verified_userOpen data • No API key • CC BY 4.0 • OpenAPI 3.1

Free Dental Cost API: Open JSON Data for Developers & AI Agents

Our dental cost data is available as a free, open JSON API — no key, no signup, CORS enabled. Static versioned endpoints cover all 51 U.S. state markets and 12 procedures, documented with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, under CC BY 4.0.

Try it now

# All 51 state markets, cheapest to priciest
curl https://realdentalcosts.com/api/v1/states.json

# Full cost profile for one state (lowercase two-letter code)
curl https://realdentalcosts.com/api/v1/state/tx.json

# The 12 tracked procedures, national figures
curl https://realdentalcosts.com/api/v1/procedures.json

# One procedure across all 51 states
curl https://realdentalcosts.com/api/v1/procedure/dental-implant.json

# Dataset metadata: edition, DOIs, license, versioning policy
curl https://realdentalcosts.com/api/v1/index/meta.json

Endpoints

Endpoint	Returns
/api/v1/index/meta.json	Edition, DOIs, license, versioning policy, endpoint index
/api/v1/states.json	The 51 state markets ranked on the Restorative Cost Index
/api/v1/state/`{code}`.json	One state: state averages (implant = editorial estimate), procedure price bands (crown, veneer, braces and dentures withheld, see Attribution), Medicaid acceptance — e.g. state/ca.json
/api/v1/procedures.json	The 12 procedures with national low/avg/high and pricing basis
/api/v1/procedure/`{slug}`.json	One procedure across all 51 states — e.g. procedure/root-canal.json; the state table is withheld for `dental-crown`, `porcelain-veneer`, `braces` and `dentures`
/api/v1/medicaid/index.json	Medicaid paid per claim line by CDT code (HHS T-MSIS 2018-2024): index of the published codes, national paid amounts, state quality flags
/api/v1/medicaid/`{code}`.json	One CDT code: national and 51-state Medicaid paid per claim line, 2018-2024 series, P25-P75, claim lines, providers, quality flag, cash benchmark — e.g. medicaid/D2740.json
/api/v1/meps/national.json	National dental spending, utilization and out-of-pocket burden (AHRQ MEPS HC-256/HC-251, survey-weighted, 2023-2024): totals, per-capita, medians/IQR, OOP share — macro validation layer, not per-procedure prices
/api/v1/meps/longitudinal.json	Same 8,389 people followed across 2023 and 2024 (AHRQ MEPS Panel 28, HC-257, longitudinal weight, 95% confidence intervals): paired change in dental spending, out-of-pocket, Medicaid-paid and visits, plus the share who had a dental visit in both years, one year or neither — no paired change is statistically significant, so we report no national trend
/api/v1/openapi.json	Machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 specification

State codes are lowercase two-letter USPS codes (al … wy, plus dc). Procedure slugs are stable: exam-cleaning-xrays, composite-filling, deep-cleaning-srp, tooth-extraction, teeth-whitening, root-canal, dental-crown, porcelain-veneer, braces, dental-implant, dentures, all-on-4.

How to read the data

Every procedure entry declares its basis:

Basis	Meaning
`observed`	The state average is a measured price (ASQ360/CareCredit for crown, veneer, braces, dentures — the ASQ360 state figures are cited on our pages but not redistributed in the API). The low/high band around it is modelled from national ratios, not an observed percentile.
`estimated`	No per-state source exists; the national figure is scaled by the state's Restorative Cost Index. Valid only for restorative procedures.
`national`	Cosmetic procedure with no per-state source — no state variation is invented; every state carries the national range.

Since August 2026 every price entry also carries an additive provenance block — price_type, source_id (a key into the public sources registry), source, period, sample_n, geo_level, modeled and a confidence score from 0 to 100. basis is unchanged (observed → observed_market, estimated → estimated_index, national → national_band); by_state[] entries inherit the procedure-level block and recompute only confidence.

`price_type`	Meaning
`observed_market`	Measured state average from a published cash-price survey.
`observed_quotes`	Real, itemised treatment plans (Real Quotes Index) — reserved, not yet used in payloads.
`estimated_index`	National range scaled by the state Restorative Cost Index — modelled, confidence capped at 60.
`national_band`	National range only (cosmetic) — modelled, capped at 60.
`medicaid_paid`	What Medicaid actually paid per claim line (HHS T-MSIS Medicaid Provider Spending, provider state via NPPES). Paid ≠ allowed ≠ cash price.
`official_fee` / `chain_list_price` / `commercial_allowed`	Published fee schedules; a chain's published "starting at" price; APCD allowed amounts (licensed, not yet published).

confidence = round(100 × (0.35·source tier + 0.25·granularity + 0.20·freshness + 0.20·sample/dispersion)) — the weights and worked examples are on the methodology page.

