First things first: you can’t get any work done without a comprehensive exam. Aspen Dental often advertises a free initial exam for new patients—which sounds amazing, right? Well, hold your horses. That “free” exam usually covers the basic look-see and a set of X-rays if you’re lucky, but it often excludes the specialty consultations or the fancy 3D imaging they might sneak in. You’ll get a friendly handshake and a clipboard, but the real price tag starts appearing the second you say “I think I need a root canal.”
The standard exam without a discount runs around $100 to $150. Full-mouth X-rays? Add another $100 to $200 on top of that. It’s the classic dental rug pull—you walk in for a “free” visit, and you walk out with a treatment plan that costs more than your monthly rent.
