Higher dental subsidies, more people to be covered under Chas for better oral health

SINGAPORE – Higher dental subsidies for tooth-saving procedures such as root canals and permanent crowns will be offered under the Chas scheme to make it easier for Singaporeans to get these costlier procedures done to upkeep a functional set of teeth.

The subsidies will kick in from the fourth quarter of 2025, with the subsidy caps varying by procedure and Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) card type.

The subsidy enhancements for oral care are expected to benefit up to 1.7 million Chas cardholders.

Speaking at his ministry’s budget debate, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said dental health is one area where affordability is becoming a concern.

Many residents have told him that they would rather have an infected tooth extracted than repaired, as extraction is cheaper and entails fewer trips to the dentist. However, Mr Ong said that having fewer teeth can affect nutritional intake as it can diminish one’s ability to chew effectively.

He said MPs have asked if oral health can be part of Singapore’s preventive care strategy Healthier SG, where residents pair up with a general practitioner to help them take charge of their health.

A longstanding collaboration between Ministry of Education schools and the Ministry of Health (MOH) protects the teeth of the young. But, in adulthood, oral health deteriorates, Mr Ong said.

“Generally, a person needs at least 20 natural teeth to chew effectively. Unfortunately, only about half of our older population have them,” he added.

This is why MOH will extend subsidies for 10 preventive dental procedures such as polishing, scaling, filling and extractions to Chas Orange cardholders, who are those with a household monthly income per person of $1,501 to $2,300.

The subsidies are currently given only to Pioneer and Merdeka generation and Chas Blue cardholders.

The Chas scheme enables all Singapore citizens to receive subsidies for medical and dental care across all public healthcare institutions, participating general practitioners and some 900 private dental clinics. Pioneer Generation (PG) and Merdeka Generation (MG) Chas cardholders – people born before 1960 – receive the highest dental subsidies under the scheme.

For instance, a PG cardholder getting a molar root canal treatment in a private clinic can get the maximum subsidy of $594.50, up from $266.50 previously.

For an MG cardholder getting a molar root canal treatment at a Chas clinic, the subsidy enhancement will mean that his out-of-pocket payment will be nearly halved to $370 from $700, said Mr Ong. If the MG cardholder uses up to $400 in Flexi-MediSave, there may not be any cash payment required, he added.

From mid-2026, MOH will allow the use of Flexi-MediSave (for patients aged 60 and above) for root canal treatments and permanent crowns at Chas clinics and public healthcare institutions.

PG, MG and Chas Blue cardholders will receive the highest increase of $487.50 in subsidies for permanent crown treatment. This translates to a subsidy cap of $625, $620 and $615, respectively, for the cardholders.

To strengthen governance and prevent abuse, MOH will introduce fee benchmarks for common dental procedures in the fourth quarter of 2025.

“When subsidy goes up, we must prevent some providers from raising prices sharply and creaming off the subsidy,” said Mr Ong.

Currently, many people head to a public institution instead of a private clinic for subsidised dental care, but this may entail a long wait.

At the National University Centre For Oral Health Singapore (NUCOHS), for instance, the average wait for a root canal treatment or to get dentures done is five months, and this has been the case for the past two years, the centre said. 

Patients, particularly those seeing a dentist for the first time, may not know whether to trust the pricing in the private sector, said Associate Professor Patrick Tseng, senior adviser at the centre.

Fee benchmarks will enable the public to gauge how much they have to pay, and see who are the outliers, Prof Tseng added.

“The whole intention is to move patients to the private sector where there is capacity... so that the wait lists in the public sector are more manageable,” he said, adding that this will allow the national centres to focus primarily on the complex cases.

He said that NUCOHS is almost hitting its maximum capacity.

At dental chain Q&M Dental, chief operating officer Raymond Ang said fee benchmarks might encourage some people to head to the private sector for quicker service. “They may feel more comfortable going to a private sector clinic if the polyclinic is full,” Dr Ang said. 

Dr Angela Tran, a dental surgeon at a smaller chain, Casa Dental, said many elderly patients opt for extraction because it is cheaper than a root canal treatment, which can cost $400 to $1,000, and a crown that costs $1,000 or more.

With the increased support for the complex procedures, more patients may opt to save their teeth instead, she added.