Root canal cost in Ontario generally runs about $600 to $1,600 for a single tooth, and the number lands where it does mostly because of which tooth is being treated. Front teeth sit near the bottom of that band because they usually have one canal. Molars sit at the top because they often have three or four, and every canal has to be found, cleaned, shaped and sealed on its own. What moves your quote most is the tooth and how many canals it turns out to have, how hard those canals are to reach, whether the tooth needs a core build-up and a crown afterward, whether a general dentist or an endodontist does the work, and how much your dental plan or the Canadian Dental Care Plan actually pays.
Published Root Canal Fee Ranges in Ontario (August 2026)
- Front teeth (incisors and canines): roughly $600 to $1,000, usually one canal.
- Premolars: roughly $800 to $1,200, usually one or two canals.
- Molars: roughly $1,000 to $1,600, usually three or four canals.
- Examination and X-rays before treatment: roughly $75 to $200, billed separately on most quotes.
- Core build-up to rebuild the inside of the tooth: roughly $150 to $300 where it is needed.
- Crown afterward: roughly $900 to $1,600, and a back tooth usually needs one.
- Endodontist instead of a general dentist: commonly quoted at 10 to 20 percent more for the same procedure.
- Published Ontario clinic figures reviewed in August 2026: individual practice pages advertised spans such as $700 to $1,500, $600 to $1,600, $500 to $900 for front teeth, $757 for a single canal, and $532 to $1,240 across tooth types. A treatment directory listing 328 Ontario clinics showed prices starting at $699.
- What patients report paying: in a widely read Ontario discussion thread, one person was quoted $2,050 for a root canal plus $1,300 for the crown, and another was quoted roughly $1,800 for a lower left molar with $175 for the initial visit.
What the Line Items on a Root Canal Quote Mean
- Examination and diagnosis: the appointment where the dentist tests the tooth and works out whether the pulp inside it is really the problem.
- Periapical X-ray: the small image of one tooth and its root, used to see the canals and the bone around them.
- Root canal therapy, billed by canal: the group of procedure codes covering the cleaning, shaping and sealing of the inside of the tooth. It is priced by the number of canals rather than per tooth.
- Difficult access or unusual anatomy: separate codes that apply when canals are calcified, sharply curved, or awkward to reach.
- Pulpectomy: the first stage of a root canal, sometimes done on its own to settle an infected, painful tooth before the rest of the treatment.
- Core build-up: filling material used to rebuild enough tooth structure to hold a crown.
- Post: a small support cemented into a canal when very little natural tooth is left above the gum.
- Crown: the cap that covers the treated tooth so chewing forces do not split it.
- Retreatment: redoing a root canal that has failed or become reinfected. It is a different code and usually a higher fee than the original treatment.
Fees, appointment counts, coverage and outcomes vary from person to person, and no published range can stand in for an examination. A dentist has to test the tooth, look at your gums and bite, take X-rays, and go through your medical history before anyone can say whether root canal treatment is right for that tooth or what it would cost in your case. Two things get missed often enough to repeat. The fee quoted for the root canal itself is rarely the full cost of getting the tooth back into service, and assuming your dental plan or the Canadian Dental Care Plan will cover it, without asking for a written estimate first, is how people end up surprised at the front desk.
Key Takeaways
- Most single root canals in Ontario are quoted between $600 and $1,600, and the tooth itself decides where in that band you land.
- The fee is billed by the number of canals, so a molar costs more for the same reason it takes longer.
- Ontario has no mandatory dental fee schedule. The Ontario Dental Association publishes suggested fees, and dentists are not required to follow them.
- A back tooth will usually need a crown afterward, and that is often the larger of the two numbers on the plan.
- The Canadian Dental Care Plan does cover root canal treatment. Retreatments and crowns need preauthorization first.
- Pulling the tooth costs less today and usually costs more over ten years, once replacing it is counted.
- Only a written estimate with the procedure codes listed on it tells you what your own treatment will cost.
