Root Canal and Crown Cost: What You Will Pay With and Without Insurance

By Naomi Foster, Contributing Writer, Healthcare
Updated 2026-07-08

Saving a badly damaged tooth is a two-stage job, and each stage arrives with its own bill. Stage one clears out the infected or dead pulp inside the tooth. Stage two caps what is left with a crown so the now-hollow tooth can handle normal chewing again without cracking. Skip straight to the total and most patients land at $2,000 to $4,000 without insurance, though the exact number depends heavily on which tooth is involved and who performs each stage.

Model the combined total for your situation with the dental crown cost calculator.

Root canal plus crown, stage by stage

Why a crown almost always follows a root canal

Removing infected pulp saves the tooth's root and structure, but it also leaves the tooth hollow and more prone to fracture than before. A crown placed over that tooth spreads out chewing force and protects it from cracking under normal use. Dentists recommend this pairing on nearly every molar and premolar root canal. Front teeth sometimes skip the crown if enough natural structure survived, but for a back tooth carrying real bite force, skipping it raises the odds of losing the tooth to a fracture later.

Stage one: what the root canal itself costs

Root canal fees track which tooth is involved and who performs the work. Front teeth have a single root and are the simplest and least expensive to treat, typically $700 to $1,200 with a general dentist. Molars have multiple roots, take longer, and often get referred to an endodontist, a root canal specialist, at $1,000 to $1,800 before any endodontist premium. That specialist referral itself commonly adds $200 to $500 on top.

Stage two: adding the crown (and sometimes a post and core)

Once the canal work is done, a lot of tooth structure may be missing, especially if decay got there first. A post-and-core buildup rebuilds a stable base for the crown to anchor to, adding $150 to $400. The crown itself then runs $900 to $2,500 depending on material, the same range that applies to any crown regardless of whether a root canal preceded it.

How is the combined total calculated

Take the molar scenario from the table above: a $1,400 root canal with an endodontist, a $250 post-and-core buildup, and a $1,200 PFM crown. Add the three line items together and the combined total lands at $2,850 before insurance. Swap in a different crown material and only that third number moves, the root canal and core figures stay put, so you can re-run the same addition with a $1,800 zirconia crown or a $1,600 gold crown to get $3,450 or $3,250 instead.

How insurance splits coverage between the two procedures

Most plans treat the root canal as basic restorative, covered at 80 percent after the deductible, while the crown falls under major restorative at 50 percent. Both draw against the same annual maximum, so a single molar case can use up most or all of a $1,500 limit. Run the math on a $1,200 root canal and a $1,200 crown: insurance pays $960 plus $600, or $1,560 total, leaving you roughly $840 in coinsurance plus any deductible. Choose a pricier crown material and the plan may still cap its crown payout at the cheaper alternative's rate, so confirm your plan's alternate benefit rule before picking a material.

Root canal without a crown: is that ever okay?

Technically it is possible, but dentists strongly discourage it on molars and premolars, where an uncrowned root-canaled tooth fractures more easily and can end up needing extraction anyway. Front teeth occasionally get away without a crown if enough structure remains, though your dentist needs to make that call case by case. Skipping the crown to save money upfront often costs more later if the tooth breaks.

Save the tooth or start over with an implant?

A root canal plus crown running $2,500 to $3,500 usually compares well against extraction followed by an implant, which typically runs $3,000 to $5,000 for the implant and crown together. Keeping your natural tooth is generally the better move both clinically and financially when the remaining structure and surrounding bone are sound. If the tooth is too compromised to save reliably, extraction and replacement can end up the more sensible long-term route, and that call belongs to a licensed dentist or endodontist who has examined the tooth.

How soon the permanent crown needs to go on

Most dentists want the permanent crown placed within 4 to 6 weeks of the root canal. Leaving a temporary crown in place much longer raises the risk of fracture or recontamination of the treated root. If cost is holding up the timeline, ask your dentist about a payment plan rather than stretching out the temporary crown phase.

Root canal and crown, answered

Weighing the combined cost

Budget $1,500 to $3,500 out of pocket without insurance for a root canal plus crown, or $750 to $1,800 with typical coverage. Preserving the natural tooth this way usually beats extraction and implant replacement on cost. Use the dental crown cost calculator to model your own combined total, and let a licensed dentist or endodontist confirm whether the tooth is a good candidate for root canal treatment in the first place.

Related procedure and cost guides

• Overall crown cost range
• Cost broken down by material
• With vs without insurance
• What a crown procedure involves
• Front tooth vs molar pricing
• What plans actually pay
• Lifespan by crown material
• Full crown cost guide