How much is the average cost of a dentist appointment?
When you think of going to the dentist you cringe, right? Well, you aren’t alone. Now, that cringe could be for a number of reasons like pain, shame, or cost. All of those are some pretty cringe-worthy reasons. If you are like me, the cost being numero uno. I mean to keep our smiles healthy and looking their best is essential, that much is certain. What most people don’t know, is just how much going to the dentist can cost. So in this blog post, we are going to discuss just that, the cost of going to the dentist. Now granted, the amount you pay will fluctuate based on your location and insurance. So to make this a little easier to understand I’m going to delete the insurance variable and all prices are going to be based on a national average.
We will begin by covering your “run of the mill” annual office visit. This includes a cleaning and visual exam probably conducted by a hygienist. On average you can expect to pay about $120. Now, for the full exam which usually consists of an x-ray and visual exam performed by a dentist you’re looking at an average of about $200.
Next, we will look at the simple and benign filling. Fillings usually come in two flavors; the ordinary and cheaper amalgamized silver (a process combining mercury and silver to add strength and hardness to the silver.) and the composite. The silver filling carries a price tag at around $100. The tooth-color matched composite being the more expensive sets at a hearty $200.
Now we can move on to more exciting procedures. What about extractions? We all love those right? No? Don’t worry me either. Tooth extraction is one of those procedures that come in a few different flavors. So pick your poison, or erm…Options. For example, the simple extraction will set you back around $150 nationwide. For say an anesthetized surgical extraction expect to see about $700
The infamous root canal. Ah, my favorite. Root canal prices vary by tooth. So the average is a little wider. It’s not unusual to see a price tag in excess of $1000. With a spread that ranges from around $500 to almost $2000, I would be happy to settle for a grand. Getting a crown to go with that? Well, that bumps up the total to about $2500 on the upper end of the spectrum.
These are just a few examples of the plethora of procedures you may have done. As I said, in the beginning, this is the price without insurance. Also, these prices are based on a national average and not a specific locale. So take these estimates for what they are and don’t “shoot the messenger” if you pay more. Just, uhm… grin and bear it I suppose.