What a Root Canal Actually Costs in Ontario Right Now
The answer is a band rather than a price, and the band is wide for a reason that has nothing to do with clinics being cagey. A root canal is not one procedure repeated identically on every tooth. It is the same idea applied to teeth with wildly different insides.
We looked at what Ontario practices were publishing in August 2026 alongside what patients say they were quoted. One clinic page put the province-wide figure at $700 to $1,500 per tooth. Another put it at $600 to $1,600 and separated general dentists from endodontists. A third listed front teeth at roughly $500 to $900, premolars at $700 to $1,000, and molars from $900 up. A Toronto practice published a code-by-code breakdown starting at $757 for a single canal. An older page, working from a fee guide several years out of date, showed $532 to $1,240 depending on the tooth. A directory covering 328 Ontario clinics showed listings starting at $699.
Those numbers are not really in conflict. They describe different teeth. Sorted by tooth, the pattern is consistent.
| Tooth | Canals, typically | Published Ontario range (2026) | Why it sits there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incisor or canine (front tooth) | One | About $600 to $1,000 | One straight canal, easy to see and reach, shortest appointment |
| Premolar | One or two | About $800 to $1,200 | Sits further back, sometimes a second canal that has to be located |
| Molar | Three or four | About $1,000 to $1,600 | Multiple canals, often curved, longer appointment, more materials |
| Any tooth with unusual anatomy | Varies | Above the range for that tooth | Calcified, curved or extra canals billed under separate access codes |
| Retreatment of a previous root canal | Varies | Usually above a first-time root canal on the same tooth | Old filling material has to come out before the canal can be cleaned again |
These are planning ranges drawn from published market pricing. They are not a fee guide, and they are not our quote. If you want a number that applies to your tooth, the starting point is an examination and diagnosis, which is what root canal therapy at our Vaughan dental office begins with before any treatment is booked. The tooth gets tested, the dental X-ray shows what the canals actually look like, and the estimate follows from that rather than from an average.
Related Article: Average Cost for Dental Exam and X-rays in Toronto
Why Two Quotes for the Same Tooth Can Differ by Hundreds
Almost nobody explains this, and it is the most useful thing to understand before you compare two estimates.
Ontario has no mandatory dental fee schedule. The Ontario Dental Association publishes a Suggested Fee Guide that, in its own description, “lists every dental service that dentists may perform” along with “dental codes and suggested fees for each specific service.” Suggested is the operative word. The ODA states plainly on its patient information that dentists are not required to follow the Guide or any fee schedule and that they set their own fees based on the factors affecting their individual practice.
So when one clinic quotes $980 for a molar and another quotes $1,340, neither is necessarily wrong or gouging. The ODA lists treatment complexity, the time required, materials, specialized equipment, sterilization protocols, staff training, continuing education and the overhead attached to a practice’s location as the things that move a fee. All of those are real costs, and they differ between two practices five kilometres apart.
The Guide itself is a technical document with more than 1,400 codes, each representing a specific procedure in clinical language. That matters for a practical reason: two quotes are only comparable when you can see which codes each one used.
| What pushes a root canal fee up | What keeps it lower |
|---|---|
| More canals in the tooth, since the procedure is billed by canal | A single-canal front tooth |
| Difficult access or unusual anatomy codes applied on top of the base fee | Straight, open, easily located canals |
| Treatment by an endodontist, commonly quoted at 10 to 20 percent more | Treatment by a general dentist, where the case suits general practice |
| A core build-up and post needed before a crown can be placed | Enough sound tooth structure left to restore without a build-up |
| Sedation added for anxiety or a long appointment | Local anaesthetic only, which is what most cases need |
| An abscess or active infection that needs settling first | A tooth caught before infection spreads past the root tip |
| Higher practice overhead, equipment and sterilization costs | Nothing you can control, and not a reason to pick on price alone |
The Cost Nobody Puts in the Headline: The Crown Afterward
Most root canal budgets go wrong right here. The advertised figure is almost always the endodontic treatment on its own. It is not the cost of a tooth you can chew on again.
