Dental X-Ray Cost in Ontario and How Often You Need Them
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Abinaash Kaur, DDS, RCDSO, on 2026-11-06. Dr. Kaur is a general dentist in Toronto (Bloor West Village) registered with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.
There's no fixed price for a dental X-ray in Ontario, and the only public, exact, Ontario-specific schedule is the Canadian Dental Care Plan's 2026 fee grid: $33.84 for a single bitewing, $40.07 for two, $73.80 for a panoramic and $144.84 to $156.12 for a complete series (Sun Life CDCP grid, Ontario 2026). How often you need them isn't a calendar rule. In Ontario your dentist has to examine you first, then prescribe X-rays based on your own history and risk (RCDSO).
Those grid figures are what the plan pays. They're not my price list, and they're not what any office has to charge.
I've practised in Bloor West Village for more than 20 years, and "do I need X-rays today, and what will they cost?" is one of the most reasonable questions a patient can ask. Here's the honest answer to both halves.
Why can't anyone give you one price for a dental X-ray?
Costs vary from dentist to dentist. The Ontario Dental Association says fees are shaped by labour, materials and overhead, and that its suggested fee guide is a reference dentists aren't required to follow (Ontario Dental Association). The guide itself is members-only, so you can't look up the X-ray line yourself (Ontario Dental Association).
Ontario's regulator adds a rule you can lean on: dentists must tell you if they plan to charge above the guide, and an estimate can be a range with a low and a high cost (Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario).
What moves the X-ray part of a bill:
- How many images. One bitewing is one fee. Four bitewings, or a full set, is more.
- Which type. A panoramic (the one that swings around your head) costs more than a single small film. A complete series costs more again.
- Whether it's bundled into a visit. X-rays are usually a line item on a check-up, not a separate appointment.
- Who's taking them. Specialists have extra training, so their fees may be higher (Ontario Dental Association).
My 2026 Toronto dental price roundup puts a routine adult visit, meaning the exam plus one or two cleaning units plus X-rays when they're due, at roughly $250 to $400 depending on cleaning time. An emergency exam with an X-ray tends to run around $100 to $250 across Toronto offices. Both are ballparks, not set prices.
Try this: ask for the procedure code and the fee for each X-ray before it's taken. A practice that's comfortable answering is telling you something.
What does the CDCP grid say each type of X-ray is worth?
The Canadian Dental Care Plan pays from its own fee grid, with a separate grid per province (CDCP Dental Benefits Guide). Here's the 2026 Ontario grid for general dentists, in plain words:
| X-ray type | What it shows | CDCP established fee, Ontario 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Single bitewing | The crowns of your upper and lower back teeth on one image, for cavities between teeth | $33.84 |
| Two bitewings | One for each side | $40.07 |
| Three bitewings | $46.88 | |
| Single-tooth X-ray (periapical) | One whole tooth, crown to root tip | $33.84 |
| Two single-tooth X-rays | $40.07 | |
| Panoramic | Both jaws, all teeth and the jaw joints in one sweep | $73.80 |
| Complete series (12 to 16 images) | Every tooth and its root, as a set | $144.84 to $156.12 |
The grid prints codes, not names. The image counts for the bitewings, the single-tooth films and the panoramic are from the City of Toronto procedure code list, and the 12-to-16-image definition of a complete series is from the CDCP Dental Benefits Guide. The grid lists two complete-series codes, so I've shown both as a range.
That table is the plan's fee. The government itself warns that CDCP fees may not match what providers charge, and that you may pay the difference (Canada.ca).
What about a 3D scan? Health Canada's safety code says a cone-beam CT must be prescribed only when the job can't be done with a lower-dose option such as a regular in-mouth or panoramic X-ray (Health Canada, Safety Code 30). It isn't part of a routine check-up, and its fee is a separate conversation.
How often do you need dental X-rays?
Most people think X-rays run on a calendar: bitewings every six months, a big one every few years. Here's what the rules in Ontario say instead.
