The Ministry of Health will introduce a fee scale for general dental treatments in the fourth quarter of this year.
Clinical Associate Professor Jenny Loi, Vice President of Clinical and Regional Oral Health at the National Dental Centre of Singapore, believes that the fee scale can provide a pricing reference for private and public dental clinics, improve the transparency of dental treatment prices, and provide patients with more information to make more informed choices.
“For example, patients who need root canal treatment can refer to the fee scale to understand the cost range of the treatment and discuss it with their dentist. Such transparency helps doctors build trust with patients and supports better financial planning for dental care.”
Dr. Ang Yiping, Chief Operating Officer of the National Dental Group, suggested that the fee scale can set a price range for each dental service, as the cost depends on the complexity and materials used. For example, the prices of plastic, metal and flexible dentures vary.
“If the price shown in the fee schedule is within an affordable range, patients can consider treatment in private clinics. This will not only help reduce waiting times in the public health system, but also allow patients to get the treatment they need faster.”
Hong Yiping said that the pricing method of the National Dental Group, which has 106 clinics locally, is to set up a dental cost committee and understand the pricing of major competitors through “mystery shopper” surveys, while adjusting prices based on their own costs. Smaller dental clinics usually refer to the pricing of large chain clinics.
He believes that the fee schedule is not expected to significantly change the pricing method of private dental clinics, because the local private dental market is highly competitive, fixed operating costs are high, and pricing needs to strike a balance between attracting patients and maintaining profitability, so it is already very price competitive.
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