The Canadian Dental Association is direct about this. Its patient page on root canal treatment notes that “a back tooth will likely need a crown because chewing puts a great deal of force on back teeth.” A molar that has had its pulp removed and its inside hollowed out is more brittle than it was. Left uncrowned, it can fracture, and a fractured root usually cannot be saved.
So the realistic budget for a molar is two numbers, not one.
| Stage | Published Ontario range (2026) | Is it always needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Examination, diagnosis and X-ray | About $75 to $200 | Yes, before anything is decided |
| Root canal therapy | About $600 to $1,600 depending on the tooth | Yes, that is the treatment |
| Core build-up | About $150 to $300 | Only when too little tooth structure is left |
| Post inside the canal | Varies by case and material | Only when the remaining tooth cannot hold a crown on its own |
| Crown | About $900 to $1,600 | Usually yes on a back tooth, sometimes no on a front tooth |
| Realistic total for a molar restored properly | Frequently $2,000 to $3,000 or more | This is the number to compare between clinics |
A front tooth is often the cheaper story. If enough structure survives and the tooth is not carrying heavy chewing load, a filling to seal the access opening can be enough, and no crown is needed. That is a clinical judgement, not a preference, and it depends on how much of the tooth is left.
If a crown is part of your plan, it is worth knowing what those cost separately, because the material choice moves the number. Our guides to what different types of dental crowns cost breaks that down, and the ceramic crowns and onlays page explains what the restoration itself involves.
General Dentist or Endodontist: What the Title Actually Means in Ontario
A lot of cost comparisons fall apart here, because people assume “specialist” is a marketing word. In Ontario it is a regulated one.
The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario recognizes eleven dental specialties, and endodontics is one of them. The others are dental anaesthesia, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology, oral radiology, orthodontics, paediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics and public health dentistry. Only a dentist holding a certificate of specialist registration from the College may use a specialist title. A general dentist who focuses on one area has to make clear to patients that they are a general dentist who practises in that area, and terms that imply specialist status without the certificate are not permitted.
What that means for your quote is simple enough. Root canal treatment is performed by both general dentists and endodontists in Ontario, and both are doing it legitimately. Endodontists tend to be quoted at roughly 10 to 20 percent more for the same procedure, which reflects the kind of cases that get referred to them: retreatments, unusual anatomy, teeth that have already been worked on, and cases where a general dentist has looked at the X-ray and decided the tooth deserves someone who does nothing but this.
A lower quote does not mean worse care, and a higher one does not guarantee better. What decides it is whether your tooth is a straightforward case or a complicated one, and an examination answers that. A price list cannot. You can verify any Ontario dentist’s registration and any specialist certificate through the College’s public register, which is worth doing if you are being referred somewhere new.
Does Dental Insurance Cover a Root Canal in Ontario?
Usually some of it, and the size of “some” is where people get caught.
OHIP does not cover routine dental treatment for adults, root canals included. That is not an Ontario quirk; dental care sits outside provincial health insurance across most of Canada. So unless you have a private plan, a group plan through work, or coverage under the Canadian Dental Care Plan, the fee is yours.
Private and employer plans generally treat endodontic treatment as a major restorative service. Published figures put typical reimbursement between 50 and 80 percent of the eligible fee, though the specifics depend entirely on your policy. Three mechanics decide what you actually get back, and none of them appear on the clinic’s quote.
| What to check on your plan | Why it changes your out-of-pocket cost | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage paid for major restorative services | Decides whether you cover 20 percent of the fee or half of it | Your benefits booklet, under basic and major services |
| Annual maximum | A root canal plus a crown can use most of a year’s maximum on its own | Plan summary, often expressed as a dollar cap per person per year |
| Which fee guide year your plan pays to | If the plan pays to an older guide, you cover the gap even at 80 percent | Ask your insurer directly; it is rarely on the front page |
| Whether the crown is covered at the same percentage | Crowns are frequently reimbursed at a lower rate than the root canal | The major services section of your policy |
| Whether a predetermination is required | Sending the plan in first tells you the real number before you commit | Ask the dental office to submit one for you |
| Waiting periods on major services | New plans sometimes exclude major work for the first six to twelve months | Eligibility section of the policy |
The predetermination is the step worth insisting on. It is a written estimate submitted to your insurer before treatment, and it comes back with the amount they will pay. It costs nothing and it converts a guess into a number. Insurers draw the line between basic, major and cosmetic services differently, so the wording in your own policy is the only version that counts.
