Alaska Medicaid Dental Benefits: What’s Covered

Alaska Medicaid dental benefits typically cover routine and restorative dental care for children. For adults, Alaska Medicaid covers emergency dental care for immediate relief of pain or acute infection (including limited evaluation and extractions), plus an enhanced dental benefit up to $1,150 per benefit year (July 1 to June 30) for additional services.

If that already feels like a lot, don’t worry. The easiest way to understand Alaska Medicaid dental benefits is to split it into two buckets: kids first, then adult coverage.
 

What dental benefits does Alaska Medicaid cover for children?

For kids and teens (generally under 21, including Denali KidCare), Alaska Medicaid dental benefits are designed to cover both prevention and treatment, not just “emergencies.”

In plain terms: they help pay for routine visits that keep problems small, plus the work needed if something is already going on. Common medicaid covered services for children include:

• Exams and checkups

• X-rays

• Cleanings, scaling, and polishing

• Fluoride varnish

• Sealants

• Fillings and other cavity treatment

• Crowns (caps)

• Root canals

• Extractions and oral surgery

• Dentures (when needed)

Some treatments may require prior authorization, meaning the plan has to approve it before it’s done. If that happens, your dental office will usually let you know what’s needed and what the next step is. 

If you want help understanding what your child’s plan covers, you can call any btyDENTAL AK office. Our team is happy to answer questions, verify benefits, and make sure you’re booked for the right type of visit.

And if you’re already bringing your kids in, you can book for yourself too. We can set up family appointments so everyone gets handled in one day, and still have time to get the Loco Moco with a ‘free’ side of pancakes & macaroni at Kava’s Pancake House. 
 

What dental benefits does Alaska Medicaid cover for adults?

For adults (21+), Alaska Medicaid dental coverage follows specific rules and limits. In general, it covers urgent dental problems and also provides a yearly benefit for additional care. The simplest way to understand it is:

• There’s help for urgent dental problems.

• There’s also a yearly benefit for additional care.
   

Emergency dental (when you need help right now)

If you have severe pain or an acute infection, Alaska Medicaid covers emergency-focused care such as:

• A limited oral evaluation (problem-focused exam), up to two times per fiscal year

• Extractions (with medical justification/authorization rules depending on how many)

• One intraoral periapical X-ray to determine if an extraction is necessary

• Anesthesia or sedation when medically necessary (general anesthesia requires written medical justification)

Enhanced adult dental (your annual benefit for additional care)

For non-emergency dental needs, Alaska Medicaid will pay up to $1,150 per state fiscal year (Alaska’s fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30). Within that annual benefit, commonly covered services include:

• Oral evaluations (periodic or comprehensive), plus necessary dental X-rays

• Preventive care, including cleanings (prophylaxis with scaling/polishing) and fluoride treatments

• Restorative care, like fillings and crowns when a tooth can’t be restored with a filling (with limits/authorization rules)

• Root canal-related care (endodontics), with specific limitations

• Periodontal treatment when there’s pain or infection in the supporting tissues (including periodontal abscess)

• Oral surgery (extractions under this section require prior authorization)

• Professional consultation when medically necessary or requested by the department
   

Dentures and partials (prosthodontics)

Alaska Medicaid also provides up to $1,150 per fiscal year for certain denture/partial services, with prior authorization required. It can cover: complete dentures, partial dentures, replacements (with timing rules), adjustments, and reline/rebase procedures.

In some cases, Alaska Medicaid may allow up to twice the annual limit to cover upper and lower dentures at the same time (this requires approval and uses the current year plus the following year’s limit).
 

Dental Services Not Covered by Medicaid for Adults

Alaska Medicaid specifically lists several adult dental services it will not pay for, including:

• Dental implants and implant-related services

• Orthodontic services

• Dental sealants

• Inlays, overlays, and three-fourth crowns

• Immediate/interim/temporary dentures

• Experimental dental procedures

• Other specific noncovered items like behavior management and certain endodontic surgeries

If Alaska Medicaid doesn’t cover a dental service, what are your options?

If a service isn’t covered by adult Medicaid, patients often look at:

• Other dental insurance (employer plans, marketplace plans, private dental plans), which may cover some of these services depending on the policy and annual maximums.

• Out-of-pocket options with a treatment plan that prioritizes “must-do now” vs “can-do later.”

• Financing options to break bigger procedures into monthly payments.

btyDENTAL AK Payment Options (for non-covered services)

If Medicaid doesn’t cover the treatment you need, our team can walk you through financing options like CareCredit and Cherry so you can choose a payment plan that fits your budget and timeline.
 

How can you check what benefits you have available right now?

If you want to avoid surprises, the best time to check your Alaska Medicaid dental benefits is before you start treatment. You don’t need to become an expert, you just want a clear answer to: “What’s covered for me right now?”

Here are the easiest ways to check:

• Call your dental office and ask for a benefits check. This is often the simplest option because the office can verify coverage and tell you what’s available for the type of visit you’re booking.

• Check your plan information using the contact number or member resources tied to your Medicaid coverage.

• Bring your Medicaid details to your visit and ask about remaining benefits if you’re unsure.

How do you use your Alaska Medicaid dental benefits without delays?

Most delays don’t happen because someone did something “wrong.” They happen because the appointment type doesn’t match the problem, paperwork is missing, or a service needs prior approval. A few small steps can make the process way smoother.

Here’s how to keep things moving:

• Book the right type of visit. If you’re in pain, say that up front so you’re scheduled for an urgent evaluation, not a routine checkup.

• Be specific about symptoms. Tooth pain, swelling, a broken tooth, or a bad taste can change how quickly you need to be seen.

• Bring the basics. Photo ID, your Medicaid info, and a quick medication list help check-in go faster.

• Ask about prior approval early. If the dentist recommends a bigger procedure, ask whether it requires service authorization and what the expected timeline is.

• Prioritize what matters most first. If you have multiple issues, handle pain or infection first, then plan the rest in order of urgency.

• Verify benefits before treatment starts. This helps prevent last-minute changes, especially for adult coverage with annual limits.

If you want help with the “figuring it out” part, btyDENTAL AK can verify benefits when you call and help you plan next steps. So, if you’re looking to maximize your benefits, don’t hesitate to call btyDENTAL today.