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In Singapore, how much does wisdom tooth extraction cost?
The Ministry of Health website will inform you that in government
hospitals, the average fee per tooth costs $700, and $1500 in private.
Depending on whether you wish to have your wisdom tooth removed by a general dentist or oral maxillofacial surgeon (OMS), there are also price variations.
Realistically, if it needs treatment, you can expect to pay between $1200
– $ 2000 in total for wisdom tooth surgery by an OMS. Medisave is responsible for this charge.
What determines how much wisdom tooth extraction costs in Singapore?
The costs of wisdom tooth surgery vary primarily due to how complicated the case is. This is dependant on factors such as:
- Age: Younger patients have softer bone, which makes wisdom tooth extraction easier.
- Position of gum tissue: A wisdom tooth is more comfortable to extract if it has fully emerged than underneath your gum tissue.
- Submerged level of wisdom tooth: If your wisdom tooth is completely buried within the bone, this will require drilling into your jaw to extract.
- Root shape of wisdom tooth: A wisdom tooth with an irregular root shape is harder to extract.
- Proximity to nerves: Deeply buried wisdom teeth are closer to nerves, which makes extraction more difficult.
Local anaesthetic versus general costs in Singapore
All right, so you’re afraid of pain, as I am. With a local anaesthetic, wisdom tooth extraction is almost always finished, which means we use a small needle to put some pain blocking agents into the gums. This is also true for other surgeries, such as dental tooth implants. The local anaesthesia expenses are included in the surgery (i.e. you will not have to pay extra). However, though conked out, you can also opt to undergo wisdom surgery (general anaesthetic). Among patients needing four extractions at a go, this appears to be more common. It will cost an anaesthetist an extra $800 (on average) to administer the sedation if you are keen on general anaesthesia.
Medisave for wisdom tooth extraction in Singapore
You can claim between $350 to $2700 from your Medisave for wisdom tooth surgery. Why the discrepancy? I’ll explain in a bit!
The average patient can claim up to $950/tooth.
If you are undergoing general anaesthesia, you can claim up to SGD $1600/tooth.
How come my neighbour managed to claim $2000 from Medisave, while I was only allowed to claim $950?
Medisave’s claimable amount depends on:
- The case’s complexity
- Number of wisdom teeth that need extraction
In turn, the complexity depends on whether tooth division or bone removal is required. 1 compromised lower wisdom tooth is the most common scenario for wisdom tooth surgery. This includes both bone removal and division of teeth, and for $950, Medisave is claimable.
The wisdom tooth needs to be removed from a nerve in the most difficult
form of the situation – this unusual circumstance is eligible for the highest Medisave demand.
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