How Much Is a Root Canal on the NHS?

NHS dental charges in England come in three bands, plus an urgent charge. These are the current figures from the NHS website, checked on 22 October 2026 (the NHS page was last reviewed on 13 March 2025):

• Band 1: £27.90. Examination, diagnosis and advice, plus X-rays, a simple scale of the gums if clinically needed, and fluoride.
• Band 2: £76.60. Everything in Band 1, plus fillings, root canal treatment and taking out teeth. This is the band a root canal sits in.
• Band 3: £332.10. Everything in Bands 1 and 2, plus crowns, dentures and bridges.
• Urgent treatment: £27.90. Urgent care, which can include emergency partial root canal treatment.

These charges apply in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own systems, so if you live outside England, check your nation's NHS website.

Think of the bands like a set menu rather than à la carte. You pay for the course you've ordered, not for every plate that comes out of the kitchen.

No, and this is the bit that surprises most people. The NHS says root canal treatment usually takes two or more appointments. On the NHS, those visits are one course of treatment, so the Band 2 charge covers them all.

There's another helpful rule. The NHS says that if you need further treatment within two months of finishing a course, you don't pay again as long as it's in the same band or a lower one. So if a small filling turns up a few weeks later, it shouldn't cost you extra.

For Band 2 and Band 3 treatment you should be given a written treatment plan showing the costs, which you sign before treatment starts. If anything changes along the way, I'd always explain it first.

How the appointments themselves go is in how long does a root canal take?, and if it's the treatment itself you're worried about, see is a root canal painful?

Then the course becomes Band 3, at £332.10. Band 3 includes everything in Bands 1 and 2, so that single charge covers the root canal and the crown together. You don't pay £76.60 and then £332.10 on top.

Not every root-filled tooth needs a crown. The NHS says one may be needed if the tooth was badly infected, and the Oral Health Foundation explains that a tooth without a living nerve can become more brittle. It depends on how much of the tooth is left, which I can only judge once I've seen it. Crowns in general are covered on my dental crowns page.

If you're in pain and need seeing quickly, NHS urgent treatment costs £27.90. The NHS lists emergency partial root canal treatment among the things it can include, which usually means opening the tooth and removing the inflamed pulp to take the pressure off, then placing a temporary filling.

That gets you out of pain, but it isn't the finished job. How the rest is charged depends on your situation, so ask at the time, and I'll make sure you know before you commit to anything.

The NHS says your dentist should be able to provide root canal treatment, but if you need more complex treatment they may refer you to another service. It also says you may be offered the option of having the root canal done privately instead.

The British Endodontic Society, which represents root canal specialists in the UK, says that if you're referred to a specialist it's most likely to be on a private basis, and that costs should be discussed before you commit. The NHS also says your dentist must make clear which treatments are NHS and which are private, with the cost of each.

Private fees are covered in how much does a private root canal cost? The choice is always yours.

In England, you don't pay NHS dental charges if, when your treatment starts, you're:

• under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education
• pregnant, or you've had a baby in the last 12 months
• being treated in an NHS hospital by a hospital dentist
• getting certain benefits, such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or Universal Credit if your income is below a certain level

If you're on a low income but don't qualify, the NHS Low Income Scheme may help with some or all of the cost. The full list is on the NHS website. Please don't let cost push you into leaving it. The Oral Health Foundation warns that without treatment, repeated infection can mean the tooth has to come out.

If you've been told you need a root canal and the tooth is quiet, book it in and ask for your treatment plan. I say this to everyone: the tooth you treat early is the one you're most likely to keep.

Call us today if:

• the tooth throbs, keeps you awake, or painkillers aren't helping
• it's getting more painful to bite on
• your gum is swelling, or there's a bad taste or a spot on the gum
• a root-filled tooth has started hurting again

The NHS says toothache lasting more than two days needs a dentist.

Call 999 or go to A&E, not a dentist, if:

• you're finding it hard to breathe, swallow or speak
• swelling is spreading towards your eye or down into your neck
• your eye is swollen or painful, or your eyesight changes suddenly
• you can't open your mouth properly because of swelling

Until you're seen, the NHS advice for toothache is paracetamol or ibuprofen if you can take them, and avoiding very hot, cold or sweet food on that side.

If you're near Harlow or Enfield, I'd much rather take a look and put your costs in writing than have you guess and put it off. Ring your nearest Minti practice to book. If it's already hurting, say it's urgent and we'll do our best to see you the same day. Anywhere else, or out of hours, call NHS 111.

This article is general information, not a diagnosis or a quote. Charges were checked on the date shown and can change. Tooth pain needs examining in person to find the cause.