Have you ever looked up wisdom tooth removal surgery and noticed the hefty sum attached to the treatment? With Medisave, certain dental procedures can be made more affordable for you.
Medisave is a national medical savings scheme based in Singapore. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), Medisave helps Singaporeans and Permanent Residents set aside part of their monthly income into their CPF Medisave account. The amount in the Medisave account can be used to pay for your own personal or approved dependents’ hospitalisation, day surgery and certain outpatient expenses. (1) This includes a chunk of your dental treatment fees.
This article will inform you of which dental treatments are Medisave claimable.
Who Is Eligible To Use Medisave for Dental Services?
If you are a Singaporean citizen or a Permanent Resident, you can use your Medisave savings for yourself or your approved dependents. These include your immediate family members such as spouse, parents, children, grandparents and siblings. They can be of any nationality, except for grandparents and siblings who must be Singapore Citizens or PR. (2)
What Dental Services Are Covered By Medisave?
In dentistry, Medisave covers surgical procedures only such as day surgeries. Some examples of claimable dental treatments are listed below:
- Wisdom tooth surgery
- Dental implant surgery
- Bone grafting
- Gum grafting or surgery
- Retained roots (removal through surgery)
- Sinus lift
- Crown lengthening
What Dental Services Are Not Covered by Medisave?
Unfortunately, many procedures are still not covered under Medisave for dental treatments. Some examples include:
- Simple tooth extraction
- Scaling and polishing
- Braces or aligners
- Dentures
- Crowns and bridges
- Non- surgical root canal treatment
Medisave Claims for Dental Services
When undergoing a Medisave claimable dental surgery, you can opt to pay a partial cost. After deciding to proceed with the treatment, please inform the dental clinic that you would like to claim from a Medisave account. The institution will prepare a Medical Claims Authorisation Form (MCAF) for you or the account holder to sign before the surgery. For this, you would need to show the NRIC of the Medisave account holder for verification reasons.
To show us that you have a sufficient balance in the account, you may either log in to the CPF portal or alternatively, you can print out a physical copy of the summary balance page.
After that, the clinic will submit the Medisave claim on the portal and the following amount will be deducted from your Medisave account. You will also receive a Medisave Claims Statement after the payment has been processed.
For Patients With Sufficient Balance:
You are only required to top-up the difference between the total amount for surgical procedures and your Medisave claimable amount. For this option, there must be sufficient funds in your Medisave account the claim to be successful.
For example:
For Patients With Insufficient Balance:
If you have less than the amount claimable in your Medisave account, you will be required to pay the total sum of the surgery upfront first.
For example, if the surgery costs $1,250 but your Medisave account only has $500, you are required to pay the $1,250 upfront. The clinic will then process the claim and once the $500 is claimed from your Medisave account, the clinic will issue a cheque refund of $500 back to the account holder.
You can also opt for your immediate family member to help cover the dental bill with their Medisave account. However, please note that claims are still subject to approval following the Medisave withdrawal limits.
Common Medisave Questions for Dental Services
Here are some frequently asked questions about Medisave for dental treatments.
How much Medisave can be used for dental implants?
You are able to claim different amounts depending on the complexity and type of dental treatments undergone. Each surgery has a code where they are assigned an amount claimable. This is known as the Table of Surgical Procedures (TOSP).
In the case of dental implants, you would be able to claim between $350 to $2150 depending on the complexity of your surgery. $1250 is the most common amount covered. Our price range for implant surgery + implant crown is from $3,500 – $4,500, out of which $1,250 is usually covered by Medisave.
Can root canal claim from Medisave?
Root canal treatments cannot be claimed from Medisave. The only exception is if your root canal treatment requires a peri-radicular (root) surgery.
Are there other options for more affordable dentalcare?
CHAS is a scheme designed to subsidize medical or dental costs for lower and middle income groups. Other than that, Merdeka Generation subsidies are for Singaporean citizens born in 1950 to 1959 and Pioneer Generation subsidies are for those born in 1949 and before.
CHAS, MG and PG can help to subsidize services such as simple extractions, fillings, dentures and root canal treatments.
Related: CHAS Dental Subsidies
Use Medisave to help you cover the dental bill. Ocean Dental is a clinic accredited by the Ministry of Health Singapore and the CPF board so you’ll be able to claim and use Medisave with us. For more queries, contact Ocean Dental for an appointment.
At Ocean Dental, we have a regular visiting oral surgeon specialist who is able to perform the claimable dental surgeries listed above. We also have X-rays machines for OPG and CBCT so that everything can be done in the clinic itself.
References
1. MOH | MediSave [Internet]. Moh.gov.sg. 2021 [cited 22 August 2021]
2. Central Provident Fund Board. 2021 [cited 22 August 2021]