A flipper tooth costs $300 to $500 for one missing tooth in 2026, and $500 to $1,500 for a flipper that replaces several teeth or uses a flexible base. It is the cheapest way to fill a gap in your smile, and it is built to be temporary.
A flipper (dentists call it an interim partial denture) is a false tooth set in a small plate of pink acrylic that fits against the roof of your mouth or behind your lower teeth. It clips onto the neighboring teeth with thin wire clasps, or simply grips them with the acrylic, and you can take it out. Its job is to make a gap invisible while something permanent is planned or healing.
Flipper tooth cost by type
| Type | What you get | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Acrylic flipper, one tooth | The standard: one tooth on a small acrylic plate | $300 – $500 |
| Acrylic flipper, several teeth | Bigger plate, more clasps | $500 – $1,000+ |
| Flexible partial (nylon, e.g. Valplast) | No metal clasps, more comfortable, harder to adjust or repair | $900 – $2,000 |
| Cast-metal partial | Not a flipper: the long-term removable option | $1,200 – $2,500 |
The quote should include the impressions, the lab work and at least one adjustment visit. Ask, because a low price that charges separately for each fitting isn’t low. Repairs later, such as a cracked base or a tooth that pops off, typically cost $100 to $400. These ranges match our dentures cost guide, where the flipper is the cheapest kind of partial denture.
When a flipper makes sense
- While an implant heals. An implant needs three to six months to fuse with the bone before the crown goes on. A flipper covers the gap in the meantime. This is what flippers are designed for.
- While you save for a bridge or implant. It buys time at a fraction of the price, as long as you treat it as a stopgap.
- For a teenager. Implants usually wait until the jaw has stopped growing. A flipper fills a front-tooth gap until then.
- Right after an extraction. If the impressions are taken before the tooth comes out, the flipper can go in the same day, so you never walk around with a gap.
The catch: what a flipper can’t do
A flipper is cosmetic first. It sits on the gum rather than in the bone, so it doesn’t restore much chewing, and hard or sticky food can loosen or crack it. The thin acrylic breaks more easily than a permanent option, and the clasps loosen with use. Worn for years, it can irritate the gum and put sideways pressure on the teeth it grips. Like any partial denture, it also does nothing to stop the jawbone under the gap from slowly shrinking. Only an implant does that.
Flipper vs. bridge vs. implant
| Flipper | Maryland bridge | Traditional bridge | Implant | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost (one tooth) | $300 – $500 | $1,500 – $2,500 | $2,000 – $5,000 | $3,000 – $4,500 |
| Removable | Yes | No | No | No |
| Chewing | Limited | Light (front teeth) | Normal | Normal |
| Neighboring teeth | Clasps rest on them | Wings bonded to their backs | Ground down for crowns | Untouched |
| Built to last | Months | Years | 10 – 15 years | Decades |
The flipper wins on price and loses on everything else. The usual path is a flipper now and an implant or bridge later; our implants vs. bridge guide compares those two in detail.
Does insurance cover a flipper?
If your plan covers it, a flipper usually falls under partial dentures, typically paid at around 50% as a major service after the deductible, within the annual maximum. Many basic plans cover only preventive and basic care and won’t pay at all. Plans also limit how often they pay for a new partial, so if a flipper now could use up the benefit you need for the permanent tooth later, ask the plan before you order it. A pre-treatment estimate settles it.
Mail-order flippers
Several companies sell flippers made from impressions you take at home, often for less than a dentist charges. The saving is real, but nobody examines the gap first. That matters most after a recent extraction, because the gum keeps changing shape for weeks as it heals, and a mail-order piece can’t be adjusted chairside. If the gap is old and healed and you only need a cosmetic piece for occasional use, the risk is smaller. Either way, have a dentist check the fit if it rubs or rocks.
4 ways to pay less
- Order it with the extraction. One set of appointments for both, and no separate gap period.
- Ask for a plain acrylic flipper rather than a flexible one if you only need it for a few months.
- Try a dental school. Student clinics make partial dentures at well below private fees; see our directory of dental schools that take patients.
- Don’t pay twice. If you know you want an implant, ask the implant office to make the flipper, so it is designed around the healing site and included in one treatment plan.