Dentists in Denton

Texas has four dental schools with public clinics. The closest to Denton is Texas A&M's college in Dallas, where adult screening costs $120 for registration, screening and X-rays, with no fee if you are not accepted. Its adult clinics don't take insurance, while its children's screening costs $5 and the children's clinic accepts Medicaid and CHIP. The other three, at UTHealth Houston, UT Health San Antonio and Texas Tech in El Paso, are too far for most Denton visits.

Medicaid and CHIP dental care in Denton

Most Texans 20 and younger on Medicaid or CHIP get dental care through a managed care dental plan: DentaQuest, MCNA Dental or UnitedHealthcare Dental. Texas Health Steps finds dentists and checkups at 1-877-847-8377 (1-877-THSTEPS) on weekdays. Adults without coverage can dial 2-1-1 or ask a federally qualified health center whether it has a dental clinic.

These are Delta Dental's national averages without coverage:

• Standard cleaning: $85 to $160 (no data year stated).
• Tooth-colored fillings: $145 to $480 on front teeth, $165 to $530 on back teeth; silver amalgam $110 to $455 (2024 data).
• Permanent crown, out of network: $1,100 to $2,000 (2023 data).

Ask for the fee for each procedure code before treatment. The state board doesn't handle fee disputes, and can order restitution only in limited cases where care fell below the standard. See our Texas dentists guide for more.

Before booking a Denton dentist, run the name through the state board's Public License Search, which shows license status and public disciplinary actions; the same board oversees hygienists, registered dental assistants and labs. Every office must post the board's consumer information sign where patients can see it.

Specialists and hygienists in Denton offices

Texas recognizes 12 dental specialties, from orthodontics and endodontics to dental anesthesiology and orofacial pain. Only a dentist who finished an accredited specialty program of two or more years, or is board certified in a recognized specialty, may advertise as a specialist. Hygienists may clean, take X-rays and apply fluoride, but they can't diagnose, prescribe or cut tissue, and a dentist must have examined you within 12 months before delegating your cleaning.

Two traps to watch for: a practice must not imply that its general dentists are specialists, and license certificates don't list specialty recognition, so the wall certificate alone won't tell you. Ask where the dentist completed specialty training. For an older relative who can't travel, Texas hygienists may work under a supervising dentist in nursing homes and patients' homes; ask whether the office arranges it. The rules sit in the Dentistry subtitle of the Occupations Code and Title 22 of the Texas Administrative Code.

About 105 Texas water systems adjust fluoride, and 72% of Texans drink adjusted or naturally fluoridated water. Ask the City of Denton's water utility whether your water is fluoridated before your dentist suggests supplements for a child. Ask the office which plans it takes and whether the dentist or a hygienist does each step.

Complaints about care, sanitation or conduct go to the board by its form, by email to complaints@tsbde.texas.gov, fax or mail, and can't be anonymous. Compare dentists in Little Elm to the east, or pair a checkup with our Denton gyms list; local offices are on the Denton page.

None of this is dental advice. Confirm treatment choices with a licensed Texas dentist.