First, the order matters. A dentist must review your health history and complete a clinical exam before prescribing X-rays (RCDSO). The number, type and frequency are based on your dental history, clinical signs and symptoms, in the regulator's own words.
Second, the calendar is banned as the only reason. The RCDSO says the frequency of bitewings should be set by your cavity risk, and that a decision about X-rays "should never be based on inflexible time periods alone, (such as bitewing radiographs every six months)" (RCDSO).
The Canadian Dental Association puts it from the patient's side: a healthy adult who hasn't had cavities or other problems for a couple of years probably won't need X-rays at every appointment, and someone whose situation is less stable may need them more often (Canadian Dental Association).
Choosing Wisely Canada's dentistry list says the same thing to dentists: don't prescribe dental X-rays or other imaging without an indication, and decide on an individual basis rather than on a routine basis (Choosing Wisely Canada).
Health Canada's safety code goes further. Routine or screening X-rays, taken with no clinical evaluation and no clinical justification first, should not be performed, and that includes X-rays of children just to monitor development (Health Canada, Safety Code 30).
So what moves your interval? Cavities in the last couple of years. Gum disease, where we're tracking bone. A new filling or crown we're watching. A new patient with no recent films from a previous office. In my chair, a 30-year-old with no cavities since high school and a 30-year-old with three new ones last year don't get the same X-ray schedule, and they shouldn't.
The same logic sets how often you come in at all. My post on 3, 4, 6 or 9 months between cleanings walks through it, and the check-up post shows where the X-rays sit inside a visit.
Does the dentist take X-rays to pad the bill?
I hear this one, and I'd rather answer it with the rules than with my feelings.
In an Ontario dental office, only a dentist can prescribe X-rays, and a standing order for X-rays at every recall visit isn't allowed. Each set needs a patient-specific prescription (RCDSO). A dentist can prescribe X-rays for a future visit to follow a problem already found, and should write that in your chart.
You also have the right to say no. The RCDSO says patients have the right to consent to, or decline, X-rays, and that the dentist should then explain the reason for the recommendation and the consequences of skipping them (RCDSO). If the refusal makes an accurate diagnosis impossible, the dentist can decline to provide compromised care.
What are we looking for when we do take them? The CDA's list: cavities under existing fillings, fractures, impacted wisdom teeth, decay under the gum line, and bone loss from gum disease (Canadian Dental Association). None of those show up to the naked eye until they're bigger and costlier.
The CDA's advice is simple: if you're not sure why a particular X-ray is being taken, ask (Canadian Dental Association). My post on whether your dentist is upselling you has the rest of the questions worth asking.
Some days the schedule pushes me, and even then I'd rather turn the monitor toward you and point at what I'm seeing than hurry to the next room.
Do plans limit how often X-rays are covered?
Yes, and a plan limit is a payment rule, not a clinical one.
The CDCP's own limits are public. Intraoral X-rays, meaning the small films taken inside your mouth (single-tooth, bitewing and occlusal), are covered up to 8 in any 12 months, a complete series once in any 60 months, and a panoramic once in any 60 months with a lifetime cap of 3 (CDCP Dental Benefits Guide). The plan covers X-rays under diagnostic and preventive services (Canada.ca).
Your share depends on adjusted family net income: no co-payment under $70,000, 40% between $70,000 and $79,999, and 60% between $80,000 and $89,999 (Canada.ca). Ask about any uncovered costs before the X-ray is taken.
A private or workplace plan has its own booklet with its own X-ray frequency limits, and those vary from plan to plan. Read yours, or ask us to check it. Either way, the CDA's line holds: you shouldn't decide your need for dental care based on what your plan covers (Canadian Dental Association).
Two Ontario programs also cover X-rays. Healthy Smiles Ontario, for kids 17 and under in low-income households, lists x-rays among what it pays for (Ontario.ca). The Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, for low-income seniors 65 and up, lists x-rays too (Ontario.ca). OHIP doesn't cover dental services provided in a dentist's office, X-rays included (Ontario.ca), and my post on OHIP and dental insurance covers who pays for what.
