What is involved in a tooth extraction?
An extraction is when we remove the entire tooth including the roots. This is not always the best idea, especially for front teeth. But is usually a cheaper way to deal with a toothache problem, and we help talk you through the best option for you at Colombo Street Dental.
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.
How to I care for my extraction site afterwards?
- 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.
How much does a tooth extraction cost?
A simple extraction (Tooth removal) including intraoral x-rays is $323.
Surgical Extractions can range up to $750 for full surgical extraction (such as impacted lower wisdom teeth).
There are some teeth that are in-between the two ranges of difficulty - requiring sectional add-on is $100 on top of the simple extraction fee.
Valid Students/Community Services Card - 10% Discount
These discounts apply to fillings and extractions only and do not stack.
A community services card may make you eligible for an emergency $40 extraction. This covers for a simple extraction of one tooth, which can be done twice in a twelve-month period. There are conditions related to this claim, including it must be a simple extraction able to be completed under a 30-minute appointment. If you have any medical history and or medications, this can have also an impact on the complicated nature of a procedure.
If it is not a simple extraction it would then become a consultation, which is usually $137.
*Last Updated 12th August 2026
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 $1100 dollars through to $1600. In many cases the filling on the tooth will need to be fixed prior to or after the root canal process. This will come at an additional cost. See our fillings page for cost of fillings.
The root canal treated tooth 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. See our crowns page for more information.
Each tooth has a different number of canals and complexity, so without seeing the tooth it is hard to know.
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. We will always quote the full cost + the cost of a crown or fillings required prior to treatment.