How much does a dog tooth extraction cost?
A dental that ends with one or a few teeth out usually costs about $900 per visit, including the cleaning under anesthesia and dental X-rays. That is the middle of the prices we collected and checked. The lowest full price was $600 and the highest was $1,800. If you're reading this with an estimate in your hand, here is what it should include, why yours may differ, and why the final number often waits for the X-rays.
A dental with extractions is the visit where your dog is put under anesthesia, every tooth is X-rayed and cleaned, and the loose or broken teeth are removed. Vets call the cleaning part a dental cleaning under anesthesia. Removing a large tooth with several roots is a surgical extraction, and it costs more per tooth than a small, loose one.
is the middle of 27 prices for a cleaning with extractions in 10 states. They come from general practices, nonprofit dental programs and one university hospital, posted or shared online. The $600 was a quote from Colorado for two teeth out, X-rays and bloodwork included. The $1,800 was a Florida bill for a small dog with two front teeth out; the practice sets the bill more than the tooth count does.
Does my dog really need the tooth out, and does it have to be now?
Usually the tooth comes out because it cannot be saved. Cornell’s veterinary college says teeth need extraction when they are loose, fractured or have lost much of the bone around them. The American Veterinary Dental College explains why: periodontal disease (infection under the gumline) destroys the bone around the roots, and the teeth become loose and painful. Dogs with advanced disease often need many teeth out, the same college says.
On timing: the same college says the disease keeps destroying bone, so the tooth hurts while you wait. We found no source on how fast that happens, so ask your vet how long a wait is safe for your dog.
For some teeth there is an alternative. Colorado State University’s veterinary dentistry service lists root canals, instead of extraction, from $3,090. Your vet can say whether one of your dog’s teeth qualifies.
Your vet cannot fully decide before your dog is asleep. Cornell’s dentistry service says the diagnosis and treatment plan can only be set under anesthesia, with probing and full-mouth X-rays. A second opinion is still normal: an awake exam and a second written estimate, with the plan waiting for the X-rays. So is a referral to a board-certified veterinary dentist when the plan or the quote is large.
Why did my vet quote more, or less, than this?
The practice matters more than the number of teeth. Eight prices people reported from general practices, mostly with one to four teeth out, had a middle of about $775. The 18 prices from nonprofit and fixed-price dental clinics had a higher middle, about $950, but those are mostly posted packages and ranges that run up to full-mouth extractions.
The top end is a different market. Colorado State’s university hospital posts a minimum of $2,678 for a dental with extractions, 3D scan and take-home medication included. One board-certified dental practice near San Francisco posts $3,500 to $6,500 before the consult and bloodwork.
The cleaning itself varies just as much. Banfield’s four locations in our table post $409 to $580 for the cleaning, bloodwork included; its pages do not say whether dental X-rays are in that price, part of the gap to the independents. Independent general practices in Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Florida and Oregon ran a middle of about $750 in prices people shared; low-cost programs came in around $450. In Phoenix alone, owners named independent clinics charging $350 to $500 for a cleaning while a VCA hospital quoted $1,600.
Tooth count moves it less. One tooth out was $850 for a 10-pound dog in Denver. Two teeth were $620 in Colorado and $1,800 in Florida; nine teeth were $1,140 in Aurora, Colorado.
A 2025 CareCredit survey of all 50 states put the average cleaning charge at $388 (state averages $307 to $702), a simple extraction at $78 per tooth and a complex one at $130. Those look like the cleaning charge alone, without anesthesia or X-rays, so they sit below the all-in prices here.
Coverage is a separate question, and our page on what dental coverage actually pays answers it for one insurer’s terms.
What should the estimate include?
A complete estimate lists these items. The ones marked often missing are where a low first quote usually grows.
- The exam or consult before the procedure. Banfield bills an office visit of $72 to $114 at the four locations in our table; Colorado State bills $237. Often missing.
- Bloodwork before anesthesia. Several nonprofit clinics add $130 to $256 for it. Often missing.
