Getting a wisdom tooth pulled out is something most people dread. And sometimes it’s not because of the pain or the blood – although they are terrifying too – sometimes, it’s because of the idea of an overwhelming price that comes with it. 

And it becomes even more daunting when they don’t have a dental insurance to back it up. And if you are one of these people who, for whatever reason, needs to undergo a wisdom tooth extraction without insurance but doubting if you can afford it, then here’s what you need to know.

Average Cost of Wisdom Tooth Extraction Without Insurance

Your wisdom teeth are the only teeth you grow as you enter your late teens or early twenties. They are your final set of molars which at some cases, won’t require removal given that they are healthy, properly aligned, and doesn’t cause problems in terms of flossing and brushing.

But, even if one of them is misaligned, such in a position that it overcrowds your mouth, you have to get it removed. Poor alignment of your wisdom tooth can damage not only the others next to it but also the jawbone or your nerves. 

In addition, if a wisdom tooth is impacted or it is only partially erupted through the gum, it creates an opening for bacteria to enter which may cause an infection that can result in pain, jaw stiffness, swelling, and other common illnesses. And to avoid that and other future problems, you have to visit your dentist and get your wisdom teeth removed.

Well, wisdom tooth extraction without insurance is about $100 to $650 per tooth, depending on case and nature.

What are Included

The prices indicated already include a local anesthesia which your dentist or oral surgeon injects near the site of extraction. Then, after fully extracting your tooth or teeth, your surgeon will clean the site and if necessary, stitch your wound close. Gauze will be placed over the extraction site to control bleeding and help blood clot form, and you will be given further instructions on aftercare. It’s highly possible your surgeon would warn you about swelling and bruising, and you’ll be told to use an ice pack. 

In addition, some dentists or oral surgeons include routine office visits and removal of surgical sutures or stitches in their initial costing.

Additional Expenses

Before you could actually get your wisdom tooth pulled out, you will need an oral examination and get an x-ray. Some dentists and oral surgeons charge new patients $50 to $200 for an initial consultation and an additional $25 to $250 for an x-ray.

In some cases, if you get too anxious while or before the operation, you and your surgeon or dentist may decide to use a sedative aside from local anesthesia. And sedating medications which you can choose from are:

• Nitrous Oxide or also known as “Laughing Gas” which increases the cost by $50 to $100
• General anesthesia which costs anywhere from $250 to $1,000 per hour

Factors Affecting Wisdom Teeth Removal Rate

There are many factors to consider before you can determine wisdom teeth removal. For one, prices vary in different areas of the country. Bigger cities such as in New York City and Los Angeles tend to charge higher than those in smaller towns.

The biggest factor that affects the cost of an extraction is how your wisdom tooth emerged. See, if it has fully grown through the gums and is without any complications, removing it will be easy and the procedure will be similar to an ordinary tooth extraction – which general dentists can perform. And you can expect to pay an estimate of $100 to $400 per tooth.

At Fairfax Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, which has five offices in Northern Virginia, they charge somewhere from $230 to $365 for a simple wisdom tooth extraction.

However, if you have impacted wisdom tooth or it has not emerged completely and stayed within your gums, you will need a more complex procedure such as a surgical extraction.  In circumstances like these, if your dentist is not an experienced oral surgeon, you will be referred to one. And from there, the surgeon will determine which type of impacted tooth you have. It can be:

• Soft Tissue Impaction: where the tooth has only partially erupted through the gum. Easiest type to remove. Costs around $225 to $400 per tooth.
• Partial Bony Impaction: a portion of the tooth is above the gum line while the rest of it is still encased in the jawbone. An expensive procedure which can reach up to $275 to $450 per tooth.
• Full Bony Impaction: the tooth is entirely encased by bone tissue. Most expensive procedure that can reach up to $325 to $500 per tooth.

So, a rough estimate for removing an impacted tooth is from $225 to $500, and that could go lower or even higher. At the Dentist Plantation in Florida, their charge for a surgical wisdom tooth removal is from $200 to $500.

Saving on Wisdom Teeth Removal Expenses

Now, getting your wisdom tooth removed may seem rather expensive especially when you don’t have an insurance to cover it. 

But, there are several ways to cut down on your expenses. Such as:

• Go to a local dental school. Universities, like the UT Health San Antonio Dentistry, offers a low-cost wisdom tooth extraction that will be administered by either dental residents who have already earned their degrees but completing advanced training, or from seasoned professionals that are part of the school’s faculty. To check for availability, contact a local dental school near you.
• Avail treatment packages. Most oral surgeons or dentists offer lower prices if all of your wisdom teeth are to be extracted. For example, instead of paying $100 to $650 for a single tooth or $400 to $2,600 for all of them, you’ll only pay anywhere from $1,000 to $1,700 for four teeth. That includes sedation, follow up checkups and removal of surgical sutures. Or, if a general anesthesia is necessary, it will cost you around $1,500 to $2,200.
• Community Health Centers. Check out your local community health center and see if they offer wisdom teeth removal. If they do, it will probably be at an amazingly discounted price. To give you an idea, at Powder Springs, Georgia, their community health center (Grassroots Dental Office) offers surgical services on erupted wisdom tooth for $200 and impacted tooth for $250.
• Payment plan. Well, a payment plan will not really cut down the price, but it can surely make the cost more manageable for you. Instead of paying for your procedure all at once, you may talk to your dentist or oral surgeon to break up the payment over several months to make things lighter and easier for you.
• Discount Dental Plans. Getting a discount dental plan will significantly lower your cost of a wisdom tooth extraction without insurance. Simply pay an annual fee and you can avail discounts from more than 100,000 dentists nationwide. For example, at 1Dental, the amount for getting your tooth pulled out will only amount to $60 to $200. Another popular choice is DentalPlans which can lower the extraction for Partial Bony Impacted tooth from $450 to a range of $145 to $190, and for Soft Tissue Impacted tooth from $400 to somewhere around $115 to $140.
• Groupon.com provides coupons for all sorts of products, shops, services, and even for getting your teeth removed. Dentists and oral surgeons create limited promotions through the website and customers simply have to purchase them. To give you an example, the clinic “Nothing But Wisdom Teeth” offers to get all four of your wisdom teeth out for only $659 instead of its valued price of $1,900.