How much does it cost to remove a tooth today: price overview for different clinical cases

Next you will learn:

• How much does it cost to remove a tooth today and what factors influence pricing in the first place;
• What is considered a “simple” removal and what are the prices for this service (with examples of price lists of clinics);
• How much can your wallet feel better if it comes to complex removal, especially in the case of refined wisdom teeth;
• What is cheaper - to treat a tooth, or still remove it;
• What is important to know about the features of extraction of milk teeth in children and what factors can very significantly affect the price in this case;
• How much does it cost to pull out a badly damaged tooth (that is, in fact, when only the root remains, and the dentist / surgeon does not have the opportunity to grab the crown part with forceps);
• Is it possible to remove a tooth today for free, or is it rather a myth than reality;
• Can a dental surgeon mistakenly remove the “wrong” tooth and who will pay for it;
• How do dentists sometimes increase the price of tooth extraction ...

Unfortunately, the possibilities of modern therapeutic dentistry are not unlimited, and sometimes the teeth (or what is left of them) must still be removed. And here a completely logical question arises - how much does a tooth extraction actually cost and what factors, first of all, affect the final price?

So, it is useful to keep in mind that the cost of tooth extraction is largely determined by the characteristics of a particular clinical situation, and can vary literally at times. And situations can be very different - for example:

• The tooth is relatively “simple”, the roots have a standard shape, are not curved and do not portend any difficulties during removal (from the point of view of a dental surgeon);
• The opposite option - there were problems with the eruption of the wisdom tooth, that is, we are talking about the so-called retined wisdom tooth (hidden in the jaw under the gum), or about half-penetrated (partially breaking through the gum, sometimes with the formation of the gingival hood). Often, it is the removal of the lower wisdom teeth that can be difficult and relatively expensive. However, the removal of other molars (sixes, sevens) on the lower jaw is also not always easy;
• If the crown of the tooth is almost completely destroyed, then we are talking about the removal of the root (s);
• Or it can be a milk tooth (temporary), which for one reason or another needs to be removed, and the child is completely “not tuned” to this terrible procedure for him - the use of sedation (anesthesia) can also make a significant contribution to the total cost of removal.

The photo below shows the root of the broken tooth to be removed:

And this is only part of the possible situations, which we will talk about in more detail later.

On a note

In practice, there are frequent cases when the patient comes to the dentist-surgeon and unreasonably asks to remove one or another tooth, considering it only a burden, which you must certainly get rid of. An important reason for this not always constructive approach is that the treatment of a tooth can sometimes be much more expensive than removing it, while the patient is not ready to spend it.

Meanwhile, it is important to understand that dental surgeons are not only involved in the removal of problem teeth, but may also try to save them. Be that as it may, the dentist simply must work strictly according to the instructions and try not to pull out those teeth that can still serve their master.

So, is it possible to remove a tooth, as they say, “cheap and cheerful”, and what is the price of the issue today?

Let's start by analyzing the main pricing factors, and then consider a number of specific examples indicating the approximate cost in each case.

 

The main factors affecting the cost of tooth extraction

In most cases, the following factors have the greatest impact on the cost of tooth extraction:

• The level of the dental clinic (state polyclinic, economy class, business class. Sometimes in the city polyclinics you can remove a tooth almost for free - however, in a situation where there are 15 people in the corridor, the doctor does not always have time to carry out the procedure with all thoroughness, and the patient will then have to “disentangle” possible errors and deficiencies);
• The presence of a particular insurance policy (compulsory health insurance, voluntary medical insurance);
• The number of the tooth to be removed and the complexity of the procedure (as noted above, “pulling out” the lower wisdom teeth, that is, eights, can cost significantly more than, for example, removing the lower or upper incisors);
• The condition of the tooth being removed (if it is completely destroyed, there are no walls, and the root is large, overgrown, then the removal will require more effort and, accordingly, money);
• Type of anesthesia used (domestic or imported drug, anesthesia);
• Permanent or deciduous tooth.

At the same time, in reality, a number of factors can make adjustments to the final price, starting from the region of residence and ending with the doctor’s appetite for profit (we’ll talk a little bit about how dental surgeons can charge the price).

 

What is called “simple” removal, and how much does it cost?

By “simple”, most practicing dentists understand the removal of a movable tooth (for example, with periodontitis, or milk), as well as having 1 root that does not involve the use of tools such as a drill (for sawing a tooth into parts), chisels, elevators, etc. Tentatively, such a procedure lasts no more than 15-20 minutes.

