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What to expect at NoFrills Dental

Your first appointment is an examination, x-rays if they are needed, and a written treatment plan with a price against every line before anything is done. A consultation is $50 before GST, and a first visit with a scale and polish comes to $150 or more. This page walks through the whole thing, from booking to ongoing care.

Book an appointment

Or WhatsApp +65 9007 1085. Same week appointments are usually available.

What happens when you book?

You can book at any of our clinics by phone, through the form at the bottom of this page, or on WhatsApp. Same week appointments are usually available. If you tell us roughly what is wrong when you book, the front desk can set aside the right length of slot, which matters more than it sounds: a check-up and a broken tooth need very different amounts of chair time. Our seven clinics all work from the same price list, so pick whichever is easiest to get to rather than whichever you think might be cheaper.

Bring three things. Your NRIC or passport. Your CHAS, Merdeka Generation or Pioneer Generation card if you hold one, because the subsidy cannot be applied without it. And your insurance details if you are covered, since we work directly with several insurers rather than asking you to claim it back yourself. If you have had x-rays or treatment somewhere else recently, bring those too, or tell us where they are, and we may be able to avoid repeating them.

What happens at your first visit?

A first appointment is diagnosis, not treatment. The point of it is to find out what is going on and to give you a plan and a price, so that any decision you make afterwards is an informed one. In most cases nothing irreversible happens on day one.

1. A short conversation about what brought you in, what you are worried about, your medical history and any medication you are taking.
2. A full examination: every tooth, your gums, your bite, and an oral cancer screening, which is part of every routine examination here rather than a separate appointment or a separate fee.
3. X-rays if they are needed. A single tooth x-ray is $80. We take them when they will change the decision, not as a matter of routine.
4. A written treatment plan with a figure against every line, ranked so you can see what is urgent and what can wait.
5. Usually a scale and polish in the same visit if your gums are healthy enough for it, which is what takes a first visit to $150 or more.

Your first dental visit goes through each of these in more detail, including what the examination actually feels like and how long to set aside.

How do you find out what it will cost?

Before any work begins, not after. After the examination you get the plan on paper with a price against each line, and nothing starts until you have read it and agreed to it. If a plan has to change part way through, we stop, explain why and re-quote rather than carrying on and putting the difference on the bill. That is the substance of our peace of mind promise.

You do not have to wait for an appointment to see the numbers, either. Our full dental price list is published rather than quoted on request. The common ones:

NoFrills Dental fees, before GST, which has been 9 per cent since 1 January 2024 per the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. The same list applies at every clinic.

What can you use to pay?

Every scheme you are entitled to is applied at the counter. We do not hand you a form and wish you luck, and the subsidy comes off what you pay on the day rather than being something you chase afterwards.

The two are not alternatives, because they cover different things. CHAS applies to non-surgical treatment and MediSave to surgical procedures, so a course of treatment can draw on both. Our Kuala Lumpur clinic sits outside all of these, since they are Singapore government schemes.

What if you are nervous about going?

Then say so when you book, and again when you sit down. It is the single most useful thing you can tell us, and it is common enough that it changes nothing about how you will be treated except for the better. Knowing in advance means we can book a longer slot, explain before doing rather than during, and agree a stop signal so that you keep control of when the appointment pauses.

If it has been years, that is not a reason to put it off further, and you will not get a lecture about it. Overcoming dental anxiety has the practical things that help, and a first visit is a conversation and an examination rather than treatment, so there is less to brace for than people expect.

What happens after the first visit?

Most people settle into a check-up and clean roughly every six months, which is the interval at which small problems are still cheap to fix. The actual interval depends on your mouth: a history of gum disease or a high decay rate means more often, and a stable mouth with good home care can sometimes mean less.

Dental check-ups covers what the appointment includes and how often to come. Ongoing care and periodontal maintenance covers the longer-term version, including what changes if you have been treated for gum disease. Between visits the work is yours: oral hygiene and cleaning between your teeth do more for your mouth than anything we do in the chair.

What if you need more than a check-up?

Then the plan says so, with the options and what each one costs. We would rather explain the choice than make it for you, and "do nothing for now and watch it" is a legitimate line on a treatment plan when the alternative is treating something that is not yet causing harm.

The full list is on our dental services page, and the people who do it are on meet the team.

What if it is an emergency?

Call rather than book online. Severe pain, a knocked-out tooth, swelling that is spreading or bleeding that will not stop should be seen the same day, and we keep slots for it. Swelling that is closing your eye or making it hard to swallow or breathe is a hospital emergency department, not a dental clinic.

Emergency dental care sets out what counts as urgent, what to do in the first hour, and which clinic to call.

Where are the clinics?

Six across Singapore and one in Kuala Lumpur. Same price list, same promise, and all seven are wheelchair accessible.

Frequently asked questions

The rest of the journey

Sources: Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore on the GST rate, CHAS and CPF Board on MediSave. Fees are NoFrills Dental fees before GST.