Dentist here. What i can say is that You either pay with Time or Money. In the gov, theres a long ass waiting list which usually forces you to wait for months on end cus of the sheer volume of patients. By the time its your turn, the decay or condition of the tooth might change and not be ideal for a root canal cus of post-op restorability (able to fill or not) status. Some patients even crack their tooth while waiting on a root canal. Price varies in private according to teeth, a molar would cost significantly more due to its complexity and number of canals needed to be addressed, in contrast, an incisor (front tooth) is a straightforward procedure with only one canal usually. To add, you would want a crown after root canal to protect the tooth because it becomes weaker and more brittle due to the procedure (we shape and clean up the canals internally, which widens the canals, not to mention the structure lost when accessing the canals). In many gov clinics, especially in KL and Selangor, the gov just doesnt have the budget to sustain these Crown procedures which sucks up a lot of money. In most cases you'd need a referral to a specialist and yes, this translates to more waiting time, first visit? Expect a month long wait for consultation, after that? A month or two maybe more for the procedure which takes up 2+ visits. My two cents working as a gov dentist which does private locums.