Tooth Extractions
Tooth extraction means taking a tooth out of your mouth. It may be needed for reasons like a cracked tooth, an infected tooth, crowded teeth, or deep cavities. If you need a surgical tooth extraction, you can get expert care here. Our skilled dentists have the latest methods and tools for surgical extractions. This helps keep you comfortable and gives a good result for your oral health.
Why are Tooth Extractions necessary?
Needing a tooth out can feel upsetting, and we understand. You may need a tooth extraction when a tooth puts your oral health at risk and other treatments cannot save it. Taking out the tooth can bring relief and fix many dental problems.
You may need a tooth extraction for many reasons, including:
- Severe Tooth Decay: Sometimes decay spreads too far to be treated with fillings or root canal therapy. Taking out the tooth may then be the only choice. This stops the infection from spreading to other teeth.
- Advanced Gum Disease: Gum disease, also called periodontal disease, can badly harm the tissues and bone that hold your teeth. In severe cases, the teeth get loose and cannot be steadied. Taking them out may be needed to protect your overall oral health.
- Impacted Wisdom Teeth: Wisdom teeth, also called third molars, often lack room to come in. They get stuck, which is called impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain and infection. They can also harm the teeth next to them. So they may need to come out.
- Orthodontic Treatment: Sometimes teeth must be taken out to make room for orthodontic treatment, such as braces. This helps line your teeth up.
- Broken or Fractured Teeth: A tooth that is badly broken or cracked and cannot be fixed may need to come out. This stops more damage and eases pain.
- Preparation for Dentures: If you have lost many teeth or they are badly damaged, extraction may be needed. It gets your mouth ready for dentures or other false teeth.
- Overcrowding: Sometimes teeth are taken out to fix crowding. This is true when there is not enough room in the mouth for all the teeth to come in properly.
- Infection: A dental infection that is not treated can spread to the tissues around it. It can even get into the bloodstream. This is a serious health risk. Then the tooth may need to come out to remove the source of infection.
Overall, tooth extractions help keep or bring back oral health. They ease pain and prevent more problems.
What to Expect
If you are wondering what will happen, we will walk you through each step. A dental extraction, also called a tooth extraction, is when a tooth is taken out of its socket in the jawbone. The socket is the hole where the tooth sits. You may need this for many reasons. These include severe tooth decay, advanced gum disease, crowded teeth, injury, or impacted wisdom teeth.
The process usually starts with freezing. This freezes the area around the tooth.
Once the area is frozen, your dentist uses special tools to gently loosen the tooth from its socket. They rock the tooth back and forth with care. This widens the socket and frees the tooth from the tissue around it. If needed, your dentist may cut the tooth into pieces so it is easier to take out.
After the tooth is out, your dentist may place stitches to close the spot. This helps it heal well. Gauze is often placed over the spot. It controls bleeding and helps a blood clot form.
How long does it take to recover from a tooth extraction?
Recovery generally takes a few days. You may have some swelling and discomfort. These often get worse for the first two or three days, then slowly settle over about a week. Please call us if they get worse after that. It helps to follow the care instructions after your tooth is out, such as avoiding hard foods and not smoking. This will speed up healing.
How much is a tooth extraction?
At Carlton Dental, taking out one tooth ranges from about $230 to $680*. It depends on the tooth.
We know cost is a big question. The price can change. The ODA has different codes for different types of extraction.
Some codes depend on how hard the extraction is. They also depend on whether extra steps are needed. These include cutting back the gum, taking out bone, cutting the tooth into parts, and bone grafting.
At Carlton Dental in Downtown Toronto, we follow the ODA Fee Guide. This helps you know you are getting affordable dental care.
*The range follows the Ontario Dental Association Suggested Fee Guide for General Practitioners, 2026. Your fee depends on the treatment you need, and we give you a written estimate before anything is done.