What is an extraction?
An extraction is when we remove the entire tooth. This is not always the best idea, especially for front teeth. But is usually a cheaper way to deal with a toothy problem, and we do this commonly at Colombo Street Dental.
The most common average price of simple extractions is $293 unless you have a community services card which lowers the cost considerably.
We have ways of keeping the discomfort and anxiety of these treatments to a minimum.
Sometimes we can use medication to help with this, but often just a gentle caring approach is all that is required.
After your extraction
- Avoid hot drinks, hard food, alcohol, and extreme physical activity.
- Avoid rinsing your mouth for the first 24 hours, after this time, rinse gently with warm salt water.
- Drink cold or warm fluids and eat soft food.
- Don't smoke as it delays healing.
- Use prescribed pain relief tablets before anesthesia wears off.
- If bleeding occurs, apply pressure with gauze or tea bags for 15-30 minutes.
Pricing
Simple Extraction (Tooth removal) including Xray WITHOUT Community Services Card $297
(WITH a Community Services Card in simple 30 minute extractions, in a toothache this can be as little as $40, please ring for details)
*Some patients require extensive treatment planning or cleaning not manageable in one 20, or 30, 45 minute appointment.
In these cases all charges will be discussed at initial appointment for followup work required.
Standard discounts apply to standard pricing of treatment when patients are not paying by finance.
Students/Gold Card/Community Services Card - 10% Discount
These discounts apply to fillings and extractions only and do not stack.
I don't want to lose my tooth, what is a root canal?
Magnified Root Canal Cleaning
The Root Canal is the path in the root that the nerve travels. A root canal is when we clean the canals inside the root of the tooth that the nerve used to live in.
At Colombo Street Dental we like to explain Root Canal Treatment like cleaning a pipe. Sometimes a plumber has a blocked pipe, and it is causing flooding or drainage problems. When our patients have abscesses, it is just like a flood!
Another problem called a pulpitis is a bit like a drainage problem, with too much pressure from the inflammation!
What we have to do, is the same as the plumber, only many many times smaller in size.
We need to put things down that pipe and clean all the gunk out and make it clean as a whistle. That will stop the abscess infection, and the pain. Sometimes we leave some medication in those pipes (root canals) for awhile. Then the bone underneath can heal!
Once that pipe is clean we are going to fill it up completely; a bit like filling a pipe full of concrete. Often this procedure is done in two stages over a period of 3 to 4 weeks.
Are root canal treatments always successful?
Pre-op and Post-operative molar root cancel treated at Colombo Street Dental.
Unfortunately no. There is a huge variation in the quality of root canal therapy done by various dentists. But if root canal therapy is done well, the success rates long term can be over 90 percent. This compares favorably with many other medical procedures of such a technical nature.
The best way to improve chances of success are with either a qualified endodontic specialist, or a dentist with the best equipment, skill and training. We use a microscope and all the newest technology and techniques at Colombo Street Dental, to maximise our vision and improve our outcomes for our patients.
Some of the factors that can reduce chances of success are:
Poor patient immunity and host response
If you are run down or sick, our bodies do not heal as well
Broken equipment inside the tooth.
Some of our gear is not infallable, and it is entirely possibly but rare that equipment can break. Dentists should always tell you if that happens during surgery as it may influence outcome. It is a known complication of root canal therapy and can happen even with the best technique to specialist surgeons.
No Crown on the tooth.
All teeth that are heavily damaged from Root Canal Therapy will benefit from crowning after Root Canal Treatment. Inadequate restoration of teeth after Root Canal is a common reason for failure of the tooth.
Difficult Tooth Anatomy.
Some teeth are highly challenging anatomy wise and require either specialist intervention, or in some cases are not possible to be root canal treated due to the extremely complex shape of some teeth roots
How much does a root canal cost?
This is a tricky question, and one we are asked every day at Colombo Street Dental. At Colombo Street Dental we cut no corners and use the same equipment as root canal specialists.
We must assess each tooth on it's own merits before starting this type of treatment for you. The Root Canal Therapy can range from $1000 dollars through to $1500. It will then need strengthening long term with a Crown if the tooth has had a lot of structure removed prior to root canal therapy. This will be an added cost.
Each tooth has a different number of canals and complexity, so without seeing the tooth it is hard to know. Some front teeth are less expensive, and be more around the $700 dollar cost with a filling included.
The other question to ask, is whether you are being quoted for a root canal and a filling, or just the root canal. You may find that as well as the root canal, there will be another charge on top of that to cap the tooth. Always ask the full cost + the cost of a crown or filling afterwards.