Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits Offered to Specific Beneficiary Groups

What does Medicaid cover for dental for adults?

According to this CareQuest Institute report updated for 2025, 21 states now offer additional dental coverage to specific beneficiary groups, including pregnant and postpartum adults, adults with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities, and adults utilizing long-term care.

Additional Key Findings 

• Eight states cover dental services for pregnant adults that are not provided to other adult beneficiaries. Seven states also provide these services to postpartum adults.
• Nine states cover dental services for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities that are not provided to other adult beneficiaries.
• Seven states cover dental services for adults utilizing long-term care that are not provided to other adult beneficiaries.

View 2024 report

Medicaid adult dental benefits are classified as “optional,” which means that states can limit or exclude adult dental services covered. The report includes a rubric of states offering different coverage to specific groups of adult beneficiaries within eight categories, including annual benefit maximum, diagnostic, preventive, restorative, endodontic, periodontal, prosthodontic, and extraction.

You may also be interested in: 

• Medicaid Adult Dental Coverage Checker, an interactive tool for policymakers, administrators, and advocates to easily understand where a given state’s Medicaid adult dental benefits package falls on a continuum from no dental benefits to extensive benefits.
• Out of Pocket: A Snapshot of Adults’ Dental and Medical Care Coverage, a visual report estimating that 72 million adults in the US (27%) do not have dental insurance.