Does Medicare Cover Root Canals?

The short answer: routine root canals are not covered

Original Medicare — Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) — does not pay for routine dental services. That includes root canals, cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, dentures, and implants in most situations.

This is not an oversight. The law that created Medicare specifically excludes most dental care. Medicare does not pay for the care, treatment, filling, removal, or replacement of teeth, or work on the structures that directly support the teeth.

So if you simply need a root canal because a tooth is infected or painful, Original Medicare will pay nothing toward it, and you would be responsible for the full cost.

Why doesn't Original Medicare cover dental work like root canals?

When Congress created Medicare, it wrote a dental exclusion directly into the law. Medicare is built around medical and hospital care, and routine dental treatment was left out from the start.

Because the exclusion is statutory, Medicare cannot simply decide to start covering ordinary dental care. The program covers a dental service only in narrow situations where the dental work is closely tied to a covered medical procedure, explained in the next section.

When Medicare WILL cover dental work (the rare exceptions)

Original Medicare can cover dental services — including a tooth extraction or other dental treatment — only when that care is inextricably linked to, and substantially related to, the clinical success of a covered medical procedure. In other words, the dental work has to be a necessary part of a larger covered treatment, not stand-alone dental care.

• An oral exam and dental treatment before a heart valve replacement, or before a bone marrow, organ, or kidney transplant.
• A tooth extraction to clear a mouth infection before cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, and treatment for complications that arise during head and neck cancer care.
• Oral and dental exams, plus medically necessary tests and treatment, to remove an oral or dental infection before and during Medicare-covered dialysis for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
• Some dental services received when you are admitted to the hospital as an inpatient — when hospitalization is required because of your underlying medical condition or the severity of the dental procedure.

What you pay when Medicare DOES cover a dental service

When a dental service qualifies under the rules above and is billed under Part B, the normal Part B cost-sharing applies. You first meet the annual Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026. After that, you generally pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount, and Medicare pays the other 80%.

It is important to be realistic here: these exceptions are narrow. A standard root canal done because of a toothache or infection — with no link to a covered medical procedure — does not qualify, and you would pay 100% of the cost yourself.

Also note that even if Medicare covers the dental work tied to your medical procedure, follow-up work such as a crown placed after a root canal may not be covered. Coverage depends on whether that step is itself integral to the covered medical service.

Medicare Advantage and Medigap: what each does for dental

Many Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans offer extra dental benefits that Original Medicare does not. Some of these plans help pay for endodontics, which includes root canals. However, this varies widely from plan to plan and is not guaranteed.

If you are considering a Medicare Advantage plan partly for dental, read the plan's Evidence of Coverage carefully. Look for whether root canals are listed, what percentage the plan pays, whether there is a waiting period, and the plan's annual dental maximum (a dollar cap on total dental benefits for the year). Plans differ in all of these, so confirm the details before you assume a root canal will be covered.

Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance) is different. Medigap policies help with Original Medicare's out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and coinsurance — but they do not cover dental, vision, hearing aids, or prescription drugs. A Medigap plan will not pay anything toward a root canal.

Your options if you need a root canal on Medicare

Without a medical link, a root canal under Original Medicare is your full responsibility. A root canal can be a significant expense, and the exact price depends on the tooth, your dentist, and your area, so ask for a written estimate up front.

• Compare Medicare Advantage plans with dental benefits during a valid enrollment period, and check each plan's root canal coverage, waiting periods, and annual maximum.
• Consider a stand-alone dental insurance plan or a dental discount plan that you buy separately.
• Ask your dentist about payment plans, in-house membership plans, or care at a dental school clinic, where fees are often lower.
• Get a written cost estimate before treatment, and ask whether a less expensive option (such as an extraction) is appropriate for your situation.

Did the rules change for 2026?

No. For 2026, there were no changes to the limited dental services Medicare covers under the inextricably-linked policy. The same covered scenarios — dental care tied to transplants, heart valve replacement, cancer treatment, and ESRD dialysis — continue, and routine dental care including root canals remains excluded.

The figures above reflect 2026: the Part B deductible is $283 and Part B coinsurance is 20%.