Does the Canadian Dental Care Plan Cover Root Canal Treatment?
Yes. Search for root canal costs in Ontario and you will find page after page explaining that OHIP does not cover it, then stopping there, which leaves out the coverage that a lot of people reading actually have.
The Government of Canada’s list of services covered by the Canadian Dental Care Plan includes endodontic services, and it names them specifically: root canal treatments, pulpectomies as the first step of a root canal, procedures to reduce infection and relieve pain, and re-treatments of previously completed root canals. That last one carries a condition. Re-treatments require preauthorization. Initial root canal treatment does not.
Crowns sit in a different bucket. Crowns, cores to support crowns, and posts for crowns are all covered and all require preauthorization. Given that a molar usually needs a crown after a root canal, that preauthorization step is not optional paperwork for most people reading this. It is the difference between a covered restoration and a bill.
What you pay depends on adjusted family net income.
| Adjusted family net income | Share the plan covers | Your co-payment |
|---|---|---|
| Under $70,000 | 100 percent of eligible services at established rates | None |
| $70,000 to $79,999 | 60 percent | 40 percent |
| $80,000 to $89,999 | 40 percent | 60 percent |
One caveat deserves more attention than it usually gets. The plan states that you may owe additional amounts if a provider’s charges exceed the rates the plan has established, or if you choose services the plan does not cover. So “covered” and “free” are not the same sentence, so ask the dental office what they will bill and what the plan will pay before treatment starts.
Marketplace Dentistry is a participating provider under the plan, and our Canadian Dental Care Plan page lists root canal therapy among the covered services we provide, described there as applying to select teeth and subject to pre-authorization. If you have not applied yet, our guides to who qualifies for the CDCP and how to apply and which dental services the plan covers go through the mechanics, and what to know before your first CDCP appointment covers the paperwork side.
| Coverage route | Root canal treatment | Crown afterward | Key condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIP | Not covered for routine adult dental care | Not covered | Dental care sits outside provincial health insurance |
| Private or employer dental plan | Commonly reimbursed at 50 to 80 percent of the eligible fee | Often at a lower percentage than the root canal | Annual maximum and fee guide year both apply |
| Canadian Dental Care Plan | Covered, including pulpectomy and infection or pain relief | Covered with preauthorization, as are cores and posts | Re-treatments need preauthorization; co-payment depends on income |
Root Canal or Extraction: Which One Actually Costs Less
Pulling the tooth is cheaper on the day and usually more expensive across ten years. It is worth putting the numbers on paper before you decide, because the second half of the extraction cost arrives years after the first.
An extraction on its own leaves a gap. Some gaps can be left alone, particularly at the back of the mouth, and for some people that is a reasonable decision made with their dentist. But a gap also lets neighbouring teeth drift, changes how you chew, and over time the bone that used to hold the root begins to change shape. If you decide later that you want the tooth replaced, the options are a bridge, a partial denture, or an implant, and all three cost more than the root canal would have.