The Restorative Cost Index (100 = national implant average (editorial estimate, not collected prices)) is valid only for implant, crown and denture prices, which correlate at 0.93–0.96. It does not predict orthodontic or cosmetic prices — see our data corrections log for why we insist on this.

Attribution (required)

The data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Any use — app, dashboard, article, AI answer, research — must credit Real Dental Costs with a link to https://realdentalcosts.com or cite the dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20531728. Ready-to-copy APA and BibTeX citations are on the cite this data page.

Third-party figures are not covered by CC BY 4.0. The crown, veneer, braces and dentures state averages come from the ASQ360°/CareCredit Average Procedural Cost Study 2023-2024: state averages cited with attribution, not licensed for redistribution. Their 51-state tables are therefore not published in the API (by_state_withheld, withheld: true); the few cited figures that remain (national average, cheapest and priciest state) are listed in a third_party_terms block and stay subject to the source's terms. See license_exceptions in meta.json.

Versioning

/api/v1/ is a stable contract: existing fields never change meaning or disappear; new fields may be added. The one exception is licence-driven: in version 1.3.0 (26 October 2026) the ASQ360/CareCredit state figures were removed from state/{code}.json and procedure/{slug}.json. Breaking changes, if ever needed, will ship under /api/v2/ with v1 kept online. Data refreshes bump the edition field in every payload (current edition: 2026.1). No collected edition is scheduled. The 2026.1 state implant series is an editorial estimate (not collected). A register of advertised single-implant prices by metro is being piloted and will be published only if it meets its published gate.

Availability of the website, this API and our MCP server is checked every three minutes and shown on a public status page.

Prefer raw files? The same data is published as CSV datasets with permanent DOIs. The full collection and validation methodology is documented on our methodology page and in the US Dental Cost Index report. This API serves pricing and market research data — it is not medical, dental or insurance advice.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an API key?

No. Every endpoint is a static, publicly cached JSON file with open CORS headers. There is no authentication, no rate-limit tier and no signup. Attribution under CC BY 4.0 is the only requirement.

Can I use this API in a commercial product?

Yes. The data is licensed CC BY 4.0, which allows commercial use, redistribution and derivative works, as long as you attribute Real Dental Costs with a link to https://realdentalcosts.com or cite the dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20531728. One exception: the ASQ360/CareCredit state averages for crown, veneer, braces and dentures are cited with attribution, not licensed for redistribution, so they are not covered by CC BY 4.0 and their state tables are not in the API.

Will the API change and break my integration?

v1 is a stable contract: existing fields never change meaning or disappear, new fields may be added. Any breaking change would ship under /api/v2/ with v1 kept online. Each payload carries an edition field so you can detect data refreshes.

What does the confidence score mean?

Each price carries a provenance block with a price_type (how the figure was obtained: measured survey, estimate from the cost index, Medicaid paid per claim line, ...) and a confidence score from 0 to 100 that weighs source tier (35%), geographic granularity (25%), freshness (20%) and sample size/dispersion (20%). Modelled values are capped at 60. It does not change the figure; it tells you how much weight it deserves.

What is the medicaid endpoint?

/api/v1/medicaid/{code}.json publishes what Medicaid actually paid dentists per claim line for a CDT code, nationally and by state, 2018-2024, derived from the HHS T-MSIS Medicaid Provider Spending dataset with provider state assigned through NPPES. It is a paid amount, not an allowed amount, a fee schedule or a consumer price; states with suspected nominal managed-care amounts are flagged.

Where do the numbers come from?

Every value is generated at build time from our published datasets: our implant editorial estimate (edition 2026.1, not collected prices) (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20531728), ASQ360/CareCredit procedural cost series for crown, veneer, braces and dentures, and public insurance sources for Medicaid acceptance. Each payload declares a basis field (observed, estimated or national) per procedure, and the full methodology is public.

Researched & verified by the Real Dental Costs Data & Research Team

Independent dental pricing research — every series carries a named source, and corrections are logged publicly. Not medical advice.

Reviewed: July 30, 2026How we verify our data

Data Methodology & Sources

The Real Dental Costs Data & Research Team publishes the source of every series. Single-implant prices are our editorial estimate (edition 2026.1, not collected prices), published openly (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20531728). Braces, veneer, crown and denture prices are from the Average Procedural Cost Study conducted by ASQ360° Market Research for Synchrony's CareCredit. Remaining procedures are compiled from published payer and provider fee data (2024–2026) and are national estimates that vary by provider and location. Corrections are logged publicly.

Pricing & Research Disclaimer: Real Dental Costs publishes independent dental pricing and market-research data for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment recommendation. Costs vary by provider and location — always consult a licensed dentist for clinical guidance and an exact quote.