We often take our teeth for granted. Daily, we communicate, eat, and drink with our mouths. We can be afraid of regular dentist visits, let alone more complicated treatments. Tooth extractions tend to top the list.
We all know how important it is to have dental insurance. It can keep costs way down when it comes to healthcare and any procedures that may be needed, whether they are preventive or an emergency (as a tooth extraction often is). But not everyone has the chance to get dental insurance before needing a tooth extraction.
Some people choose to use their savings to pay for any dental bills they might have, but this can leave them struggling to make ends meet and worried about how much it will cost to pull a tooth.
Dental extractions can happen anytime, so it’s always a good idea to be ready. If you’ve been diligently searching “dentist who pulls teeth near me,” looking for an acceptable price, read on to find out more about tooth extraction cost near me without dental benefits.
What Can Cause Someone to Need a Tooth Pulled?
Imagine that you are one of the millions of Americans without a dental insurance plan or that you have a small policy through a private insurance company that doesn’t cover all the procedures that may be needed. You might wonder how much is the cost of teeth pulling. Dental costs can depend on many different things than other medical or surgical procedures. Our mouths differ significantly from the other organs in our bodies. Still, an affected tooth (or numerous teeth) can have an impact anywhere in the body. For instance, organ transplant patients may need their teeth extracted before the surgery can take place to reduce the risk of infection. The cost of full mouth extraction (removal of all the teeth) can range greatly from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on your dental needs and situation.
Even though adult teeth are supposed to last a lifetime, you should know that there may come a time when you need to have a tooth pulled. Tooth extraction isn’t always the most pleasant thing to go through. These are some of the most common reasons for extraction dental services:
Tooth Trauma
Sometimes, a tooth is damaged so severely that it can’t be fixed and must be taken out. For example, you might have knocked out a tooth or had a filling fall out and be too far gone to repair. Or maybe gum disease caused so much damage that the tooth can’t be saved. In all cases, you may need an extraction and affordable dental care immediately!
Decay
Tooth decay can also make it so that a tooth needs to be taken out through oral surgery. Here are some examples of severe decay:
- Root canal failure
- Advanced periodontal disease
- Tooth abscess
- Loose crowns
Decay may not be something that you can fix at home. Instead, it may require a root canal or some other extraction or procedure. The decay will only worsen without proper dental care and could lead to serious health problems beyond oral surgery, meaning you’ll pay much more overall for the cost of removing a tooth.
Oral Disease/Infection
A tooth or jawbone may need to be extracted if it is the site of an infection and other treatment plan options don’t work to clear up the infection. Severe oral conditions can be life-threatening, so getting the treatment you need as soon as possible is vital.
It is essential to understand that there are times when a tooth cannot be saved or treated, even with the most advanced dental technology. If decay has gone to such a severe level that it cannot be treated, tooth extraction may be the only option for patients.
Fracture
If a tooth breaks, it possibly needs to be extracted. Therefore, seeking proper dental care as soon as possible is essential to saving the tooth. For example, if you have a broken molar, it may be able to be saved a few ways, such as with a root canal and a crown. However, if the break is severe, the tooth may need to be removed.
Impacted Teeth
Some people may have teeth that grow at an angle, requiring extractions for the mouth and jaw to align correctly. This often happens with wisdom teeth because they are the last teeth to come in. If they don’t have enough room to grow, you may need an extraction.
Baby teeth may also need dental care for impacted teeth, as the adult teeth may not have enough room to come in, or the root of the milk tooth may not have dissolved correctly.
Developmental Defects
A tooth may be too severely underdeveloped or misaligned for you to chew and eat comfortably. As a result, these patients often need extractions at a young age.
General Tooth Pain
Sometimes, tooth extractions will take place to relieve pain from something you may not be able to see. Your dentist will often catch damage to the tooth’s root on an X-ray. X-rays can show your dentist the inflammation and infection around the root. You may feel pain from an abscess, a severe infection that calls for quick treatment.
Overall, tooth extraction cost will depend on many factors often out of the patient’s control. Maintaining good dental hygiene is essential, even though sometimes an extraction may still be unavoidable.
Why Does Tooth Extraction Cost Differ Between Patients?
As we know, a surgical extraction is different for each person. In addition, healthcare costs depend on the person’s situation, insurance policies, tooth location, and how difficult it is to extract.
