How Much Does a Tooth Extraction Cost in Australia?

Indicative extraction costs

Extraction is one of the better documented dental fees in Australia, because it appears in both a professional fee survey and in national insurer claims data. The Australian Dental Association 2022 fee survey, as reported by CHOICE, put a simple non-surgical extraction at an average of $205, with a range of $149 to $300. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, using private health insurance claims for 2021 to 2022, published a median charge of $180 for removal of a tooth or part of a tooth, with a full range of $67 to $420 and a median out-of-pocket gap of $95.

The bands below allow for fee increases since those figures were collected. If an extraction fee comes in well above them, ask whether the tooth is being treated as simple or surgical and what imaging and anaesthetic are inside the price. A clear answer, in writing, is a reasonable thing to expect.

What the two main sources measure

The two figures are close, but they are not measuring quite the same thing, and the difference is worth understanding before you use either in a conversation with a practice.

Simple and surgical extraction

A simple extraction generally applies where the tooth can be accessed and removed without opening the gum or removing bone. A surgical extraction may involve a gum incision, bone removal or dividing the tooth.

The procedure cannot be reliably identified from a phrase such as rotten tooth. A severely decayed tooth may still be simple to remove, or it may have broken near the gum and need a more involved approach, imaging and examination determine the plan.

Wisdom tooth extraction

Wisdom teeth can be simple or surgical, depending on their position. Impacted teeth and hospital-based removal can cost more, and are usually quoted with separate per-tooth and general anaesthesia ranges rather than a single flat fee.

Medicare, CDBS and health funds

Medicare does not generally cover ordinary private dental extraction for adults. CDBS covers extractions for eligible children, within the two-year cap and program rules.

Private extras may pay a benefit for extraction. Surgical and hospital components can be treated differently under a policy, so obtain item numbers for the extraction, imaging, sedation, anaesthetist and facility before asking the fund for an estimate.

The cost after extraction

The extraction fee is not always the end of the financial decision. A missing tooth may later be left as a gap or replaced with a removable partial denture, a dental bridge, or a dental implant and crown.

Not every gap must be replaced in the same way. Ask what could happen if it is left, what each replacement involves and when a decision needs to be made. An implant may cost several thousand dollars, while a partial denture or bridge has a different fee and maintenance pattern.

Comparing quotes

When comparing quotes, ask which tooth is involved and why removal is being proposed, whether the fee is for a simple, sectional or surgical item, whether imaging is included, whether local anaesthetic, sedation or hospital charges apply, who the provider is and where treatment happens, how follow-up and complications are managed, and what replacement options exist and when they would be considered.