Our own endodontics page says as much: an implant can stop tooth shifting and the problems that follow, but implants are considerably more expensive than a root canal, so a root canal is the preferred option when it is possible. It is not always possible. Some teeth are too fractured, too decayed or too poorly supported to keep, and no dentist can promise a particular tooth will be one of the ones that is saveable.
| Path | Cost today | What comes next | Where the total usually lands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root canal, build-up and crown | Frequently $2,000 to $3,000 for a molar | Routine checkups and cleanings, the same as any other tooth | You keep the natural root and the bone around it |
| Extraction, gap left as is | Lowest immediate cost of the three | Possible drifting, bite changes and bone remodelling over years | Cheapest on paper, with consequences that are not billed |
| Extraction, then a bridge | Extraction plus the bridge fee | Two neighbouring healthy teeth get prepared to carry it | Usually more than saving the tooth, and it involves other teeth |
| Extraction, then an implant and crown | Extraction plus implant and crown, sometimes plus a graft | Surgery, healing time, then the restoration months later | The most expensive route, and the longest |
If you are weighing the replacement side of that decision, the numbers matter. Our breakdowns of tooth extraction cost, what dental implants cost across Ontario and the cost of dental bridges give you real figures to put beside the root canal quote. Comparing them clinically rather than by price alone is the more useful exercise, and it is a conversation for the examination.
Related Article: When Do Dental Emergencies Require Tooth Extractions
What Happens to the Cost If You Wait
Money is a real constraint, and delaying treatment is a decision plenty of people make for sound reasons. The problem is that the cost of waiting runs in one direction only.
The Canadian Dental Association’s guidance on root canal treatment states that when the nerve of a tooth becomes infected, a successful root canal lets you keep the tooth rather than having it pulled, and that if left untreated, an abscessed tooth can cause serious oral health problems. Infection inside a tooth does not resolve on its own, because the blood supply that would carry your immune response there has been compromised. That is the mechanism, and it is why “wait and see whether the pain settles” is unreliable advice for a tooth that has already been diagnosed.
When pain does settle without treatment, it often means the nerve has died rather than healed. The tooth stops hurting and the infection carries on.
| Common after root canal treatment | Get assessed promptly |
|---|---|
| Tenderness in the tooth for the first week or two | Severe pain or swelling, which the CDA notes is not common |
| Mild soreness when biting on the treated tooth | Swelling in the face, jaw or under the eye |
| A tooth that feels different from the ones around it | Fever alongside dental pain |
| Needing over-the-counter pain relief for a few days | Difficulty swallowing or breathing, which is a medical emergency |
| Waiting for a permanent crown while a temporary is in place | A temporary filling or crown that comes out entirely |
| Some sensitivity in the gum next to the tooth | A bad taste, discharge or a lump on the gum near the root |
If you are already in the swelling and fever column, that is not a cost conversation any more. It is an emergency dental one, and difficulty swallowing or breathing means hospital rather than dental office. Our guide on what to do when a dental emergency happens covers the immediate steps.
How Many Appointments, and How Long Does It Take?
The Canadian Dental Association states that root canal treatment may be done in one or two appointments. Which one you get depends on the tooth and on what the dentist finds once the canals are open.
A single-canal front tooth with no active infection is often a one-visit procedure. A molar with three or four canals, or a tooth with an abscess that needs settling before the canals can be sealed, is more likely to be two. Some cases involve a pulpectomy first, which relieves pressure and pain, followed by the full treatment once things have calmed down. That staging is a clinical decision rather than an upsell, and the plan can change mid-treatment if the anatomy turns out to be different from what the X-ray suggested.
The crown adds appointments of its own after the root canal is finished. That is usually a separate preparation visit and a fitting visit, with a temporary crown in between, unless the practice makes the restoration on site.
On the day, the procedure at our office follows a fairly predictable shape: X-rays to see the extent of the decay and plan the treatment, anaesthetic, access through the crown of the tooth, removal of the infected pulp, thorough cleaning of the interior, then filling with thermoplastic material and sealing to prevent further infection. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed afterward as a precaution against infection, and if they are, the full course matters even once you feel better.
Will It Hurt, and What Does Pain Management Add to the Cost?
Most of the time a local anaesthetic is all that is used, and the experience is closer to having a large filling done than to what the reputation suggests. The CDA notes that after treatment the tooth may be tender for the first week or two, and that bad pain or swelling are not common.
