Visiting a dentist can be intimidating. Speaking from personal experience, I understand that not only you are in pain, but you might not be sure about how much the procedures might cost, especially for invasive and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or root canals. 

As common with most operative procedures, you might also be suspecting about post-operative costs like follow-up care, medicines and other maintenance costs. 

While consulting your dentist for the best procedure for both your teeth and your pocket, understanding how much you might have to spend, both upfront and later, might help you plan the expenses better and somewhat ease your dental pain. At first glance, it might seem that extracting a tooth might be the cheaper option, but research shows that a root canal is highly cost-effective as a primary line of treatment.

In this article, I will discuss the costs for both root canals and tooth extraction. I would also inform you about the supplementary costs of these procedures, as well as expenses associated with maintenance, and post-procedure visits. 

Let’s Start with Tooth Extraction: the To-Go Procedure

If your dentist, and of course you, agree on pulling teeth as the best option then there will be two ways to go about this. It will either be a simple tooth pulling or surgical pulling, depending on the condition of your tooth.

1. Simple Tooth Pulling

Simple tooth pulling² is only possible if your tooth is not damaged beyond the gum line. Most likely, the dentist would determine the condition of the tooth from a 3-D dental scan. To extract the tooth, local anesthesia is injected to numb the gums around the tooth. Then, using an elevator the tooth will be loosened from the grip of the gums. The tooth is finally extracted using forceps. 

For this procedure, expect to pay anywhere between $75 to $250 for a simple extraction of a single tooth. You might be wondering what might be the reason for such a difference in how much a simple tooth extraction might cost. Well, it depends on whether you have insurance and how much it covers. I have provided an estimate here but the actual cost depends on where you live, and any complication that might arise, to name a few.

Generally, the cost of local anesthesia is included in the cost of tooth extraction.

2. Surgical Tooth Extraction

If your tooth is badly damaged or decayed to withstand the pressure from the forceps, or the decay has reached underneath the gums, then the dentists would surgically extract the tooth. 

Blaming it on my modern dietary preferences, I had my fair share of dental woes. Although as an adult good dental hygiene and timely intervention solved almost all, there is one I would sorely remember from my childhood. It was a dental caries gone quickly bad affecting a big part of the molar tooth, so much so that the teeth could not withstand the force of the forceps. And ta-da! That was my first and, luckily only, encounter with this procedure of surgical tooth extraction.

Moving on with the procedure, after a stronger dose of local anesthesia of the gums or general anesthesia that would make you unconscious, the dentist would make a small incision on the gums. The tooth is extracted either whole or by breaking into parts and the gum is stitched. A follow-up visit is necessary to cut the stitch. 

Surgical tooth extraction³ can cost between $180 to $550. The procedure requires additional anesthetics and follow-up visits compared to simple tooth extraction. 

3. Dentures, Bridges and Implants

In more than most tooth extractions, the work doesn’t end there. The extracted tooth is almost always replaced with dental bridges, implants, or dentures when replaced with a full set of teeth. The reason is both aesthetic as in for front teeth, and for maintaining support for teeth around the missing tooth, as in the case of molars. 

This cost should be discussed with your dentist and factored in when calculating the expenses for tooth extraction.

A traditional bridge can either be permanent, or it can be removable and clipped onto the gums. The permanent bridge uses nearby tooth as a scaffold to fix onto the gums.

Here Is the Summary of Costs for Tooth Extraction

Surprisingly, the actual costs may vary according to the dentist, location, which tooth is extracted, whether you have insurance and many other factors. I came to learn this the hard way when I had to do a follow-up dental procedure in another city. I ended up shelling more way more bucks than the initial estimate at my previous small town dentist.

Overall you may expect the following costs for tooth extraction:

* Dental implants are not covered under most dental plans as it is considered a cosmetic treatment 

You Should Also Know When Tooth Extraction Is Necessary

Usually, the dentists would recommend extracting the tooth if the structure is damaged or chipped beyond restoration. Depending on the condition of the damaged tooth, pulling teeth might be the only option available to you.

You might need to extract a tooth when:

• Tooth decay and gum disease: Your tooth is near-completely decayed, with visible signs of dead teeth like brown patches and spots on the tooth and visible holes, infection in the gums and pulp felt as toothache and painful bites.
• Trauma: Your tooth was impacted by physical trauma in an accident or playing sports. Depending on the extent of damage, an immediate extraction may or may not be necessary.  
• Overcrowded teeth: Many times teeth grow crooked and grow into the gums rather than outwards, especially wisdom teeth that come at a much later age. This puts pressure on the molar teeth and may make them weaker, and also increases the chance of tooth infection and swelling in the gums. 

