparency in Coverage rule. These are what a dental plan pays a contracted practice - not a cash price.

Estimated self-payEstimated self-pay range, not an observation. We do not have observed cash prices, and we will not present a modelled number as though we did. This range is the upper half of the same observed negotiated distribution, shown because an uninsured patient generally pays at or above the highest negotiated tier. Treat it as a budgeting aid and ask any practice for a written quote.

Observed prices in Alabama

Negotiated columns are observed. The self-pay column is an estimate derived from the upper half of the same distribution — see methodology. Column headings sort the table.
Treatment	Negotiated range Observed	Median	Practices (n)	Est. self-pay Estimated
Full braces, adult	$3,823 – $5,085	$3,995	226	$3,995 – $6,263
Full braces, teenager	$3,645 – $4,716	$3,809	228	$3,809 – $6,285
Implant post placed in the jaw	$1,251 – $1,817	$1,442	300	$1,442 – $2,289
Ceramic crown attached to an implant	$750 – $1,212	$978	297	$978 – $1,834
Partial lower denture with metal frame	$833 – $1,071	$977	310	$977 – $1,256
Partial upper denture with metal frame	$832 – $1,089	$970	318	$970 – $1,263
Ceramic crown on an implant abutment	$800 – $1,214	$944	293	$944 – $1,614
Full upper denture	$663 – $1,038	$871	307	$871 – $1,174
Full lower denture	$648 – $998	$867	308	$867 – $1,174
All-ceramic crown	$668 – $900	$757	300	$757 – $1,000
Root canal, molar	$626 – $855	$720	306	$720 – $986
Gum surgery (per quadrant)	$618 – $788	$717	309	$717 – $961
Porcelain-and-metal crown	$614 – $828	$695	300	$695 – $924
Bridge, porcelain-and-metal span unit	$601 – $800	$689	280	$689 – $895
Porcelain veneer (per tooth)	$583 – $760	$686	285	$686 – $923
Root canal, premolar	$505 – $676	$581	307	$581 – $797
Root canal, front tooth	$433 – $588	$498	305	$498 – $688
Hard night guard for grinding	$240 – $378	$322	288	$322 – $393
Fully-impacted wisdom tooth removal	$273 – $340	$305	309	$305 – $399
Bone graft at an implant site	$235 – $412	$276	259	$276 – $459
Partly-impacted wisdom tooth removal	$232 – $300	$263	301	$263 – $335
Deep cleaning, four or more teeth per quadrant	$136 – $191	$163	320	$163 – $235
Surgical tooth extraction	$143 – $208	$161	318	$161 – $242
Core build-up under a crown	$128 – $173	$145	314	$145 – $206
White filling, back tooth, two surfaces	$126 – $161	$144	269	$144 – $189
White filling, back tooth	$100 – $129	$111	279	$111 – $147
Deep cleaning, one to three teeth per quadrant	$90 – $119	$107	306	$107 – $143
White filling, front tooth	$89 – $115	$100	293	$100 – $138
Silver filling, two surfaces	$85 – $118	$97	290	$97 – $139
Simple tooth extraction	$81 – $121	$96	307	$96 – $148
Full-mouth X-ray series	$82 – $101	$91	279	$91 – $115
Ongoing gum maintenance cleaning	$77 – $105	$86	285	$86 – $135
Silver filling, one surface	$70 – $98	$79	290	$79 – $120
Adult teeth cleaning	$53 – $73	$64	284	$64 – $82
Emergency visit for dental pain	$52 – $76	$62	310	$62 – $100
Comprehensive exam (new patient)	$44 – $69	$50	279	$50 – $75
Child teeth cleaning	$40 – $53	$47	285	$47 – $60
Four bitewing X-rays	$36 – $49	$40	291	$40 – $54
Dental sealant (per tooth)	$30 – $38	$33	300	$33 – $43
Routine check-up (returning patient)	$28 – $39	$32	280	$32 – $44
Fluoride varnish treatment	$23 – $33	$26	269	$26 – $42

How Alabama compares nationally

Of the 41 treatments we can price in Alabama, 0 sit above the national median and 41 below. The widest gap downward is Core build-up under a crown at $145 against a national $173 (16% lower); the widest upward is Deep cleaning, one to three teeth per quadrant at $107 against $108 (-1% higher).

Comparisons use the national distribution on each treatment page, which lists every state side by side.

What shopping around is worth in Alabama

Every figure on this site is a distribution, not an average, so the gap between the cheaper and dearer end of the local market can be stated in dollars. On Full braces, adult alone, the difference between a practice at the 25th percentile and one at the 75th is $1,262. Across the 6 treatments below it comes to $4,150.

Observed negotiated prices in Alabama. The gap is what moving from an expensive practice to a cheaper one is worth for the same treatment.
Treatment	Lower end (25th)	Upper end (75th)	Gap	Practices (n)
Full braces, adult	$3,823	$5,085	$1,262	226
Full braces, teenager	$3,645	$4,716	$1,071	228
Implant post placed in the jaw	$1,251	$1,817	$566	300
Ceramic crown attached to an implant	$750	$1,212	$462	297
Ceramic crown on an implant abutment	$800	$1,214	$414	293
Full upper denture	$663	$1,038	$375	307

This is an argument for collecting itemised written quotes rather than accepting the first, particularly on the larger items — see how to read a treatment plan.

Lower-cost care in Alabama

Alabama has 215 federally funded health centre sites that charge on a sliding scale based on income. For most uninsured patients these are the cheapest option available. The federal dataset does not record which sites provide dentistry, so call and ask about dental services before travelling. City pages below list the sites in each place.

Cities in Alabama

City pages are published only where at least 8 practices in that city carried a rate. 11 cities met that bar.

Montgomery (41 priced)Tuscaloosa (41 priced)Mobile (41 priced)Birmingham (41 priced)Huntsville (41 priced)Homewood (41 priced)Anniston (38 priced)Gadsden (36 priced)Trussville (22 priced)Florence (12 priced)Madison (1 priced)

Other states

All states · All treatments · Methodology

Common questions

Are these the prices I would pay in Alabama without insurance?

No. These are negotiated rates between dental plans and contracted practices in Alabama. Uninsured patients are generally quoted at or above the top of each range. The estimated self-pay column is labelled as an estimate for exactly that reason — see the methodology.

How many Alabama practices is this based on?

Sample sizes are shown per treatment in the table above and range from 226 to 320 practices. We publish nothing below 15.

Why is a treatment missing from this page?

Because fewer than 15 located practices in Alabama carried a negotiated rate for it in our source files. We leave it out rather than scale a national average to look local.