On a note

It should be borne in mind that the above definition is largely arbitrary, since initially seemingly simple procedure at the stage of its implementation can become complicated. For example, if, during loosening of a tooth, the top of its root suddenly breaks off and remains in the alveolus, this will significantly complicate the removal procedure.

To navigate the prices of simple tooth extraction, consider an example of a typical price list of one of the private clinics in Samara. Tooth extraction prices:

• Milk (temporary) - 400;
• Milk during the physiological shift - 200;
• The mobility of a permanent tooth III degree - 500;
• Permanent cutter - 700;
• Permanent Fang - 800;
• Permanent molar (except for the wisdom tooth) - 900.

Prices are in rubles and excluding the cost of anesthesia. Typically, anesthesia has to pay 200-400 rubles, depending on the drug.

It’s worth a little clarification here. Removing a deciduous tooth during a shift implies that it is not difficult for a dentist to remove an already loose tooth, and a deciduous tooth with a far change will be more difficult to remove. 3rd degree mobility in a permanent tooth means that it is literally barely held in the hole, while removing a fixed tooth can be much more problematic - hence the increased price.

As for the fangs - they have a long massive root of a cone-shaped shape, which often creates certain difficulties when removing it, despite the fact that there is only one root.

The latter in the above list are permanent molars, that is, large molars (chewing) teeth having from 2 (lower) to 3 or more roots (upper), which can be more difficult to remove than single-rooted teeth. However, even in this case, the procedure may well be carried out without root separation by a drill and fit into the time range from 5 to 20 minutes.

A simple tooth extraction in Moscow or St. Petersburg at an average level of a dental clinic usually costs significantly more - often several times. Price list example of one of Moscow dentistry:

• Removal of I degree of complexity (tooth mobility with periodontal disease): 3000 rubles;
• Removal of the II degree of complexity (single-root tooth, no mobility): 4500 rubles;
• Removal of the III degree of complexity (multi-root tooth, with the exception of wisdom teeth, suturing is not expected): 5500 rubles

 

Difficult tooth extraction

Let us again turn to the price list of the same clinic in Samara, which was already mentioned above, but now we look at the prices for complex tooth extraction:

• Removal of the third molar (wisdom tooth) - 1200;
• Complex removal (with separation of the roots, with hypercementosis) - 1400;
• Polyurethane, distoped - 1950;
• Retined, 1 degree of complexity (covered with mucosa) - 2450;
• Retined, 2 degrees of complexity (lying in bone tissue) –3950.

In most cases, all of these items apply to wisdom teeth. Interestingly, the cost of complex disposal in some cities reaches 15-25 thousand rubles.

Generally speaking, removing wisdom teeth is one of the most controversial categories of dental services in terms of reasonable prices. Many private dentists in absentia (that is, not even looking at a specific clinical situation) consider the removal of any eights difficult, setting a significantly higher price tag compared to the removal of other teeth. Usually this is a range from 2 to 5 thousand rubles.

Other clinics specify in the price list that there is a category of “simple” wisdom teeth (especially the upper ones) that do not require special efforts and significant time costs when removing - as a result, such a procedure is estimated to be 2-3 times cheaper than in the case of truly “complex” eights . Obviously, this is a fairer approach.

It is interesting

And what does, for example, complex removal with separation of roots mean? This suggests that the dentist during the removal carries out the separation (separation) of the roots with a drill, and also uses not only forceps, but also elevators (tools for extracting roots).

Even 30-40 years ago, the extraction of molars with a chisel and hammer was popular: the chisel was installed on the bifurcation of the roots and hit (usually a nurse) with a hammer to create a crack within the inter-root septum. Then the roots were removed one at a time by elevators. Sometimes a dental chisel is used today.

Semi-reinforced teeth (most often wisdom teeth) can be covered by the edematous mucous membrane of the gum, usually called the gingival hood - it is often impossible to grasp the crown of the semi-dented tooth with a tongue that barely protrudes above the gum, so the doctor will resort to special technical means (sawing the tooth, working with elevators and etc.). In the price list of some clinics in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the cost of removing semi-reinforced wisdom teeth reaches 20 thousand rubles.

Photo of a semi-artificial tooth of wisdom:

Doped teeth - that is, displaced and located outside their normal position in the dentition. Their removal is of additional complexity in the case when adjacent healthy teeth become an obstacle. It is often not possible to grasp a distoped tooth with forceps, so a lot of effort has to be made to make the surgical procedure safe for normal teeth.

Retained teeth are completely located under the gum, or are generally located in the bone tissue - their removal always has an increased category of complexity. It is easier and faster to remove the tooth that is hidden only by the gum, since in this case it may not have to be cut out of the bone and there is a chance with the help of elevators to quickly dislodge from the hole.

