How Much Do Dentures Cost in 2026?

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The price hinges on the type of denture, the material, whether it is implant-supported, and how many arches you replace. Use the calculator for a personalised range, then compare it against the independent per-arch benchmarks underneath.

Denture cost by type, per arch (2026 benchmarks)

Almost every dentist quotes dentures per arch (upper or lower), not per set — so a "$499 denture" is one plate, and replacing both arches roughly doubles it. The single biggest price driver is what you are getting: an economy acrylic plate, a premium denture, a partial, or an implant-supported restoration. The ranges below are reconciled from the 2024 Synchrony/ASQ360 cost study, Delta Dental's internal fee data and published 2026 practice pricing, deliberately free of any single clinic's loss-leader or up-sell framing.

What Medicaid actually pays for dentures (2023-2024)

Medicaid pays dentists $499 per claim line (national weighted average, 2023-2024) for a complete upper denture, per arch (CDT D5110) — that's a per-arch figure, not comparable directly to our "full set" (both arches) average of $1,953 above; against the per-arch $2,000 cash average for a standard full conventional denture, Medicaid's per-arch payment is roughly a quarter as much.

Medicaid pays $499 for this per-arch denture code; most offices charge cash patients $2,000 per arch: that gap is the reason only 20% of active dentists actually billed Medicaid in 2023-2024.

What each state's Medicaid program officially pays for a denture

The $499 above is what Medicaid actually paid per claim line, blended across every state and every managed-care plan. Each state also publishes an official fee schedule: the fee-for-service rate its program promises a dentist for each CDT code. We extracted the denture codes from 50 published state schedules (2023-2026 editions, linked in the table). For a complete upper denture (D5110) the official rate runs from $311 in Florida to $2,083 in Delaware, with a median of $731 across the 45 states that price it; a cast-metal upper partial (D5213) runs $316 to $2,118 (median $837, 37 states) and a resin-base upper partial (D5211) $166 to $1,637 (median $563). Set the $731 median against the $2,000 per-arch cash average for a standard full conventional denture and the Affordable Dentures & Implants new-denture Economy price of $800: in the typical state the program rate lands just under the chain's economy tier and at roughly a third of the independent-dentist conventional price, which is why a Medicaid-accepting office so often steers adults to the economy line. Texas, New Jersey and Maryland, at roughly $311-$375, pay less than the chain's $400 replacement price; only Delaware and Missouri ($1,608) pay at or above the conventional cash average.

Two cautions before you read the table. A published rate is what the state's fee-for-service program pays; the managed-care plans that now cover most Medicaid adults negotiate their own, often lower, amounts. And a rate on the schedule does not mean an adult is covered: several states list D5110 for children only, or cap adult dentures at one set per five to ten years (see the Medicaid dental coverage by state guide for the adult rules).

Aspen Dental vs Affordable Dentures & Implants vs an independent dentist

The two national denture chains publish their prices, and the two lists do not work the same way. Aspen Dental advertises a Basic denture "starting at" $499 per arch, a price that requires its $49-a-year savings plan, and then publishes averages for its custom tiers (Classic $1,071, Signature $1,488, Signature Elite $1,841 per arch, read on 2026-08-25). Aspen states that it does not accept Medicaid. Affordable Dentures & Implants publishes one grid at all 368 offices we crawled, but with two columns: a replacement price shown by default online ($400 for an Economy arch) and a new-denture price ($800) for people getting dentures for the first time; 120 of its 368 offices list Medicaid. Nobody on the first page of Google explains that new-vs-replacement gap, so the chain's headline price quietly assumes you already have dentures.

Line-by-line prices for the whole Aspen chain — exam, fillings, crowns, implants as well as dentures — are on our independent Aspen Dental price list, and the Affordable Dentures grid is dissected office by office on our Affordable Dentures & Implants price list. If Aspen has already handed you a treatment plan, paste its lines into the Aspen quote decoder: each one is set against the price the chain publishes, our band for your state and what Medicaid actually paid for the same code.

Pick your state and situation below. The tool lines up the two chains against the observed price of an independent dentist in your state, shows what your state Medicaid program actually paid for a complete upper denture, and then stacks the exam, X-ray and extractions on top so you see one realistic total instead of a headline.

New vs replacement: the price-list detail that changes the bill

The replacement column is what the chain's website shows first. If these are your first dentures, read the second column: on the Economy tier the difference is $400 per arch, $800 for a full set. Aspen Dental publishes a single price per tier regardless of history, which is why its Basic denture can look cheaper on paper and cost more once the savings plan and add-ons are counted.

A worked total for a first economy denture

A first-time patient choosing the cheapest tier, one arch, with two simple extractions, typically faces: denture $800 (Affordable Dentures & Implants, new-denture price) + exam about $200 + panoramic X-ray about $290 + two extractions at about $236 each = about $1,762 before insurance, roughly 2.2 times the headline denture price. At Aspen the same scenario starts from $499 plus the $49 plan, and the extractions and imaging are billed on top in the same way. Adjunct figures are the mid-points of the hidden-costs table below.

