Tooth Extraction Costs

Wisdom teeth extraction is an extremely common dental procedure that helps to ensure the safety and health of your teeth, gums and mouth. While many people have heard of wisdom teeth, not everyone knows what they are, why they need to be removed and what the cost of tooth extraction is.

In order to understand why having your wisdom teeth removed is well worth the cost, it’s first important to understand what they are, and why it is that they need to be extracted.

What Wisdom Teeth Are

When our teeth come in, we have healthy sets of molars that generally fit well in with the rest of our teeth, but we also have another set of molars that can cause a lot of trouble when they come in—wisdom teeth. Instead of coming in the same time that the rest of your adult (permanent) teeth come in, wisdom teeth generally come in between the ages of 17 and 22. Wisdom teeth are believed to have served an important function generations ago, but these days they generally do nothing more than cause trouble. Because of this, they need to be removed.

Why They Need to Be Removed

For some people, wisdom teeth cause no problems when they come in. For a large amount of people, though, they do. This is because when some people’s wisdom teeth come in, they aren’t able to fully erupt. When this is the case, certain oral health issues can occur, including:

• Infections and disease of the gums and teeth.
• Cysts around the impacted teeth.
• Cavities.
• Damage to healthy teeth.
• Pressing against healthy teeth as the wisdom teeth erupt.

Due to these issues, wisdom teeth will often need to be removed—even if you take good care of your overall oral health.

Wisdom Teeth Removal

The actual procedure isn’t very difficult or time consuming.

A patient will meet with a dentist and discuss what the procedure will be like, what kinds of medication they are on, health concerns, the cost of tooth extraction and what aftercare will look like. The dentist will also answer any questions the patient may have. During the surgery, the patient will be numbed, and may be put under. The procedure generally takes around 45 minutes. From there, the patient is free to go home. It’s then up to the patient to make sure that they follow the aftercare advice of the dentist.

The Cost of Tooth Extractions

The actual cost of tooth extractions may involve a few different factors. One of the major factors is whether or not wisdom teeth extraction is covered by dental insurance (if the patient has any). The cost of tooth extractions is also often regional, and that factor needs to be taken into account.

Generally, a tooth extraction is around $75-200, but for impacted teeth the cost may be higher. Because of the need for general anesthesia and surgical extraction, impacted tooth removal may cost upwards of $800. Consider the long-term costs of not having wisdom teeth extracted, and the damage they can cause to the rest of your teeth and gums. The benefits of wisdom teeth extraction will far outweigh any initial costs.