For example, several additional complications may incur more charges to the cost of a tooth extraction, such as swelling, bleeding, or dry sockets. In addition, wisdom teeth are often more challenging to remove and, therefore, require a higher fee. The same goes for patients who need their teeth extracted under general anesthesia or IV sedation, as these are all critical factors that can increase the cost of your treatment. Sometimes, there may need to be more than one visit to your dentist before the extraction and post-surgery health care are complete.
Location of Procedure
One of the most critical factors in considering the cost of tooth extraction is the location where you will be having the procedure performed. General dentistry offices may be your best option for basic teeth extraction if you are in between insurance policies. You may be able to go to your family dentist’s office.
If your dentist thinks your extraction may take more expertise, they may refer you to an oral surgeon to look after any oral health treatment plans. However, if there are complications with your treatment plan, you may have your tooth extraction done at a hospital, which can increase your extraction cost. Tooth extractions treated in a hospital often come with a higher bill due to anesthesia and other surgical fees that your dentist’s office may not have.
As the process of extracting teeth doesn’t differ much between different locations of the same sort, if an insurance plan doesn’t cover you, be sure to get multiple quotes from different dentists or oral surgeons before settling on one that may cost more than the others. Many dentists will give a free consultation to inform you what needs to be done. It’s perfectly ok to search and do numerous consultations with different dentists and oral surgeons to know you are getting the best deal on your extraction!
Uncooperative Procedures
Another factor in determining the answer to “how much does a tooth extraction cost without insurance plans,” is whether you’re getting this procedure done on an impacted or non-impacted tooth.
An impacted tooth is hard to take out and requires extra work to get ready. If this is the case, the dentist may need to spend more time with the patient, use dental tools, or put the patient to sleep before taking it out of the mouth without any problems or pain. Depending on how badly the tooth is stuck, your local dentist may decide to send you to an oral surgeon for the extraction.
Non-impacted extractions are considered those that can be extracted more efficiently, with no additional preparation needed for a tooth extraction. This procedure is typically done through a sudden jerk of the patient’s head to remove it from its socket in the jaw after a numbing agent is applied to the area. Typically, this is how tooth extractions are done in your local dental office and may take far less time to recover from and complete.
Anesthesia Cost
One final factor in the cost of tooth extraction is anesthesia. If you have local anesthesia, the price will be lower. This is typically used for less intrusive procedures and only numbs the area around the tooth that will be extracted.
On the other hand, if you are having general anesthesia or IV sedation, this will be more expensive. This is often used for impacted extractions as it puts you to sleep through the entire procedure. The cost of general anesthesia or IV sedation will be higher than a local anesthetic. It will also come with a higher bill at the end of your treatment.
Remember that if you’re being treated by a specialist (such as an oral surgeon or a hospital attending physician) for tooth extraction, there will be additional surcharges for the extraction cost. Their time and expertise often command a higher fee.
How to Save Money on Dental Insurance Without a Plan?
If you’re considering getting a tooth extracted but want to know how much it will cost and are without dental insurance, we’ve got some good news for you. Aside from searching “cheapest place to get tooth pulled,” for hours, there are numerous ways that you can save money on this type of procedure, even if you have little or no money to spare at the point of your dental emergency and an insurance-friendly dentist isn’t in the cards for you. The following will share some of the basics about tooth extraction costs without dental insurance and how you can keep those costs down when visiting a dentist for this type of procedure.
As we’ve discussed, the cost of a tooth extraction can vary depending on the procedure, the dentist or oral surgeon, the location of the tooth extraction, and any other problems that may arise. Thankfully, the person who needs a tooth pulled but doesn’t have insurance has many other options.
Get Referrals
One great way to get a step up on tooth extraction cost is to get referrals from friends and family members to their dentist. A personal recommendation can sometimes be the key to going with your choice of a dentist or oral surgeon for tooth extractions. A referral can help because it will lead you to someone you can trust and feel confident with, which in turn may mean less time at the dentist’s office and less out-of-pocket cost! In addition, patients can significantly reduce tooth extraction cost by simply finding a good referral to a reputable dentist or community health centers in their area.
Coupons
There may also be coupons at the dental office near you. If you have a coupon, your tooth extraction may be eligible for a discount. However, it’s always a good idea to check with your dental team to make sure that the coupon will work for the services you’re getting. Make sure to check twice before you start your procedure!
If you don’t have dental insurance, you might be able to find coupons to help pay for your extraction by searching on the website of your local newspaper. You can also look online at sites like Groupon for coupons you can use at your dentist’s office.
