Dentists That Take Medicaid in NYC: How to Find One Through Your Plan, Clinics and Dental Schools

Who finds you a dentist: your plan or the state?

It depends on how your Medicaid is delivered, and the answer decides which list you search. New York Medicaid covers dental care either through fee-for-service Medicaid or through a Medicaid managed care plan, according to the state Health Department.

The state’s rule for plan members is direct: members enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan should contact their plan for help locating a participating dental provider. A dentist who “takes Medicaid” may still not take your plan, which is why the plan’s list beats a general search.

How to find a dentist who takes your Medicaid plan

Plans list dental among their Medicaid benefits. Healthfirst’s Medicaid page includes checkups, cleanings, X-rays and fillings and says you do not need a referral from your primary care doctor to see a dentist. Fidelis Care lists dental and vision care among its Medicaid Managed Care benefits.

If you have straight Medicaid: the state’s own tools

People with fee-for-service Medicaid, the version without a plan, use the state’s tools. On its dental benefits page the Health Department points members to:

• the Medicaid Enrolled Provider Listing, a searchable state dataset of providers enrolled in New York Medicaid;
• a directory of dental clinics that accept Medicaid;
• InsureKidsNow.gov, for children’s dentists;
• the city’s NYC Area Low Cost Dental Provider list;
• and, for New York City residents, 311, where you can ask for help finding a dentist.

What does New York Medicaid dental cover?

The state lists medically necessary oral exams, cleanings, X-rays, restorations such as fillings, dentures, extractions, crowns, root canals and, in certain circumstances, implants. Teledentistry visits are covered where appropriate. Your dentist recommends treatment and submits prior approval requests when they are needed; you do not file them yourself.

The rules widened on January 31, 2024, after a class action settlement. Coverage for crowns and root canals expanded so people can keep more of their natural teeth, and replacement dentures and implants no longer require a letter from your physician. Since January 1, 2025, silver diamine fluoride, a brush-on cavity treatment, is covered for all ages. If you were told before 2024 that Medicaid would only pay to pull a tooth, that answer came from rules that no longer apply. What the 2024 settlement changed.

On extra charges: except for appropriate copays, a Medicaid dental provider may not charge you anything more unless you agree to and sign a private-pay agreement at the start of treatment. If an office asks for money up front for a covered service, ask which agreement you would be signing and why the service is not being billed to Medicaid.

Dentists that take Fidelis Medicaid: where the list lives

DentaQuest lists three Fidelis products among the New York Medicaid dental plans it administers: Fidelis Care Adult Medicaid, Fidelis Care Children Medicaid and Fidelis Care CHP (Child Health Plus). For those members, “dentists that take Fidelis” in practice means dentists in DentaQuest’s network for that Fidelis plan.

One trap: Ambetter from Fidelis Care is a marketplace plan, not Medicaid, and most Ambetter levels do not include adult dental. Fidelis says Gold Enhanced adds adult dental and vision options in select counties and that Gold members can add them for an extra cost. A dentist who takes “Fidelis” for Medicaid may not be in network for an Ambetter dental benefit, and the reverse. Ambetter from Fidelis Care.

Healthfirst dental plan: what is covered and where to search

On Medicaid, Healthfirst does not sell dental as a separate plan; dental comes with your Medicaid coverage. Healthfirst’s Medicaid page lists checkups, cleanings, X-rays and fillings, with no referral needed to see a dentist, and DentaQuest lists Healthfirst Medicaid Managed Care (adult and child) and the Healthfirst Personal Wellness Plan (HARP) among the plans it administers.

That makes the search the same as for Fidelis: ask Healthfirst which dental network applies to your plan, then search that network and call the office. Healthfirst’s Medicaid member services number, as listed by the state Health Department, is 1-866-463-6743.

If your Healthfirst card is a Medicare plan, dental works differently: it is a plan benefit with its own limits, set out in that plan’s Summary of Benefits, and it is not covered by the Medicaid dental rules on this page. Medicare and dental coverage · Is Healthfirst Medicaid?.

Dental by plan: who to call first

Every Medicaid plan in New York City covers the same dental benefits, because the state sets them. What differs is the dentist list. Start with the plan’s member line; the state Health Department publishes these numbers for the seven Medicaid plans sold in all five boroughs.

“Listed by DentaQuest” means the plan appeared on DentaQuest’s New York Medicaid page in April 2026. Vendors change, and a plan can use different dental companies for different products, so let the plan confirm. If the dental list is thin where you live, switching Medicaid plans is allowed year-round through NY Medicaid CHOICE, 1-800-505-5678. All seven NYC Medicaid plans compared.

Low-cost dental clinics and dental schools in NYC

When the plan list is thin, community health centers and dental schools are the next stop. The NYC Health Department’s low-cost dental list, dated August 2024, covers all five boroughs. The city’s own advice on that list: if you already have insurance, check with your plan that you can be seen at the clinic, and contact the clinic directly about services, hours, insurance and fees.

The clinics of the two dental schools on the city’s Manhattan list:

These numbers are as the city printed them in 2024. Ask each clinic whether it takes your specific Medicaid plan before booking. Dental school clinics treat patients under faculty supervision, usually with longer appointments and waiting lists.

The same list names community health center dental departments in every borough, many of which see uninsured patients on a sliding scale. We do not reproduce the whole list; the city’s PDF is the current version.

What to say on the phone to a dental office:

“I have Medicaid through [exact plan name], member ID [number]. Are you in network for that plan, are you taking new adult patients, and do you do root canals and crowns for Medicaid patients?”

If the answer is no

A denial for dental work is appealable. Get the denial in writing with the reason. For a managed care plan, file the plan’s internal appeal first, then a state fair hearing; for fee-for-service Medicaid, request a fair hearing directly. Appealing a denial · How fair hearings work.

If you have no coverage at all, check whether you qualify for Medicaid before paying cash. There is no enrollment season. Meanwhile, the typical cost of a dental visit in NYC shows what to expect at full price.