Average Cost of Dental Procedures in Singapore 2024

The condition of your teeth and your dental health play a pivotal role in your overall well-being. However, getting proper dental treatments can be quite expensive. To help you figure out how to budget for your dentist visits, we've prepared the below study on average cost of different dental procedures. While these costs can vary heavily depending on the dentist and patient's individual conditions, you can use these as a reference points to get a general sense of what you should expect and how you can assess what you end up paying.

• Average Cost of Dental Procedures
• Average Cost of Wisdom Teeth Removal
• Average Cost of Root Canals
• Average Cost of Dental Implants
• Average Cost of Crowns
• Available Subsidies

Average Cost of Dental Procedures

According to the Mayo Clinic, a premier medical practice and research group in the US, a decline in oral health can bring about a host of other diseases. Unfortunately, our teeth don’t last a lifetime. They suffer from decay and need to be “repaired and replaced”. The most common procedures involve wisdom teeth removal, root canal treatment, dental implant surgery, and the restoration of teeth with the help of crowns. Here is a rundown of the approximate cost of different categories of dental treatment.

The above costs include the fee for the procedure and GST. You would have to pay additional sums for consultation, consumables, x-ray fees and other procedure-specific costs. The following sections give details of the amounts payable for the different procedures at various public institutions and private dental clinics.

Average Cost of Wisdom Tooth Removal

The last set of teeth to form in the mouth are wisdom teeth. Also called third molars, they emerge at the back of the mouth during mid to late puberty or even in adulthood. Most people have four wisdom teeth, two behind the molars on the top and two behind the molars on the bottom.

The problem with wisdom teeth is that they can ruin your teeth alignment. As they grow, wisdom teeth push against existing teeth, cause a zig-zag teeth alignment as they need to fit in 4 extra teeth in limited available space. Sometimes, they fail to grow out properly, leading to a condition called an “impaction” where wisdom teeth grow underneath other teeth or inside your gum, which can be quite painful. Either way, dentists usually advise removal of wisdom teeth to prevent misalignment or impaction.

Below, we show average cost of wisdom tooth removal at various clinics. The cost can vary depending on the complexity of the procedure. For wisdom teeth that grow upright in their proper positions, the procedure is rather simple and cheap. For impacted wisdom teeth, however, the procedure involves a rather complicated surgery and hence costs more.

Average Cost of Root Canals

An infected or rotten tooth can be extremely painful and often the only solution is to have it extracted. However, in certain circumstances, it is possible to save it by cleaning the rotten parts inside a tooth’s root. This procedure, called a root canal treatment, involves removing the infected pulp from inside the tooth and is carried out with local anaesthetic. It usually involves one or two visits to the dental clinic.

The amount that you will pay will depend upon the type of tooth that is being treated. Incisors and canines in the front of your mouth, known as the anterior teeth, are the easiest to treat and consequently cost the least. Root canal treatments for premolars and molars in the back of your mouth are more expensive.

Average Cost of Dental Implant Surgery

Missing teeth are often replaced with dentures, which are basically fake teeth. While dentures are a good substitute for real teeth, they suffer from certain shortcomings: dentures are supported by gums, which can become loose and need constant upkeep and care. Dental implants are a better alternative and they are superior in many ways.

First, they are much sturdier than dentures because they are surgically placed in your jawbone where they serve as the roots of your missing teeth. Because dental implants are made of titanium, a material that fuses with your jawbone, implants are essentially a permanent replacement for missing teeth. You essentially have to never worry about losing it or taking it off for cleaning. Of course, the procedure is more complex than getting dentures and therefore costs more money. Furthermore, you will need to get a crown to cover the implant, which will increase the cost further. Below is a table summarizing the average cost of implants at various clinics, which is calculated on a per teeth basis.

Average Cost of Crowns

Teeth become weak through decays and overuse. Sometimes, a tooth can develop a cavity that is so large that it be fixed with a filling. In a situation like this, a dental crown or “cap” can be used to cover the tooth to protect it and give it strength.

Crowns can be made of various materials including stainless steel and gold alloys. Metal crowns are the most effective as they rarely chip or break. However, their metallic colour can be quite obtrusive, and therefore are usually only used for out-of-sight molars. A crown is not a permanent solution, but they can last for a long time (usually between five and fifteen years). Their costs also vary with the type of material that you select, with gold being one of the most pricey options. Below is a summary table of cost of crowns, which is calculated on a per teeth basis.

Available Subsidies: Community Health Assist Scheme & Pioneer Generation

Remember, your health insurance may not cover the cost of your dental work unless you had an accident that requires it. First, the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) is designed to help lower and middle-income Singapore citizens. Among its other benefits, it provides subsidies at participating dental clinics. There are various categories of CHAS beneficiaries. A household with monthly income per person below S$1,100 is in the “blue” tier and receives a CHAS card of the same colour. This entitles the holder of this card to a subsidy of between S$11 and S$256.50 per dental procedure. Those individuals with greater income get lower subsidies. Households with a monthly income per person of $1,100 to S$1,800 are in the “orange” tier. Their CHAS subsidy for a dental procedure is in the range of S$50 to S$170.50.

Secondly, the government has introduced enhanced benefits for the Pioneer Generation. These are Singapore citizens who were born before 1st January 1950 and who have been the nation’s citizens since 31st December 1986 or earlier. This category is entitled to receive benefits regardless of their income level. Selected dental services will be subsidised under the “CHAS for Pioneer Generation” program to the extent of S$21 to S$266.50 per procedure.

If you need further assistance in financing your or your parents' dental procedures, you could explore getting a personal loan from a bank. These loans come with around 12-15% of interest rates, and can be paid off in a manageable way. Furthermore, using cashback credit cards could help you save up to 5% by earning cash back rewards on your expenses on dental procedures.

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