But the removal of a retarded tooth, located deep in the jaw bone, almost always takes a lot of time (from 30-40 minutes to 2-3 hours) and requires special skills and great experience from the dentist.Therefore, the cost of removing complex, refined teeth reaches private clinics up to 25 thousand rubles (although, of course, it is not difficult to find the same service worth about 5 thousand if you wish).

 

Which is cheaper: treat a tooth or remove it?

As already noted above, sometimes a tooth can be removed almost for free (in a city clinic). In a private clinic, several thousand rubles may well be requested for the removal of the same tooth.

And what about dental treatment - how much does it cost?

To begin with, it is useful to keep in mind that if even one tooth is lost, the integrity of the dentition is impaired, which can lead to impaired bite, diction, chewing effectiveness and even normal functioning of the digestive tract. If several teeth are lost, then the risks of these disorders and the severity of problems increase many times.

Therefore, in no case can one explain the desire to remove, for example, a diseased tooth that can still be saved, by the habit of solving everything radically, by saving money on treatment, or by your skepticism regarding the effectiveness of treatment (say, this tooth is rotten through and through, and in general, “I’m tired of it already”). In addition, after such thrift, especially if it is possible to remove a tooth for free, a situation may arise in the future that will force you to pay out much more than would be required for treatment - we are talking about prosthetics.

Therefore, however paradoxical it may seem, tooth treatment from a perspective point of view can be significantly cheaper (for a wallet, nerves and health in general) than even free removal of it.

After this preamble, let's move on to the numbers. The distribution of prices for dental treatment in many mid-level clinics is approximately the following:

• Caries treatment - 2-4 thousand rubles;
• Treatment of single-channel pulpitis - 4-6 thousand rubles;
• Treatment of three-channel pulpitis - 6-10 thousand rubles;
• Treatment of three-channel periodontitis - 7-12 thousand rubles.

That is, for example, treating a molar tooth that hurts a lot (and this is most often pulpitis) will cost in many cases more than removal, especially considering that there can be 3-4 canals in it. Nevertheless, if there is an opportunity to do without deletion - this is definitely worth using.

 

What you need to know about the features of extraction of milk teeth

Unlike permanent teeth, primary teeth are often not difficult to remove - however, if we talk only about the technical side of the issue. If we consider the process as a whole, then certain circumstances leave a significant imprint on the pricing policy in clinics where there is a similar service.

But before moving on to considering the cost of removing deciduous teeth, let's see in what cases their removal may be required:

• The inability to restore the crown part, completely destroyed by caries;
• The formation of a cyst on the root (s);
• The risk of spread of infection with periodontitis, when there is a threat to the germ of a permanent tooth;
• Complications of periodontitis (periostitis, abscess, phlegmon, etc.);
• Delay of "resorption" of the root, which creates obstacles to the eruption of a permanent tooth;
• The appearance of a permanent tooth (side) with the full existence of milk;
• Physiological change of teeth.

And a number of other situations.

On a note

Some clinics focus on tooth mobility: if a milk tooth is motionless, then its removal is considered difficult, and in other cases - simple.

Private dentistry almost always charges application anesthesia, as well as infiltration and conduction, separately from the main service.

How expensive can a tooth extraction be? The price range here is very large: the average range is from 300 to 3000 rubles for the removal of one temporary tooth.

It should be understood that children's dentistry is far from being “sugar” even for the most mentally stable dentist. Children can cry non-stop, rush at the dentist with various objects, curse, fight in hysteria, beat the doctor on the hands, bite him and interfere with manipulations in every possible way. And since a child is a mirror of his parents, it is not surprising that a mother sitting nearby or dad who came to support his child often indulge his beloved in all his tricks. That is, the doctor will always be to blame - because “the service is paid for - do your job!”

Therefore, a clinic that respects the work of doctors often sets prices close to removing a permanent tooth. Such financial support for pediatric dentists should stimulate them to work hard with such a contingent contingent as children, and especially their parents.

On a note

In pediatric dentistry, inhalation and intravenous anesthesia are often used. Price examples:

• Inhalation anesthesia with Sevoran for up to 10 minutes: 1,500 rubles .;
• Intravenous anesthesia with propofol (diprivan): from 4000 rubles.

 

How does the extraction of badly damaged teeth occur, and how much will it cost?

Many people who are faced with the need to remove a badly damaged tooth are concerned about such a moment - as a dentist-surgeon will be able to grab him with forceps, because there is actually nothing to grab for.