Nobody can promise a painless procedure, and any clinic that does is overreaching. What is reasonable to expect is that the tooth is numb during treatment and that discomfort afterward is manageable with over-the-counter pain relief for a few days.
Sedation is a separate question, and it is a real one for people who find dental treatment genuinely difficult. Marketplace Dentistry offers both oral sedation and nitrous oxide. Oral sedation is a prescription taken about an hour before the appointment, dosed with your height and weight in mind, and it produces a deeper relaxation. Nitrous oxide is lighter and wears off quickly. With local anaesthetic alone you can normally drive yourself home; with sedation you cannot, and that affects your day as well as your bill. If dental anxiety is the reason you have been putting a tooth off, say so when you book. Our pages on sedation options and sedation dentistry and dental anxiety cover what is available. Nobody here is going to make you feel silly about it.
Retreatment: When a Root Canal Has to Be Redone
Most root canal treatments are successful, according to the CDA. Most is not all, and the other outcome has a different price attached to it.
A previously treated tooth can become reinfected, sometimes years later. Bacteria find a canal that was missed, or a crack develops, or the seal fails. The symptoms can be vague: mild discomfort on biting, a dull ache, a spot on the gum that comes and goes. Retreatment means reopening the tooth, removing the old filling material from the canals, cleaning and sealing them again. That extra step is why retreatment is billed under different codes and generally costs more than the original procedure did.
Under the Canadian Dental Care Plan, re-treatment of a previously completed root canal is a covered service, but it requires preauthorization, unlike an initial root canal. If you are in that situation, the preauthorization is the first phone call, not the last.
The alternatives to retreatment are surgery at the root tip, or extraction and replacement. Which one fits depends on the tooth, the bone around it, and what has already been done to it. This is one of the cases most likely to be referred to an endodontist.
If You Cannot Afford a Root Canal Right Now
This question comes up constantly in search results and almost never gets a straight answer. A few things do help.
Start with the predetermination if you have any plan at all, private or CDCP. Knowing the real out-of-pocket number sometimes changes the picture entirely, and it costs nothing to find out.
Ask about the pulpectomy as a first step. Where it is clinically appropriate, relieving the infection and the pain is a smaller procedure than the full treatment, and it can buy time without letting things get worse. Whether it suits your tooth is a question for the dentist, not a strategy to insist on.
Ask what the office can do about timing. Splitting the root canal and the crown across two benefit years is a legitimate approach when the annual maximum is the constraint. Say so out loud rather than quietly deciding you cannot proceed.
Ask whether the tooth can wait, and get a straight answer. Sometimes it genuinely can for a few weeks. Sometimes it cannot, and knowing which you are dealing with is more useful than guessing.
What is not worth doing is comparing three clinics on the root canal fee alone and booking the lowest one without seeing what each estimate includes. A quote that leaves out the build-up and the crown will always look better than one that includes them.
Questions to Ask Before You Agree to Treatment
Bring this list. Most of it takes two minutes to answer and it prevents the majority of billing surprises.
| Ask this | What you learn from the answer |
|---|---|
| How many canals does this tooth have, as far as you can tell? | Whether the quote should sit at the low or high end of the range |
| Can I have the estimate in writing with the procedure codes on it? | Makes the quote comparable to any other quote you get |
| Does this estimate include the build-up and the crown? | Whether you are looking at one number or the first of three |
| Will you submit a predetermination to my insurer first? | Turns your expected coverage into a confirmed amount |
| If I am on the CDCP, what will the plan pay and what will I owe? | Covers the gap between plan rates and practice fees |
| Is this a case you would normally refer to an endodontist? | An honest answer here is a good sign, whichever way it goes |
| What happens if the tooth cannot be saved once you open it? | What the fallback plan and its cost look like |
| How many appointments should I plan for, including the crown? | Time off work and travel, which are real costs too |
| Will I be able to drive home? | Depends on whether sedation is part of the plan |
| What are the alternatives, and what do they cost? | Whether extraction and replacement has been priced out properly |
Keeping the Tooth You Just Paid to Save
A treated tooth still needs looking after, and the maintenance is unglamorous. Brushing and flossing, because the crown margin is still vulnerable to decay at the gum line. Regular dental checkups so that a failing seal is caught while it is still a small problem. Professional cleanings on whatever schedule your dentist recommends for you.