Can you take your X-rays with you when you switch dentists?
Yes. You have the right to copies of any or all of your dental records, including your X-ray images, and the request doesn't have to come from another dental office (RCDSO).
You get copies, not originals. Dentists are required by law to keep the originals, and you're entitled to diagnostic-quality duplicates, on film or in a digital format (RCDSO). Digital images can go on a USB key or by encrypted email (RCDSO).
Can the old office charge you for copies? Only within limits. Ontario's privacy law lets a dentist charge for duplicating and transferring records if they give you an estimate first, and the fee can't go past "reasonable cost recovery" (RCDSO).
Why bother? The regulator tells new dentists to get copies of your recent X-rays from previous practitioners where possible, before deciding what to take (RCDSO). Recent films you bring in are films you may not pay for twice. We use digital sensors here, so a file from another office drops straight into your chart.
What about the radiation?
Have no fear. The CDA says dental X-rays deliver little radiation and describes them as the tool that keeps small problems from developing into bigger ones (Canadian Dental Association). Health Canada says the risk from a single, well-done dental X-ray exam is low compared with other medical imaging, and that the benefit of a justified exam outweighs the risk (Health Canada, Safety Code 30).
That's also why "only when justified" is the rule rather than "as often as the plan allows". My post on radiation from dental X-rays puts the dose in plain numbers, including for pregnancy and kids, so I won't repeat it here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much does a dental X-ray cost in Ontario without insurance? There's no set price, and the ODA fee guide is members-only (Ontario Dental Association). The one public Ontario schedule is the CDCP's 2026 grid: $33.84 for a single bitewing, $40.07 for two, $73.80 for a panoramic and $144.84 to $156.12 for a complete series (Sun Life CDCP grid, Ontario 2026). Those are the plan's fees, not every office's, so ask for the code and fee first.
Q: How often should an adult get bitewing X-rays? There's no fixed interval. The RCDSO says bitewing frequency should be based on your cavity risk, decided after a clinical exam, and never on a time period alone such as every six months (RCDSO). The CDA says a healthy adult with no recent cavities probably won't need X-rays at every appointment (Canadian Dental Association).
Q: Are dental X-rays necessary every year? Not automatically. Health Canada says routine or screening X-rays with no clinical evaluation first should not be performed (Health Canada, Safety Code 30), and Choosing Wisely Canada tells dentists to decide the need for imaging for each patient individually, not routinely (Choosing Wisely Canada). Your history and exam decide the year, not the calendar.
Q: Does the CDCP cover dental X-rays? Yes, if you're enrolled. X-rays are covered under diagnostic and preventive services (Canada.ca), with limits of 8 intraoral (in-mouth) images in any 12 months, one complete series in any 60 months, and one panoramic in any 60 months up to 3 per lifetime (CDCP Dental Benefits Guide). Your co-payment is 0%, 40% or 60% of the plan's fee, by income.
Q: Can I refuse dental X-rays? Yes. The RCDSO says patients have the right to consent to, or decline, X-rays. Your dentist should explain why they're recommended and what you'd be giving up, and if the refusal makes an accurate diagnosis impossible, the dentist can decline to provide compromised care (RCDSO).
Q: Can I get a copy of my dental X-rays? Yes. You're entitled to copies of any or all of your dental records, including X-ray images, as diagnostic-quality duplicates on film or in a digital format (RCDSO). A dentist may charge for copying only after giving you an estimate, and only up to reasonable cost recovery (RCDSO).
Reviewed by Dr. Abinaash Kaur, B.Sc., DDS (University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry), who has practised general and family dentistry in Bloor West Village for more than 20 years. This article is general information, not a diagnosis or a quote. Prices shown are the CDCP's own fee grid and figures already published on this site, not our fees.
Not sure whether you're due for X-rays, or holding a set from another office? We're at 750 Annette Street in Bloor West Village, serving the Junction, High Park, and Baby Point. Book an exam with The Village Dentist and we'll look first, tell you what we'd take and why, and show you the fee before anything is exposed.