Does the chain take Medicaid?

Aspen Dental says no, chain-wide. Affordable Dentures & Implants lists Medicaid at 120 of 368 offices (33%), concentrated in a minority of states; the tool shows the count for your state. Where neither chain takes it, an independent office enrolled in Medicaid is the route, and what the program paid that office for a denture (the D5110 figure above and in the tool) tells you how much room there is for a cash upgrade to be pushed on you.

The types of dentures, explained

• Full (complete) denture — replaces every tooth in an arch and rests on the gums. Often called false teeth, economy versions use stock acrylic teeth; premium versions use better teeth, thinner bases and shade-matching for a more natural look.
• Partial denture — replaces a few missing teeth and clips onto your remaining natural teeth. Made from resin, flexible nylon (e.g. Valplast) or a cast-metal framework, which is thinner and more durable.
• Immediate denture — placed the same day teeth are extracted so you are never without teeth. It costs a few hundred dollars more because it needs relines as your gums heal and shrink.
• Implant-supported denture — snaps onto or is fixed to dental implants. "Snap-in" stays removable; "fixed" and All-on-4 are permanent. They cost more but do not slip and slow jawbone loss.

A dental plate — or fake teeth — is simply another name for a denture — the same product at the same price.

What's actually included in the price

A legitimate denture quote covers the impressions of your mouth, the custom-fabricated denture, the fitting appointments and the early adjustments, according to Delta Dental. What it usually does not cover are the steps below — which is why the cheapest advertised price rarely matches the final bill.

Hidden and adjunct costs people miss

These line items are not "the denture," but they appear on most real treatment plans. They are the main reason a $499 headline becomes a four-figure total:

Source: 2024 Synchrony/ASQ360 cost study and published 2026 practice pricing.

What drives the price up or down

1. Type and tier — economy acrylic, standard, or premium materials can triple the per-arch price for the same arch.
2. Partial vs full — partials replace fewer teeth, so they often cost less than a full denture, though a cast-metal partial can rival a standard full.
3. One arch vs two — pricing is per arch, so a full upper-and-lower set is roughly double a single plate.
4. Implant support — adding implants to stabilise a denture moves it from the hundreds-to-low-thousands range into the $3,000-$15,000+ per-arch range.
5. Extractions and prep — removing remaining teeth and any bone smoothing (alveoloplasty) before the denture is a major add-on.
6. Location and provider — metros and prosthodontists run higher than suburban general dentists; on-site denture labs can lower the price. Nationally, state price bands for a full set run from $1,295 at the low end (Oklahoma) to $5,315 at the high end (Hawaii) — roughly a 4× spread documented in our state-by-state 2026 dental cost data.

The "$499 denture" reality

Large chains advertise basic false teeth from about $499 per arch and low-cost studies cite a national average near $452 for both plates. Those numbers are real, but they describe one economy plate with stock teeth — and the fine print adds extractions, X-rays, relines and the second arch separately. For most people replacing a full mouth, the realistic all-in is closer to $3,000-$5,000 for a standard upper-and-lower set of false teeth, before insurance.

Insurance, Medicare, HSA/FSA and financing

• Private dental plans — most classify dentures as major restorative and cover roughly 40-50%, but a $1,000-$2,500 annual maximum usually truncates the benefit, plus common 6-12 month waiting periods and a 5-8 year frequency limit. Ask for a pre-treatment estimate.
• Medicare — original Medicare does not cover dentures; some Medicare Advantage plans do, fully or partially.
• Medicaid — varies by state; some cover one set every 5-6 years, others exclude adult dentures. Where it pays, T-MSIS data show a national average of $499 per claim line for a complete upper denture, per arch (see above).
• HSA/FSA/HRA — dentures are an IRS-eligible medical expense, so pre-tax dollars cut the real cost by your tax rate.
• Financing — CareCredit and similar cards offer 0% promotional periods; many practices offer in-house 0% plans over 6-24 months.

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Dentures vs implants vs bridges: 20-year view

Conventional dentures are the lowest upfront cost and work even with advanced bone loss, but because they need relines and replacement every 5-8 years, an implant-supported option can narrow the lifetime-cost gap while preserving jawbone. Not sure whether to keep remaining teeth with a partial or extract and go complete? See our complete vs partial dentures: full cost comparison — it covers the full path cost including extractions, an immediate denture and a 10-year maintenance model.

As an Amazon Associate, Real Dental Costs earns from qualifying purchases. Some links below are affiliate links — buying through them costs you nothing extra and helps fund our independent cost research. Recommendations are editorial and never paid placements.

Where you live changes the bill more than the denture type does — see which states have the cheapest dentures in 2026.

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Frequently asked questions