Published

US Dental Cost Index by State (2026)

tresor4k
tresor4k
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We built an open, reproducible price index for U.S. dental care — and released the whole thing so anyone can verify or reuse it. Here's exactly how it works. ## What the dataset covers For all **50 U.S. states + the District of Columbia (2026)** we compiled average prices for three common, comparable procedures: - a single **dental implant** (with a low–high range) - a per-tooth **veneer** - a full course of **braces** …plus a state **cost-of-living index** and an **affordability** score. ##

US Dental Cost Index by State (2026)

An independent 2026 dataset of average dental prices across all 50 U.S. states + the District of Columbia, compiled by the Real Dental Costs Data & Research Team.

▶ Live interactive explorer: https://tresor4k.github.io/us-dental-cost-index/

For each jurisdiction it reports the average single dental implant price (low/avg/high), the average per-tooth veneer price, the average full-course braces price, a composite Cost Index (each procedure ÷ its national average × 100, so 100 = the U.S. average), the state cost-of-living index, and an affordability score (0–100).

Key finding: a state's dental Cost Index tracks its cost of living at Pearson r = 0.835. Cheapest: Alabama (Cost Index 76, implant $3,759). Most expensive: California (Cost Index 116, implant $5,733).

This is market and pricing research, not clinical or treatment advice.

Columns

ColumnTypeUnitDescription
rankint—Rank ascending by cost_index (1 = cheapest)
statestring—State or jurisdiction name
codestring—USPS state code
implant_avg_usdintUSDAverage single dental implant price
implant_low_usdintUSDLow end of single-implant range
implant_high_usdintUSDHigh end of single-implant range
veneer_avg_usdintUSDAverage per-tooth veneer price
braces_avg_usdintUSDAverage full-course braces price
cost_indexintindexComposite index (100 = U.S. national average)
cost_of_living_indexfloatindexState cost-of-living index
affordability_scoreint0–100Independent access-and-value score

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