National Dental Expenditures, 2023

An HPI analysis of CMS national expenditures data released in December 2024 revealed new trends in dental spending.

After adjusting for inflation, dental spending in 2023 grew by $4 billion, a 2.5% increase from 2022. This growth was due almost entirely to an increase in Medicare dental spending.

 

Overall health spending in the U.S. increased by 3.8% in 2023 compared to dental spending, which increased by 2.5%.

 

National dental expenditures were $174 billion in 2023, representing 3.6% of total health expenditures. 

Dental care spending from government programs has been increasing steadily in recent years while spending from private sources – private dental insurance and out-of-pocket spending – has been declining slightly. From 2022 to 2023, private health insurance spending decreased by 0.4%while out-of-pocket spending decreased by 0.7%.

  

Government program spending increased by 18% from 2022 to 2023, largely due to Medicare. In fact, of the $4 billion increase in U.S. dental spending, more than $3 billion was accounted for by Medicare. Medicaid accounted for the other $1 billion increase. The sharp rise in Medicare dental spending can be explained by two factors. The share of seniors covered by Medicare Advantage plans has grown steadily, and the vast majority of these plans have some type of dental coverage. Further, in 2023, Medicare expanded dental benefits by covering comprehensive dental care for beneficiaries who were undergoing certain medical procedures.

 

The latest health expenditure data show a continuing shift in how dental care is paid for in the United States. For more information, visit HPI's Dental Care Market page.

Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Note: Expenditures adjusted for inflation using the GDP implicit price deflator. In the second graph, the ‘Other’ category includes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). It does not include the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The ‘Government Programs’ category includes Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs.