Are you experiencing severe pain and discomfort in your mouth? Have you noticed that your teeth appear overcrowded?
If you answered yes to these questions, you may need to have your wisdom teeth removed.
Don’t worry, you are far from alone on this. About 85% of adults have to have their wisdom teeth removed at some point in their lives.
However, some people may be concerned about wisdom teeth removal costs. This guide goes over the average wisdom teeth removal cost, along with the biggest factors that impact this cost.
Average Wisdom Teeth Removal Cost
You should know that there is a wide range as to how much it costs to remove a wisdom tooth. On average, you can expect to pay about $300 to get an extraction done.
However, you can pay as little as $200 and as much as $1,100 to do this.
Contributing Factors
Several factors can impact how much you will spend to remove a wisdom tooth. Let’s take a look at some of the most common factors that come up.
Location
One of the biggest factors that will impact the price of this procedure is where you are located. The reason is that certain areas have a higher cost of living.
The link in the last section compares wisdom teeth removal costs in several different states. Some of the states mentioned include New Jersey, California, Indiana, and North Carolina.
As you can see, the costs are much higher to remove a wisdom tooth in New Jersey or California than it is in Indiana or North Carolina. The big reason why this is the case is because there are higher costs of living in these areas as well as higher taxes.
With that in mind, dental offices in New Jersey and California are essentially forced to charge a higher rate than their counterparts to keep their lights on.
Take the time to research what the cost of living is in your area. Assuming that you live in North Carolina, you may discover that this is more affordable than national resources indicate.
Type of Extraction
Another thing you need to consider is what type of wisdom teeth extraction you are going to need. This mainly comes down to where the tooth is located and how close to the jawline it is.
This ranges from a non-impacted wisdom tooth removal to a soft tissue impact removal, partial bony impact removal, and complete bony removal. The former tends to be the most affordable type of extraction, while the latter is the most expensive.
Ask your dentist what type of procedure you are going to need. Then, you can prepare for the cost from there.
Number of Wisdom Teeth
People have four wisdom teeth in their mouths, but they may not need all four of these teeth removed. That can impact how much your procedure is going to cost.
The prices mentioned above are priced based on each wisdom tooth. Because of this, you have to expect the cost of this procedure to go up for each wisdom tooth that has to be removed. So, if you end up needing all four taken out, multiply your quote by four.
Other Impacted Teeth
Something that can happen with bad wisdom teeth is that it can cause overcrowding. Not only is this painful, but it can negatively impact neighboring teeth.
It can cause a lot of pressure on those neighboring teeth. As a result, it can cause those teeth to crack or even deteriorate rapidly.
If this happens, your dentist may recommend additional procedures to address those neighboring teeth. Of course, that means you will have to pay more money to take care of those teeth.
Talk with your dentist to get a full understanding of what parts of your mouth are impacted by your wisdom teeth.
Additional Costs
Depending on your circumstances, there could be additional costs that you have to pay for before and after your procedure.
An example is if you require anesthesia to go forward with this extraction. If you do, that can cost you up to $200 per hour.
A dentist may also have to take x-rays of your mouth before the procedure to get an idea of what they are dealing with. Unless you have good dental insurance, this is another charge that you will likely have to pay for yourself.
Then, you may even need prescribed medication to recover from this procedure. This is especially the case if you have an infection because of your wisdom teeth.
The bottom line is that you will have to put money aside to cover any medication you may require after this procedure.
Dental Insurance
Perhaps the most important factor mentioned here is whether or not you have dental insurance. As mentioned above, not having dental insurance means that you are likely taking on 100% of these costs yourself. It could mean your wallet gets a lot lighter compared to if you have dental insurance covering these costs.
How much you save depends on what type of policy you have. You could have a premium package covered by your employer, which takes care of the vast portion of the cost.
In this situation, most dental insurance policies may just ask you to pay a small co-payment for whatever services you accept. Depending on what insurance policy you have, this still could mean paying mere pennies on the dollar compared to taking on all of the costs out-of-pocket.
Find a Good NC Dentist
Do not be alarmed by the average wisdom teeth removal cost. If you are located in North Carolina, it is likely more affordable than the national average. Plus, having things like dental insurance can cut costs down significantly.
If you need an NC dentist for this, look no further than Legacy Oral & Facial Surgery. We have three offices scattered throughout the state with some of the best dentists in North Carolina. Most of our dentists have been in the field for over 25 years.
Schedule an appointment at one of our offices today.