Wisdom Teeth Removal Cost in Ontario (2026) — and Does OHIP Cover It?

What does wisdom teeth removal cost in Ontario?

Ontario dentists price extractions using the Ontario Dental Association's annual fee guide as a reference, so quotes are fairly consistent across the province. In 2026, a simple extraction of a fully erupted wisdom tooth runs about $200 to $450. A surgical extraction, where the tooth is impacted and the dentist has to open the gum or remove bone, runs $350 to $750 or more per tooth. That squares with the 2026 ODA suggested fees: about $228 for an uncomplicated extraction, and $340 to $731 for impacted teeth depending on how deeply they sit.

The single biggest factor is how the tooth sits in your jaw. A wisdom tooth that has come through straight and can be gripped with forceps is a 20-minute appointment. One lying sideways under bone is a small surgery. Your panoramic X-ray tells the dentist which one you have, which is why no careful office quotes a firm price over the phone.

Where you live shifts the range too. Toronto and GTA offices tend to quote $350 to $900 per tooth. Ottawa and mid-sized cities typically fall around $300 to $750, and smaller towns can come in lower still. The table below shows what each piece of the bill usually looks like.

Why does an impacted tooth cost two or three times more?

An impacted wisdom tooth never fully broke through the gum. Some are covered only by gum tissue. Others are partly or completely buried in jawbone, often tilted into the tooth ahead of them. Dentists bill each situation differently because each takes a different amount of surgical work.

Removing a buried tooth means opening the gum, sometimes trimming bone, and often cutting the tooth into sections so each piece comes out through a small opening. Then stitches. That can be 45 to 90 minutes of surgical time instead of 20, and the fee reflects it.

Lower wisdom teeth add one more wrinkle. Their roots can sit close to the nerve that gives feeling to your lip and chin. When the panoramic X-ray hints at that, the dentist may order a CBCT scan, a 3D image costing roughly $80 to $200, to map the roots before surgery. Age matters as well: roots finish forming in the early twenties, and fully formed, curved roots are harder to remove. That is one reason removal is often recommended in the late teens when the teeth are clearly going to cause trouble.

How much should I budget for all four?

If all four are erupted, expect $800 to $1,600 for the teeth themselves. That is just four simple extractions at $200 to $400 each, and some offices will do them in one visit.

Most people who need all four out are not that lucky. Lower wisdom teeth are impacted far more often than uppers, so a common quote mixes two surgical lowers with two simpler uppers. Fully surgical cases run $2,000 to $3,000 or more for the teeth alone. Add IV sedation and imaging and many all-four quotes in Ontario land between $2,300 and $4,000.

Ask for the written treatment plan with per-tooth procedure codes before you book. Your insurer needs it anyway, and it stops surprises. Check what is included: follow-up visits and suture removal normally are, while prescriptions for pain medication or antibiotics are billed at the pharmacy, usually $20 to $60 more.

What do sedation options add to the bill?

Local anesthetic, the freezing, is included in the extraction fee. Plenty of people have wisdom teeth out with freezing alone and pay nothing extra for comfort.

Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) adds about $75 to $250 an hour. It wears off within minutes, and most offices let you leave unaccompanied once the dentist confirms you have fully recovered. IV sedation is billed by time, roughly $300 to $900 an hour, and general anaesthesia is its own tier at $1,000 to $2,500 or more per session. Either way you will be groggy for the rest of the day and must have someone take you home.

Sedation is the one part of the estimate that is genuinely a choice. For an hour-long surgery on four impacted teeth, most patients find it money well spent. For a single erupted tooth, freezing usually does the job. Talk it through honestly with the dentist rather than defaulting to the most expensive option.

Should a general dentist or an oral surgeon do it?

General dentists remove wisdom teeth routinely, including many impacted ones, and they bill from the general practitioner fee guide. For a fully erupted tooth or a simple soft tissue impaction, your regular dentist is usually the less expensive route.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons bill from a specialist fee guide, so the same procedure generally costs more, and there is usually a separate consultation fee. What you are buying is a specialist who does difficult extractions all day, in an office set up for IV sedation and surgical complications.

Expect a referral when the tooth is fully buried in bone, when roots sit against the nerve canal, or when a medical condition complicates surgery. A referral is a judgment about the tooth, not about you. If cost is tight, ask both offices for written quotes; the difference can be several hundred dollars per tooth.

Does OHIP cover wisdom teeth removal?

No. OHIP does not pay for dental work done in a dental office, and that includes every routine wisdom tooth extraction in the province. There is no partial coverage and no income-based exception for office procedures.

The hospital exception is narrower than most people hope. OHIP covers certain dental surgery in hospital, such as jaw fracture repair or tumour removal, and in rare cases where a patient's health makes hospital care medically necessary, it can cover the hospital costs, meaning operating-room time and any overnight stay. The Ontario Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery notes that wisdom teeth are not a scheduled OHIP benefit, so even in hospital the surgeon's and anaesthetist's professional fees are still billed to the patient or their insurance unless the Ministry of Health has given prior written approval for those services.

The practical translation: plan to pay through work benefits, a student plan, the Canadian Dental Care Plan, or your own pocket. Your health card will not handle this one.

What if you're a student in Waterloo?

Waterloo's two universities both run mandatory health and dental plans, and many students forget they are already paying for them. University of Waterloo undergraduates have the WUSA plan and graduate students the GSA plan, both administered through Studentcare. Wilfrid Laurier students have a Students' Union plan through Medavie Blue Cross.

The numbers matter here. These plans cap insured dental benefits at about $750 per policy year and cover roughly 50 to 70 percent of fee-guide rates for extractions. Using a clinic in the Studentcare Dental Network takes another 20 to 30 percent off eligible services on the UW plans, though the network reduction is 20 percent for impacted extractions. That works fine for one or two teeth. A four-tooth surgical case blows well past the cap.

The move most students miss: check whether you are still a dependent on a parent's employer plan. Many plans cover full-time students up to age 25. Two plans can be coordinated so the second picks up much of what the first leaves behind, sometimes bringing a $2,500 bill down to a few hundred dollars. Ask the dental office to submit a predetermination to both insurers before you book anything.

Does private insurance or the CDCP cover wisdom teeth removal?

Most employer dental plans classify extractions as basic services and cover 50 to 80 percent after any deductible, subject to the plan's annual maximum. Impacted extractions and sedation sometimes need a predetermination first, so send the treatment plan in before booking rather than after.

The Canadian Dental Care Plan covers extractions, including impacted wisdom teeth, though impacted removals generally need preauthorization before treatment. Your share depends on adjusted family net income. Under $70,000, the plan pays 100 percent of CDCP fees. From $70,000 to $79,999 you pay 40 percent, and from $80,000 to $89,999 you pay 60 percent. Families at $90,000 and above do not qualify.

Before you book with your CDCP card in hand, know how the plan pays: it works from its own fee grid, which sits under the rates most Ontario offices charge, and the office is allowed to bill you that gap on top of any co-payment. A written estimate splitting the plan's share from yours takes the surprise out of checkout day.

Common questions