Let's see how it all looks from the point of view of a doctor.

In practice, most often it is impossible to say in advance with 100% certainty whether the removal is simple or complex. However, there are certain “tips” for the dentist to suggest whether complex removal can be expected or not. For example, it is more difficult to remove a tooth in the presence of the following factors:

1. Young age of the patient (up to 35 years);
2. The use of the resorcinol-formalin method to treat tooth canals in the past;
3. The absence of periodontitis and "purulent" inflammatory processes in the tissues of the periodontium (simply put, the tissues are healthy).

The combination of these signs allows you to almost certainly say that removing such a root can be a difficult and sometimes impossible task for a dentist with little experience.

At a young age, especially from 12-14 years to 30, a “calm" root (that is, without the addition of a purulent infection causing its mobility, without periodontal tissue diseases) requires special efforts, skills and experience of such removal from the doctor. Even if the carious tissues of the decayed tooth protrude above the gum, then when grabbed with forceps, they often crumple, crumble with a crunch, sometimes causing panic in a young specialist.

Dentists-surgeons with long experience can guess in advance: when it is worth grabbing the root with forceps only a couple of millimeters under the gingival margin, and when a deep implantation of the instrument is required so as not to waste time breaking off the fragile crown part. Knowing the features of removing such destroyed teeth also allows you to predict the need for their surgery with the help of elevators, curettage spoons, special screws, metal ligatures and other auxiliary tools.

Elderly people are most often faced with simple root removal, since the bone tissue around the root tips, in addition to age-related changes, often has foci of chronic inflammatory processes, which adversely affects the overall health of the patient and the strength of tooth retention in the jaw - in particular. Also, badly damaged teeth do not cause problems when removed against the background of periodontitis - gum disease, accompanied by tooth mobility.

On a note

Single tooth roots in people older than 40-45 years in 70-80% of cases are removed within 2-5 minutes. Moreover, the roots of wisdom teeth, weakened as a result of certain processes, also belong to the above cases.

The cost of simply removing a badly damaged tooth can vary greatly in different dentistry, but the average value is in the range - from 500 rubles to 5 thousand.rubles, depending on the region and the level of the clinic.

Perhaps it makes sense to say a few words about root removal with a drill. Cutting out the roots with a drill definitely belongs to the category of complex removals. In this context, it is not only about dividing the roots into 2-3 with the aim of their safe extraction by the elevator. In some cases, using a special boron, the external bone wall of the hole that holds the root is removed.

After creating access to the outer surface of the bone, the dentist cuts the wall with a drill, and the root that opens after removing it is removed with forceps or an elevator. The most difficult is to excise the root-retaining wall in the region of the lower molars (6, 7, 8), where the compact layer of bone has a significant thickness. Often, in time, such operations to remove the roots of badly damaged teeth take from 30 minutes to 3 hours and can be performed under anesthesia in a hospital.

The cost of such removal can reach up to 15 thousand rubles or more.

 

Free tooth extraction - myth or reality?

If price monitoring is carried out, then most often the cost of tooth extraction, which goes off scale for 10 thousand rubles, can be found in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are clinics that offer to remove a tooth for 25 thousand rubles.

It should be understood that many people are far from such luxury and excesses. Sometimes even 1000 rubles for pulling out a rotten tooth is already a burdensome amount for the family budget.

So is there an opportunity in our country to remove a tooth qualitatively, but for free?

Feedback:

“Because of the husband’s work, we often change our place of residence, in each city we have a new dentist. I have a compulsory medical insurance policy, that is, I attach myself to a state hospital and get free treatment, and I try not to go to private traders. But the spouse does not have a policy and he has to pay. Where he just didn’t go: both private and free, for him every trip is connected with payment. The last time they asked him for free, not only 500 rubles, since there is no insurance policy, but also another 200 for a good injection so that it does not hurt. I know that there, for a fee, they can even miss out of turn ... "

Lyudmila, Omsk

The situation is such that hundreds of thousands of teeth are removed annually in Russia for free or almost for free. What does “almost free tooth extraction” mean today? In the budgetary institution where the patient is attached, they work according to the compulsory medical insurance, that is, according to the policy, tooth extraction should be free, but ... In fact, not everything is so simple.

Anesthesia is shareware. Formally, it should be free, but the list of mandatory medical insurance included not very effective domestic drugs (Novocain, Lidocaine, etc.), and the patient is usually ready to pay a little so as not to feel pain during the procedure.

