Getting a DEXA scan typically involves either asking your doctor for a referral or booking directly with a consumer scanning facility. Which route you take depends on why you want the scan: bone density screening usually goes through your healthcare provider (and is often covered by insurance), while body composition scans for fitness tracking are easier to book on your own.
Getting a Scan Through Your Doctor
The most common path is asking your primary care provider for a referral. If you’re a woman 65 or older, screening is a straightforward request. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends routine bone density screening for all women in that age group, so your doctor should write the order without hesitation. Postmenopausal women younger than 65 who have risk factors for osteoporosis, such as a parent who broke a hip, low body weight, or long-term steroid use, also qualify for screening under those same guidelines.
For men, there’s no official screening recommendation at any age, which can make getting a referral slightly harder. That said, doctors regularly order DEXA scans for men with specific risk factors: chronic steroid use, certain intestinal disorders, multiple sclerosis, or signs of bone loss on an X-ray. If you have a reason to be concerned, bring it up directly. Your provider can order the scan whenever the clinical benefit justifies it.
The referral itself is simple. Your doctor places an order, and you schedule the appointment at a radiology center or hospital imaging department. Some clinics have a DEXA machine on-site, so you may be able to get scanned the same day.
Booking Without a Doctor’s Referral
If you want a DEXA scan for body composition, meaning a breakdown of your fat mass, lean muscle mass, and bone density across your entire body, you can skip the referral in many cases. Direct-to-consumer companies like BodySpec operate in multiple cities and let you book online the way you’d schedule a haircut. University sports medicine clinics sometimes accept self-referrals as well. UC Davis Health, for example, offers body composition analysis and notes that patients who can self-refer simply call to make an appointment.
These scans provide detailed metrics: total body fat percentage, fat mass in kilograms, fat-free mass (muscle and bone), and an estimate of visceral fat, the deep abdominal fat surrounding your organs that’s linked to metabolic disease. Some reports also break down fat distribution by body region, which is useful for tracking changes over time or identifying asymmetries between your left and right sides.
No prescription is needed for these consumer scans, and the process takes about 10 minutes. You lie on a padded table while a low-dose X-ray arm passes over your body. Results are typically available within minutes or emailed the same day.
What It Costs
A DEXA scan in the U.S. costs between $40 and $300 out of pocket, with the price depending heavily on where you go. Hospital-based bone density exams average $300 or more. Direct-to-consumer providers charge $40 to $60 per scan, with membership plans at the lower end of that range.
If your scan is medically ordered for bone density, insurance often covers it. Medicare pays for a bone mass measurement once every 24 months if you meet at least one qualifying condition: estrogen deficiency with osteoporosis risk, X-rays suggesting bone loss, current or planned steroid therapy, a diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism, or monitoring of osteoporosis treatment. Private insurers generally follow similar criteria, though coverage varies by plan. Body composition scans ordered for fitness purposes are almost never covered by insurance.
If you’re paying out of pocket and your goal is tracking body composition or getting a baseline bone check, consumer providers offer the best value. There’s no clinical difference in the technology used.
How to Prepare for the Scan
Preparation is minimal, but a few details affect accuracy. Stop taking calcium supplements 24 hours before the scan. If you’ve had any imaging test that used contrast dye (like a CT scan with contrast), wait at least 24 hours before your DEXA appointment, since residual dye can interfere with readings.
Wear comfortable clothing without metal snaps, zippers, or buttons. Think athletic wear: a T-shirt and shorts or leggings with an elastic waist work perfectly. If your outfit has metal, you’ll be asked to change into a gown. No fasting is required.
For body composition scans specifically, consistency matters more than perfection. Try to scan at the same time of day, with similar hydration levels, each time you go. This makes comparisons between scans much more reliable.
Understanding Your Results
Bone density results are reported as a T-score, which compares your bone density to that of a healthy 30-year-old. A T-score of negative 1 or higher is normal. Between negative 1 and negative 2.5 indicates osteopenia, a milder form of bone loss that doesn’t yet qualify as osteoporosis but signals that your bones are thinning. A T-score of negative 2.5 or lower suggests osteoporosis. Each 1-point drop in T-score increases your fracture risk by 1.5 to 2 times, so the numbers carry real practical weight.
If you’re younger than 50 or premenopausal, your report may use a Z-score instead, which compares you to others your age and sex rather than to a 30-year-old. A very low Z-score suggests something other than normal aging is affecting your bones.
Body composition reports are more straightforward. You’ll see your total body fat percentage, pounds or kilograms of fat mass versus lean mass, and regional breakdowns. Many reports include a visceral fat estimate, which is calculated by subtracting the subcutaneous (under-the-skin) fat from total abdominal fat. Visceral fat levels are one of the more actionable numbers on the report, since they’re closely tied to cardiovascular and metabolic risk and respond well to exercise and dietary changes.
How Often to Get Scanned
For bone density monitoring, the standard interval is every two years. Medicare follows this schedule, and most clinical guidelines agree that 24 months is the minimum needed to detect meaningful changes in bone mineral density. Your doctor may order more frequent scans if you’re starting a new osteoporosis treatment and they want to confirm it’s working.
For body composition tracking, there’s no medical guideline, but most consumer providers recommend scanning every three to six months. That’s enough time for meaningful changes in fat or muscle mass to show up on the scan. Scanning more often than every eight weeks rarely reveals changes beyond normal day-to-day fluctuation in hydration and food volume.