Most root canals are the end of a longer story that started with a cavity. If you want to spend less on endodontics over a lifetime, the useful moment comes earlier: catching a cavity while a filling can still fix it. A filling is a fraction of what a root canal and crown cost, and the tooth stays intact. None of which helps if you already have a painful molar, so treat that as a note for later rather than a reproach.
Related Article: How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Tooth Filling in Toronto?
Root Canal Treatment at Marketplace Dentistry in Vaughan
If you have a tooth that is aching, sensitive to pressure, or has been flagged on an X-ray, the useful next step is an examination rather than more reading. Marketplace Dentistry is at 9360 Bathurst Street, Unit 103 in Vaughan, in the Rutherford Marketplace Plaza at Bathurst and Rutherford, and we see patients from Vaughan, Thornhill, Maple and Richmond Hill.
At the appointment the tooth gets tested, X-rays show what is happening below the surface, and you get told what is going on and what the options are. If root canal therapy is the right treatment, you get an estimate with the codes on it before anything is booked. If it is not, you get told that too. Booking an examination does not commit you to treatment, and the diagnosis, the plan and the fees can all change once someone has actually looked in your mouth and seen the imaging.
Bring your dental plan details or your Canadian Dental Care Plan information and we will go through what is covered before you decide anything. If sedation would make the appointment easier, say so when you book.
You can reach us through the contact page or start with the endodontics and root canal therapy page if you would rather read about the procedure first. If the tooth is causing you real trouble today, say that when you call rather than waiting for a routine slot.
Frequently Asked Questions About Root Canal Cost in Ontario
How much does a root canal cost in Ontario?
Published Ontario figures for 2026 put a single root canal at roughly $600 to $1,600, depending on the tooth. Front teeth with one canal sit near the bottom of that range and molars with three or four canals sit at the top. Your own fee depends on an examination and X-rays.
How much does a molar root canal cost in Ontario?
Molars are the most expensive teeth to treat, generally quoted between $1,000 and $1,600 in Ontario. They usually have three or four canals, the canals are often curved, and each one has to be located, cleaned, shaped and sealed separately. A crown afterward is normally needed on top of that fee.
How much does a root canal and crown cost together in Ontario?
Adding the two together, a properly restored molar frequently lands between $2,000 and $3,000. Published ranges put the root canal at $600 to $1,600 and the crown at $900 to $1,600, with a core build-up of roughly $150 to $300 where the tooth needs one. Compare estimates on the total, not the root canal alone.
Does OHIP cover root canal treatment?
No. OHIP does not cover routine dental treatment for adults, and that includes root canal therapy. Dental care sits outside provincial health insurance. Coverage comes from a private or employer dental plan, or from the Canadian Dental Care Plan if you are eligible for it.
Is a root canal covered by insurance in Canada?
Usually in part. Private and employer plans generally treat endodontic treatment as a major restorative service, with published reimbursement commonly between 50 and 80 percent of the eligible fee. Your annual maximum, the fee guide year your plan pays to, and any waiting period all change what you actually receive.
Does the Canadian Dental Care Plan cover root canals?
Yes. The Government of Canada lists root canal treatments, pulpectomies, and procedures to reduce infection and relieve pain among covered endodontic services. Re-treatments of previously completed root canals are also covered but require preauthorization. What you pay depends on your adjusted family net income.
Does the CDCP cover the crown after a root canal?
Crowns are covered under the plan, and so are cores and posts used to support them, but all three require preauthorization. Since a back tooth usually needs a crown after root canal treatment, that preauthorization step matters for most people. Ask the dental office to submit it before treatment begins.
Will the CDCP cover the whole cost?
