ADA Fee Guide

Understanding the Alberta Dental Association (ADA) Fee Guide

Navigating dental costs in Alberta is much easier when you understand the Alberta Dental Association (ADA) Fee Guide. This annual document serves as a province-wide benchmark designed to help patients understand the suggested costs for common dental procedures.

At Clearwater Park Dental, we believe in transparency and follow the current fee guide to ensure you receive fair, predictable, and state-of-the-art care.

What is the ADA Fee Guide?

The ADA Fee Guide is a suggested pricing framework published every year. It isn’t a mandatory law, but rather a reference point for:

  • Patients: To compare prices and avoid “sticker shock.”
  • Dentists: To set fair rates based on provincial operating costs (staff, technology, and materials).
  • Insurance Providers: To determine how much of a treatment they will reimburse.

Why Following the Fee Guide Matters

Before this guide was reintroduced in 2018, Albertans often paid significantly more for dental services than people in other provinces. By choosing a clinic like ours that follows the guide, you benefit from:

  • Financial Predictability: Most insurance companies use the ADA Guide as their “baseline.” If your dentist follows the guide, your out-of-pocket expenses are much easier to predict.
  • Fair Competition: It allows you to shop around and ensure you aren’t being overcharged.
  • Transparency: You can see exactly what each 5-digit procedure code (like 11111 for scaling) is supposed to cost.

Common 2026 Suggested Fees

To give you an idea of what to expect, here are a few examples of suggested fees from the 2026 Alberta Dental Fee Guide:

Procedure2026 Suggested Fee
Adult Checkup (Recall Exam)$81.05
New Patient Exam (Permanent Teeth)$143.85
Scaling (1 unit / 15 mins)$87.25
Polishing (1 unit / 15 mins)$77.75
2 Bitewing X-Rays$59.90
White Filling (2 Surfaces, Molar)$268.75

Note: Many procedures, such as crowns, bridges, and mouthguards, also involve “lab fees” (the cost of the external laboratory making the appliance), which are billed in addition to the dentist’s professional fee.

Tips for Managing Your Dental Costs

  1. Ask for a Predetermination: Before starting major work, we can send a “predetermination” to your insurance.This tells you exactly how much they will cover and what your remaining balance will be.
  2. Compare Codes: If you are comparing quotes between offices, ask for the 5-digit procedure codes to ensure you are comparing “apples to apples.”
  3. Prioritize Prevention: Routine cleanings and exams follow the fee guide strictly and are usually covered at 100% by most plans, saving you from much more expensive emergency work later.