Dental spending in the U.S. grew by $4 billion, or 2.5%, between 2022 and 2023, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute’s analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data released Dec. 18.
National dental expenditures totaled $174 billion, making up 3.6% of total health expenditures. Overall health spending increased by 3.8%.
The growth in dental spending included more than $3 billion in increased Medicare dental spending and a $1 billion increase in Medicaid dental spending.
Dental spending by government programs has increased steadily in recent years while spending from private sources — private dental insurance and out-of-pocket spending — has declined slightly. From 2022 to 2023, private dental insurance spending decreased by 0.4% and out-of-pocket spending decreased by 0.7%.