Not necessarily. The plan pays 100 percent of eligible services at its established rates for adjusted family net incomes under $70,000, 60 percent from $70,000 to $79,999, and 40 percent from $80,000 to $89,999. You may also owe more if a provider’s charges exceed the plan’s established rates, so ask what will be billed first.
How much is a root canal without insurance in Ontario?
Without coverage you pay the practice’s full fee, so the published $600 to $1,600 range is what you are working with, plus the examination and X-rays and anything needed to restore the tooth afterward. Ask for a written estimate with the procedure codes listed so you can compare it properly.
Why did two clinics quote me different prices for the same tooth?
Because Ontario has no mandatory dental fee schedule. The Ontario Dental Association publishes a Suggested Fee Guide with more than 1,400 procedure codes, and it states that dentists are not required to follow the Guide or any fee schedule. Complexity, time, materials, equipment, sterilization, staff training and practice overhead all move the fee.
Is it cheaper to pull the tooth or get a root canal?
Extraction costs less on the day and usually more over time. If you later want the gap filled, a bridge, partial denture or implant all cost more than the root canal would have, and an implant with a crown is the most expensive route of all. Leaving the gap has its own consequences for drifting and bone.
Is a root canal worth paying for?
That depends on the tooth and on your circumstances, and it is a decision to make with your dentist rather than from an article you found while in pain at 11pm. What is true is that keeping a natural root preserves the bone around it and avoids the cost and time of replacing the tooth. Not every tooth can be saved.
What can I do instead of a root canal?
The realistic alternatives are extraction, with or without replacing the tooth afterward, and in some cases surgery at the root tip when a previous root canal has failed. There is no medication or home remedy that resolves an infected pulp. Which alternative fits depends on how much sound tooth structure is left.
Can a tooth heal itself without a root canal?
No. Once the pulp inside a tooth is infected, the blood supply that would normally carry an immune response has been compromised, so the infection does not clear on its own. Pain sometimes stops without treatment, which usually means the nerve has died rather than recovered.
When is it too late for a root canal?
When too little sound tooth structure remains to restore, when the root is fractured, or when the supporting bone has been lost past the point where the tooth can be kept. Only an examination with imaging can determine that, and the answer differs from tooth to tooth even in the same mouth.
How long do root canals last?
The Canadian Dental Association states that most root canal treatments are successful, and many treated teeth last for years with normal care. Longevity is not guaranteed for anyone, and it depends on how well the tooth was restored, whether a crown protects it, and how the tooth is maintained.
How many appointments does a root canal take?
The Canadian Dental Association notes that root canal treatment may be done in one or two appointments. A single-canal front tooth is often one visit. A molar, or a tooth with active infection that needs settling first, is more likely to be two. The crown adds its own appointments afterward.
Does a front tooth need a crown after a root canal?
Not always. Where enough sound structure remains and the tooth is not carrying heavy chewing load, sealing the access opening with a filling can be sufficient. The Canadian Dental Association notes that a back tooth will likely need a crown because chewing puts a great deal of force on back teeth.
Is an endodontist more expensive than a general dentist?
Generally yes, with published figures putting endodontist fees roughly 10 to 20 percent above a general dentist for the same procedure. In Ontario only a dentist holding a certificate of specialist registration from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario may use the endodontist title. Complex cases and retreatments are the ones most often referred.
What should I do if I need a root canal but cannot afford it right now?
Ask the office to submit a predetermination to your insurer or the CDCP so you know the real out-of-pocket figure. Ask whether a pulpectomy is appropriate as a first step to settle the infection. Ask whether the crown can be scheduled in a later benefit year. And ask directly whether the tooth can safely wait.
Does Marketplace Dentistry provide root canal treatment?
Yes. Root canal therapy is one of the services we provide at our Vaughan office at 9360 Bathurst Street, Unit 103, and we are a participating provider under the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Treatment always starts with an examination and X-rays so that the diagnosis and the estimate are specific to your tooth.
