Root Canal Treatment Singapore

What is Root Canal Treatment (RCT)?

Root canal treatment involves removing the nerve and blood vessels (known as the pulp) inside the tooth. The dentist will remove the infected or inflamed (dead) pulp of the tooth and carefully clean and disinfect it and will fill the space with an inert material. This treatment is necessary to save the tooth when the pulp is infected and dead because of decay or trauma from an accident or fall. The whole purpose of Root Canal Treatment is to save the tooth instead of removing it.

You may not feel any pain in the early stages of the infection. In some cases, your tooth could darken in colour which may mean that the nerve of the tooth has died or is dying.

Root Canal Treatment Cost in Singapore

This is a fee estimate & subject to change. Please check with your clinician for an exact fee based on your unique clinical condition.

The cost of a root canal treatment depends on a few factors. This includes the type of tooth, the extent of the damage and the post-root canal treatment cost (crowns).

Type of the tooth: Molars tend to be the largest, then premolars and anterior teeth. The complexity increases when there are more roots and multiple roots within a canal.

The extensiveness of the damage: If the damage is larger and the remaining good tooth are comparatively less, then the dentist will need to fill in more structure to replace them and vice versa.

Post root canal treatment: Your dentist may suggest dental crowns to complete the teeth, and based on the material used the cost may vary.

Can I use MediSave/CHAS to pay for root canal treatment?

Root canal treatments are not MediSave claimable.

However, CHAS subsidies are available for both root canal treatment (up to 2 per calendar year) and dental crowns (up to 4 per calendar year). You can find the relevant subsidies below:

CHAS Orange | CHASBlue | Merdeka Generation | Pioneer Generation

What are the signs that you need Root Canal Treatment?

You may feel some or all of these symptoms and these are common indications of the need for root canal treatment:

• spontaneous pain or throbbing while biting
• sensitivity to hot and cold foods not relieved by other means
• severe decay or an injury that creates an abscess (infection) in the bone

Root Canal Treatment Procedure in Singapore

Root canal treatment may require 2 or more visits to the dentist as it has to be performed meticulously. The aim of the treatment is to remove as much infection from the root canal as possible. The dentist will take some X-rays during the procedures. The tooth is isolated with a rubber dam and a clamp on the tooth. This is to isolate the tooth and keep it clean and free of saliva during the procedure.

First Visit:

The dentist will administer an injection (local anaesthetic) to the area around the tooth. You will feel a bit “fat” on the cheeks when you are numb. The dentist will drill and remove all decay present, and make an opening into the pulp chamber. Next, using a very fine instrument known as a file, the infected nerve is located and removed. The canal is rinsed and medication is placed inside the root canal to kill bacteria. The dentist will place a temporary filling to safeguard the canal. This is to prevent it from being damaged by saliva.

Subsequent Visit:

During the next visit, a local anaesthetic will be administered again to numb the tooth. Your temporary filling in the tooth will be removed. Progressively thicker files are used to clean and shape the entire length of the root canal. Medication is placed within the root again and a temporary filling is placed.

The dentist will have to repeat the procedure in another visit, depending on the number of canals and the case's complexity. Finally, the root canal is rinsed, dried and filled with a rubber material within the root. A filling is placed on top. Your dentist will take a post-operative x-ray to check if all affected areas are treated. The dentist may also suggest a dental crown following a root canal treatment to reinforce the tooth.

Why do we need to do crowns after RCT?

It depends! Your dentist will inform you based on your tooth condition and by examining the remaining tooth structure after the root canal treatment. Generally, if the remaining tooth structure is less than half of the tooth, your dentist will suggest a dental crown. That is If more than half of the tooth is gone, a crown is needed to restore the tooth's structural integrity.

Is Root Canal Treatment painful? 

If you are afraid that root canal treatments are painful, you can stop worrying because the procedure is akin to having a filling placed. It only poses slight discomfort and the pain before the dental care is likely much worse than during the procedure itself. The pain or the toothaches come because of the pulp inflammation or infection. The treatment is done to relieve the pain and save the tooth. The modern techniques and anaesthetics used will keep you comfortable as possible.

What can I eat after the root canal treatment?

The advice for patients is not to chew hard food after the treatment because there is a higher chance that your tooth-canal-treated tooth can fracture. Anything soft would be ideal. You should try to eat soft food like:

• Smoothies, yoghurt, ice cream and milkshakes.
• Soups, soft salads, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.
• Eggs, milk, cream of wheat and pancakes.
• Bananas, mangos, pears and peaches.
• Applesauce, pudding and hummus.

It is best to avoid food and beverages that can cause damage

• Hot and cold food and beverages will irritate sensitive teeth
• Sticky foods like gum, caramel, and other candies can stick to your teeth
• Chewy foods like steak and crusty bread will require a lot of chewing
• Hard foods like nuts can damage

It is advisable not to eat for a few hours until the numbness in your mouth goes off so you don’t bite your cheek or tongue.

Can you still get pain in a tooth that has had a root canal?

After the treatment, the tooth is non-vital/dead, so it becomes weak and brittle. It is weak because decayed areas and the centre of the tooth will have been removed in order to remove the infected nerve, leaving little tooth structure left for support. It is more brittle because the nerves and blood supply are gone. For posterior teeth that experience more force during the chewing cycle, they may develop cracks & fractures if not protected with a crown.

Yes, there’s a possibility that you may experience pain in a tooth that has already had a root canal. 

Some causes of this pain are because of: 

• The root canal not healing properly 
• Unable to completely disinfect the root canal (Due to the anatomy/structure)
• New decay infects the root canal filling material, which causes a new infection 
• A tooth injury that causes decay of the tooth