Dental Codes (CDT) Explained: What Each One Costs in 2026

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A dental code (CDT) is the five-character code — a D plus four digits — that decides how your visit is billed and priced. We price 61 of them: look one up below to see the cash fair price next to what Medicaid actually paid dentists per claim line, nationally and in your state.

CDT code lookup

Type a CDT code such as D2740 or a word such as “crown” to see what Medicaid pays per claim line and the typical cash price, nationally and by state.

Code or keyword

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The codes we have full cost pages for

Each page below carries the same three measures for one code: the cash fair price, what Medicaid paid dentists per claim line in 2023-2024, and the state-by-state detail behind both. The claim lines column is the part most code lists leave out, and it is what tells you which codes actually carry U.S. dental care: periodic exam alone accounts for 48.2M claim lines, more than every other code on this page combined. Labels are ours, in plain English — the official CDT descriptions are ADA copyright and we do not republish them.

Code	What it is, in plain English	Medicaid paid per claim line	Claim lines 2023-2024	States published
D2740	porcelain or ceramic crown	$546	660,776	45
D7210	surgical extraction of an erupted tooth	$116	3,748,991	51
D2950	core build-up under a crown	$116	428,197	46
D0120	periodic oral exam	$30	48,171,895	51
D1110	adult teeth cleaning (prophylaxis)	$45	21,051,464	51
D4346	full-mouth scaling for generalized gum inflammation	—	—	—

Medicaid paid per claim line: weighted average, HHS T-MSIS 2023-2024 (DOI 10.7910/DVN/7F2BZI). A program payment to the dentist, not a patient bill. “—” = the code is not in the T-MSIS extract under its own number; the page for that code uses closely related codes and says so.

How to read a dental code

The first digit after the D places the procedure in a family, and that family is what your plan actually prices. D0 codes are diagnostic — exams and X-rays. D1 is preventive, which is where a routine cleaning sits. D2 is restorative: fillings, crowns and the build-ups billed with them. D3 is endodontics, meaning root canals. D4 is periodontics, the gum-disease treatments including deep cleaning. D5 covers dentures and partials, D7 oral surgery such as extractions, and D8 orthodontics.

That grouping matters more than the number itself. Most dental plans reimburse by category — preventive at 100 %, basic at 80 %, major at 50 % is the common shape — so a procedure moving from one family to another changes what you pay far more than a difference of a few hundred code numbers. It is also why two codes that sound alike to a patient can be reimbursed completely differently: a routine cleaning (D1110) is preventive, while scaling for gum inflammation (D4346) is periodontal, and many plans treat the second as a basic or major service with a waiting period attached.

Why the same code is not the same price

A code is a label, not a price. What you actually pay for one code moves on three things at once. The first is who is paying: across the codes above, Medicaid paid dentists between $30 and $546 per claim line, while the cash price a patient is quoted for the same work is routinely several times that. The second is the state: every state runs its own fee schedule, and on the crown codes the published rates span more than a fivefold range from one program to another — see the state Medicaid fee schedules on the crown page. The third is what is billed alongside it, which is why a crown (D2740) and its build-up (D2950) belong on the same estimate.

If you have a quote in hand and want to check the codes on it, the full dental procedure cost list prices every procedure we track, and Medicaid adult dental coverage by state tells you whether your state's program covers the procedure for adults at all.

Frequently asked questions

What is a CDT code?

A CDT code is the five-character billing code (a "D" followed by four digits) that a dental office puts on a claim line to say exactly which procedure was performed. The code, not the description your dentist gives you, is what an insurer or a Medicaid program prices, so the same visit can be billed and reimbursed very differently depending on which code is used. The code set is maintained by the American Dental Association and updated every year.

Where can I look up what a dental code costs?

Use the lookup on this page: type a code (for example D2740) or a plain word such as "crown" or "root canal" and it returns the cash fair-price band next to what Medicaid actually paid dentists per claim line, nationally and by state. We currently price 61 codes. The paid figures come from HHS T-MSIS claim data for 2023-2024; the cash bands come from our own procedure price series.

Why is the Medicaid amount so much lower than what I was quoted?

They measure two different things. The Medicaid figure is what a state program paid a dentist per claim line, after the program's own fee schedule and any managed-care arrangement. The cash figure is what a patient without insurance is quoted at the chair. Programs also pay only the dentists who accept them: roughly one active dentist in five billed Medicaid at all in 2023-2024, so the gap reflects who accepts the program as much as what the procedure costs.

Does a higher code always mean a more expensive procedure?

No. The digits group procedures by family, not by price. Across the codes on this page the national paid-per-line figures run from $30 for periodic exam to $546 for crown, roughly a 18x spread, and the ordering does not follow the code numbers. What moves the amount is the family the code sits in and the state you are in.

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: September 9, 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 own observed dataset, 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.