Pulling a decaying or broken seem might seem like solving the problem from the roots (pun intended). In fact, there is a healthier and safer option that actually gets to the real root of the problem.

In many cases, dentists would suggest a root canal procedure.

Now I’ll Explain You the Technically Advanced Procedure- Root Canal

In root canal treatment, abbreviated as RCT, the endodontist removes the infected inner pulp under local anesthesia, and the tooth is treated to kill the bacteria growing inside. The interior of the tooth is filled and sealed with a sealant. 

Unlike tooth pulling which removes the entire tooth from the underlying jaw bone, a root canal fixes the tooth itself by keeping the structure of the tooth as intact as possible. Because of this, the tooth, the surrounding jaw, and the gum structure heal faster. 

Over time, this helps the tooth retain its original strength, and at the same time root canal procedure heals any infection inside the tooth. Most of the root canal procedures require two visits. 

Root canal procedure by itself costs $700 to $1500. Moreover, the procedure is often followed by putting a crown to replace the broken or removed part of the teeth. This could cost an additional $300 per tooth. 

Additionally, the root canal is an endodontic procedure that requires surgical steps like panoramic X-rays, apicoectomy or removal of the top part of the damaged tooth, root canal obstruction treatment, and internal root repair, to name a few procedures that significantly add to the cost of the basic root canal procedure. 

After the root canal procedure, the treated tooth is topped with a crown. Depending on the material and the aesthetic matching required, capping a tooth can cost anywhere between $200 to $2500. 

Here Is the Summary of the Cost for Root Canal Treatment

The cost for root canal treatment is calculated for individual teeth. The major differences in cost may be due to the position of the teeth and the dental crown. 

Most of the dental insurances cover 50 percent of root canal treatment costs. 

Pros and Cons of Tooth Extraction Vs. Root Canal Treatment

• Procedure: The root canal is less painful than pulling teeth. In fact, people who have undergone root canals are six times more likely to experience a painless procedure than those who have done a tooth extraction.
• Recovery: Unlike tooth extraction, the root canal keeps the root of the tooth and the scaffolding jaw structure intact. Along with advanced medical techniques, not disturbing the tooth structure aids in discomfort-free recovery.  
• Follow-up visits: Depending on whether you are replacing the extracted tooth with dentures or bridges, pulling the tooth requires more follow-up visits than a root canal. 

Visiting a dentist for pulling teeth or a root canal, could potentially cost a good amount of money. Other than the upfront expenses for the procedures, there are costs associated with maintenance and follow-up care. 

Under such stressful circumstances, being aware of both the upfront and subsequent costs of these procedures can be empowering, as it helps you to plan your finances. We are hopeful that this article will support you in making informed and smart dental decisions

FAQs

Is it cheaper to pull a tooth or root canal?

In itself, pulling a tooth is a less expensive procedure than root canal treatment. But additional costs of dental bridges or implants, dental and periodontal health, and aesthetics make root canal treatment a better value for money. 

Will Medicare cover for dentures and implants?

According to AARP, almost all private Medicare Advantage Plans include dental coverage and many of these cover dentures too. 

Where can I get affordable dental insurance?

Depending on the state you live in, there are many low-cost options from Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP plans. Try dental schools and low-cost clinics in your area or State or County resources. If you already don’t have dental insurance through your employer, consider other options than simply buying dental coverage by yourself.

Will root canals cause illness?

Among many other myths associated with root canal treatment, this is also one such myth. In fact, it has been shown in a scientific study that endodontic treatments like RCT reduce the chances of cancer by 45 percent. 

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1. Andrews, R. R. “THE DECAY OF THE TEETH.” ↩︎
2. Al-Khateeb, Taiseer Hussain, and Amir Alnahar. “Pain experience after simple tooth extraction.” Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery 66.5 (2008): 911-917. ↩︎
3. Bodem, Jens Philipp, et al. “Incidence of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in high-risk patients undergoing surgical tooth extraction.” Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery 43.4 (2015): 510-514. ↩︎

Last Updated on May 16, 2024 by Namrata