Payment Plans
Another option that may be available to you is a payment plan to pay off the cost gradually. Tooth extraction costs without insurance can be a burden. Still, many dentists’ offices are willing to work out payment plans with patients to help reduce or even eliminate your extraction cost without insurance. Payment plans can be great if you have trouble finding other ways to pay for your wisdom tooth extraction or another oral surgery. Please get this information from your dentist while discussing your treatment options, as it can allow for more affordable payments!
If someone you know had an emergency room tooth extraction without insurance, ask them about the cost. It would be an excellent reference for you to get an idea of your probable bill and how your finances will affect your care.
When you get a tooth extraction done, be sure to ask your dentist if they accept patients who don’t have dental insurance. At this point, the dentist may mention those payment plans or direct you to a coupon that can help with the cost of having a tooth pulled.
How Much Does a Tooth Extraction Cost on Average?
Now that we’ve gone over best practices on getting help with tooth extraction cost when you have no insurance coverage, you want to know what the actual healthcare costs are attributed to such procedures. Unfortunately, there is no correct answer to this question.
Each tooth extraction dental surgery is a different case. Each patient will need personalized procedures to get their mouth up to par. The cost will depend on everything from the dental team and location you choose to the type of extraction necessary for your situation. Without information that only a dentist can take care of, everything from an x-ray to an examination to make sure there is no bone loss or trauma at the gum line or other soft tissue, there is no way of telling the total cost of your surgical extraction. There is no way to know what type of procedure you need, but some are more common than others.
For example, it is common for a patient to need an oral surgeon when they have pain from their wisdom teeth requiring them to be removed. An oral surgeon has more training in procedures that can lead to surgical tooth extractions than a regular dentist. Therefore, an oral surgeon may cost you more in the long run for the same procedure that a family dentist could take care of without issue. However, because of the surgeon’s extensive training in extractions, the procedure may take less time and have less risk of complications.
Tooth extractions can vary drastically based on insurance plans, different patients, and the type of extraction needed.
“Simple extraction usually costs between $75 and $200 per tooth, and may be more depending on the type of anesthesia you need. The cost to remove impacted teeth is significantly higher and can land anywhere between $800 and $4,000.”
There is no correct answer to the question, “How much does it cost to get a tooth extraction without insurance.” There are too many variables in information to consider.
How Can I Get an Idea of the Average Cost of Tooth Extraction Without Insurance by Dentists in My Area?
The best way to find out the tooth extraction cost in your area is for potential patients to visit their local dentist’s office or dental school and ask them for an estimate, including the dental exam cost without insurance. They will tell you right off the bat what they charge. Then they can go into detail about the many variables that may affect your situation and personal treatment, such as discounts for things like using your debit card and other payment options.
As stated above, most dentists will offer you a payment plan if you cannot afford dental care health insurance or to fork out the money all at once for any number of reasons. A payment plan will often be in the form of set monthly payments or another recurring fee schedule. While it isn’t something that a dentist is required to offer you, they can often work with you and your financial situation.
In addition, many private (not work-funded) insurance plans are available if you need them, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from local dental offices or dental schools if your tooth hurts or has become damaged.
Some offices may even have their own member discount plans to help get a cheap tooth pulled without insurance. In this case, you may pay a small fee to join the program, and then you will receive discounts on any work done in the allotted time. Most often, these plans will expire one year after the purchase date.
Remember that fear of the cost of tooth extraction is no excuse to let something fester that could lead to further problems or issues. Doctors and dentists can work with you to get your mouth taken care of the right way without worrying about it costing too much for you and your family to handle.
Why Choose Patient Empowered Dentistry for My Tooth Extraction Services?
At Patient Empowered Dentistry, we pride ourselves on taking care of patients dental health in a short time, avoiding unnecessary procedures, and ensuring no damage is incurred to your mouth during removal. We know how stressful it can be to have a tooth extracted without insurance, but you won’t have anything to worry about with our expert staff.
Before moving forward, we will ensure you are comfortable with any treatment options available for your type of extraction. Whether that is having a minor procedure like a tooth that needs bonding or a tooth removed entirely, we can provide a peaceful experience for you.
We offer services ranging from dental checkups and cleanings to advanced procedures like permanent or removable dentures and other cosmetic dentistry.
Give us a call if you don’t have the insurance necessary to cover your procedure and you need a tooth extraction. We will provide you with information to proceed with your surgical extraction and take care of your pain and suffering as quickly as possible.
We would love to speak with you about all of our available options. Contact us today at (586) 771-6340
