Procedures / Filling
Filling cost in 2026, with and without insurance
Cavity filling costs in 2026 — composite vs amalgam, why the number of surfaces matters, and what insurance leaves you owing.
What should it cost near you?
Transparent math: a national-average price, adjusted for your insurance, provider, and region. See exactly how this is computed →
A quote inside this range is ordinary. Above it isn't automatically overcharging — but every dollar above should map to a line you can question (materials, lab fees, a specialist, add-ons). Well below the range: ask what's included, since the cheapest way to a low number is leaving things out.
Your likely cost, with and without insurance
General dentist, U.S. national average. Fillings are 'basic' care — most PPO plans cover them around 80% after your deductible, so you typically owe about 20% out of pocket. A specialist runs higher — use the calculator's provider selector, and pick your state for local numbers.
| Paying | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Paying without insurance | $150 – $450 |
| With a typical PPO plan | $30 – $110 |
What insurance does to the price
The same procedure, out of pocket, with and without a typical PPO plan — on a shared scale.
The math, worked out
Every estimate here is the same formula — a national-average price, adjusted for insurance, provider, and your region — so you can reproduce it for your own quote:
Paying without insurance (general dentist): $150 – $450
With a typical PPO plan: $30 – $110
At a specialist (×1.25, before insurance): $190 – $560
Then adjust for your region — roughly ×0.82 in a lower-cost state, ×1.36 in a higher-cost one. The calculator above does all of this for your exact state, provider, and insurance status.
What moves the price
- Material: tooth-colored composite costs more than silver amalgam, and some plans only cover amalgam on molars
- Size: the number of tooth surfaces the filling covers (one, two, or three) drives the price
- Insurance: usually ~80% covered as basic care, so out-of-pocket is roughly a fifth of the sticker price
- Front vs back tooth and how deep the decay goes
Lines you may see on the bill
Legitimate in the right circumstances — the "when" column is the test to apply. Paste your full bill into the decoder to check each line at once.
| Line item | Typical cost | When it's legitimate |
|---|---|---|
| Additional surface / larger filling | $40 – $180 | Legitimate — a filling spanning two or three tooth surfaces is more work and priced higher than a single-surface one. |
| Composite (tooth-colored) upgrade | $30 – $120 | On back teeth some plans only cover the cheaper silver amalgam and bill you the composite difference — ask before assuming it's covered. |
How much your region matters
Dental prices track local cost of living. Paying without insurance, this procedure runs roughly $250 in a lower-cost state like Mississippi versus about $410 in a higher-cost one like California — same work, different overhead. Use the calculator above for your own state.
When this comes up
- A cavity found on exam or x-ray
- Sensitivity to sweet, hot, or cold
- A visible pit, dark spot, or rough edge on a tooth
Cost of waiting
A small cavity filled now is a few hundred dollars; left alone it can reach the nerve and become a root canal plus a crown — easily 5–10× the cost. Fillings are the classic cost-of-waiting case.
Can you avoid it?
Drugstore 'temporary filling' kits only cover a lost filling for a day or two until you get to a dentist — they don't treat decay. Prevention (fluoride, less sugar, good brushing) is the real DIY lever.
Common questions
How much does a filling cost in 2026?
Without insurance, a filling typically runs $150–$450 depending on the material and how many tooth surfaces it covers — silver amalgam is cheaper ($100–$300), tooth-colored composite more ($150–$450). With a typical PPO plan covering ~80%, expect to owe roughly $30–$110.
Why is composite more expensive than amalgam?
Tooth-colored composite takes more time and technique to place than silver amalgam, so it's priced higher. On visible front teeth it's standard and usually covered; on back molars, some insurance plans only pay the amalgam rate and bill you the difference for composite.
Why did one filling cost more than another?
Almost always the number of surfaces. A filling on a single surface of a tooth is the cheapest; one wrapping around two or three surfaces is more work and costs more. The material and the tooth's location matter too.
Related procedures
What readers are actually paying
Sources & further reading
Where our inputs come from and the authorities worth knowing. Base ranges are compiled from published dental fee surveys, insurer coverage tables, and ADA Health Policy Institute research.
- ADA — MouthHealthy — the American Dental Association's consumer guide to procedures and care
- ADA Health Policy Institute — dental fee, utilization, and cost research
- FAIR Health Consumer — Dental — independent nonprofit cost-lookup tool for dental procedures
How this page is built: a national-average price range for this procedure, adjusted for insurance status, provider (general dentist / specialist), and your region's cost of living — compiled 07-2026 from published sources. We're building a reader-submitted bill dataset to refine these ranges; once enough exist they appear above. Full detail on the methodology page. This is an estimate, not a quote. Have a bill? Decode it →