On a note

It may surprise someone, but some highly effective drugs of the articaine series are also included in the compulsory medical insurance. However, in reality, their availability, despite the active introduction of these drugs under the compulsory medical insurance program, does not change from year to year in many clinics: dentists receive Lidocaine stably, and they simply buy a more effective and safe anesthetic at their own expense. That is why “almost free” means to pay the dentist surgeon his expenses for the drug.

Typically, the cost of "good" anesthesia for tooth extraction in clinics (hospitals) is about 200-300 rubles.

On the other hand, there are many situations where you get all the charms of a budget organization for “free”:

• Waiting in line, sometimes up to 2-3 hours;
• Rudeness on the part of a sober doctor who is tired of the flow of people;
• Familiarity with prehistoric equipment;
• The spittoon is full of someone’s teeth and, to put it mildly, dirty and doubtful that everything is sterile;
• And most importantly - an increased risk of possible complications after removal due to the rush of the doctor and the non-appointment of valuable recommendations that reduce the likelihood of developing alveolitis ...

From the practice of the dentist

Here is a good example. In one of the hospitals, a surgeon removes teeth really for free. Does it like this: Lidocaine chops a person 6-8 in turn, and then calls. And the anesthetic acted or not - it’s not very important, how lucky it is, because you have to hurry. And if you repeatedly “freeze”, then you can already spit anesthesia in the next. So working at speed and with possible pain during the procedure is not uncommon.

 

Can a dental surgeon mistakenly remove the wrong tooth, and who will pay for it?

There is an opinion that dental surgeons sometimes mistakenly remove the “wrong” tooth - for example, the one next to the problem. Is this really so, or is it a myth?

Although many dentists will assure that they have never made such a mistake during their practice, unfortunately, for a number of reasons (fatigue, alcoholism of a doctor, quick admission, negligence, etc.) this is rarely possible. Here is an example of one such story:

From the practice of the dentist

“In my practice there was only once such a case, but not because of rush, but simply because of fatigue. At the end of the shift, the patient brought me a piece of paper from an orthopedist, where tooth 15 was listed - removal. In the patient, all indigenous ones were already removed on this side during a cast examination. I tried the extreme tooth on this side: it turned out to be movable. I deleted it like that without a second thought, and then the root flaunted from it ... Just 15 teeth. That is, my remote mobile turned out to be 14. How could I not see this - a difficult question, but I had to remove the root required by the orthopedist. I did not begin to tell the patient the whole truth, but expressed myself quite appropriately: say, say, to the orthopedist that I removed both the root and the adjacent but movable tooth, since from my point of view it will not withstand the load under the future clasp of the prosthesis ... ”

If the dentist removes the wrong tooth, will you have to pay a double price for this?

If the doctor is decent, then for his mistake he will never take money to show the patient decency and regain confidence. If the patient correctly understands the doctor about the need to remove the tooth that was extracted by mistake, the patient will pay a tariff for each removal separately.

As you can see, the line between necessary and unnecessary service is sometimes very thin.

 

How dentists charge a price for tooth extraction

Upper wisdom teeth are often considered in vain as complex extractions. For many dental surgeons, these teeth are “to the liking”, as they are sometimes removed better than any other tooth, especially when compared with the lower molars. However, if the appetite of the doctor (or the clinic as a whole) is great, then a justification for the high price will be found: after all, these are wisdom teeth!

It is justified when the patient pays a high price for the removal, which comes with cutting out the roots (bones) for more than 60 minutes, but it does not seem too honest if the doctor charges the same high price for a ten-minute removal of the top eight.

Further. It should be borne in mind that the removal of any movable tooth is almost always much easier and cheaper than a stationary one. If the doctor indicates the same price (high) for the removal of a movable tooth as the removal of a fixed tooth, then this is an occasion to think - or maybe it’s better to go to another clinic ...

From the correspondence of dentists on the forum:

“In our clinic, a simple removal costs 1,500 rubles, a peasant came in, peppy and talkative. In general, as usual, I put anesthesia in the transitional fold in the projection of the tooth root and here the following happens: during the administration of the anesthetic, the movable tooth gently extends from the hole and almost ends up in the patient's mouth. I catch it with an easy movement at the time of complete extraction and put it in its rightful place.I ask the patient to keep his mouth open, return with forceps, defiantly swing his tooth (as in air) and remove. Bloodless. If the tooth fell out during anesthesia - it’s not to see 1,500 rubles, and everything is fair - the removal according to the price list was technically correct, and its value did not decrease ... ”

 

An interesting video with an example of the so-called atraumatic tooth extraction

 

And this is how the semi-reinforced wisdom tooth is removed with preliminary sawing into parts