---
title: "What Is Usual and customary fee? Dental Practice Glossary"
description: "A usual and customary fee is the amount a dentist normally charges for a service, used by some dental plans as a reference when deciding how much they will pay."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/usual-and-customary-fee
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Finance and valuation

# Usual and customary fee

A usual and customary fee is the amount a dentist normally charges for a service, used by some dental plans as a reference when deciding how much they will pay.

The ADA explains that dental plans may use the terms usual, customary and reasonable (UCR) to decide how much of a treatment fee they will pay. It says the words are not interchangeable and that UCR is a misleading acronym, because it is actually three different concepts. Usual fees are determined by the dentist. The fee a plan decides is customary may be lower than the fees local dentists usually charge. This is why a patient may be told a plan pays only part of a bill. See [fee schedule](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/fee-schedule) and [explanation of benefits](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/explanation-of-benefits). Definitions differ among plans, so check the plan documents.

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [Fee schedule](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/fee-schedule)
-   [Explanation of benefits](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/explanation-of-benefits)
-   [Dental claim](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-claim)
-   [Net production](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/net-production)

## Sources

1.  [ADA, Typical Dental Plan Benefits and Limitations](https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/dental-insurance/typical-dental-plan-benefits-and-limitations)
2.  [ADA, Typical Dental Plan Benefits and Limitations](https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/dental-insurance/typical-dental-plan-benefits-and-limitations)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)