- Anesthesia and monitoring, with an IV line, fluids and a breathing tube. The American Animal Hospital Association says every dog under anesthesia should have the tube.
- Full-mouth dental X-rays, not the chest and belly series we price separately. Three low-cost clinics in our table bill them separately, from $35 to about $280. Banfield’s corporate page lists X-rays as a step of the cleaning but says the price may rise if X-rays are needed, so ask your location. Often missing.
- The cleaning and polishing, above and below the gumline.
- The extractions, priced per tooth or by how many come out. This line is only known after the X-rays, so a first quote often shows a range or leaves it blank. Low-cost clinics in our table post $20 to $30 for a small tooth and $50 to $150 for a large one.
- Nerve blocks (numbing injections in the jaw) and pain medication during the procedure. The hospital association calls pain control an essential part of dental work.
- Medication to take home. One Aurora, Colorado quote listed $40 for it. Often missing.
- A recheck visit. Some clinics include it; VCA’s owner page says rechecks will be needed.
If the quote is far below the local market, ask whether it includes X-rays and bloodwork. Clinics with no dental X-ray machine post cleanings at $165 to $485; the hospital association strongly recommends full-mouth X-rays, so we left those prices out.
Why can’t they tell me the price before the X-rays?
The X-rays are where the extraction list gets written. The American Animal Hospital Association cites a study in which 28 percent of normal-looking teeth had important problems on X-ray.
Many clinics put a range in the estimate and call you once the X-rays are read; ask beforehand who will call and what happens if they cannot reach you. Others fix the price by count. Texas Humane Heroes charges $275 for the cleaning, $475 with up to five teeth out and $675 for six or more; the Lehigh Valley Humane Society clinic adds $125 for up to three teeth, rising to $350 for more than ten.
Helping Hands in Orlando splits the work into two visits: $704 for the cleaning and X-rays, then $913 for a second anesthesia to do the extractions, $1,617 in all. You see the X-rays and the full price before agreeing to surgery, but it means two anesthetics; ask your vet whether that is a concern for your dog.
Recovery is short by comparison. The University of California, Davis sends dogs home the same evening. VCA’s owner page says most dogs eat the day of surgery or soon after, on soft food until the gums heal.
Cost by procedure type
Where these numbers come from. 59 prices, collected in September 2026 and re-checked at each source, from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. 35 are posted (one university hospital, four Banfield locations, and 29 prices from 16 clinic and nonprofit pages); 24 are bills and quotes people shared online, mostly from Colorado, Arizona, Georgia and Florida. Every price covers a cleaning under anesthesia; the extraction prices also cover the teeth removed. 20 posted prices state that dental X-rays are included. Three clinics bill X-rays separately ($35 to about $280), and Banfield lists X-rays only on its corporate page. About half of the 59 state that bloodwork is included; the rest bill it separately, usually $85 to $260, or do not say.
| Procedure | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental cleaning only · the base every extraction sits on: anesthesia, X-rays, scraping (scaling) and polishing | $400 | $500 | $2,100 |
| Dental with extractions · a cleaning plus one or a few teeth out in the same visit | $600 | $900 | $1,800 |
Both rows include anesthesia and the cleaning; most include full-mouth dental X-rays and about half state that bloodwork is included. The cleaning high is a university hospital's posted minimum with a 3D scan included. Per-tooth fees are limited data. The low-cost dental clinics that post them charge $20 to $30 for a small, single-root tooth and $50 to $150 for a large or surgical extraction. General practices rarely post per-tooth fees, so we have no typical figure for them.
How we collect these estimates: where each price comes from, and which ones we leave out and why.
Would insurance have covered this?
If your dog's record already notes tartar, gingivitis or gum disease, Embrace counts that as a pre-existing condition. Embrace's terms say periodontal disease and other dental illness stay excluded. Coverage comes back only after those signs have had the recommended treatment and the exclusion has expired, which is worth asking Embrace to explain for your dog. So an Embrace policy bought now will not cover the mouth in front of you.
For a future dental illness, Embrace pays up to $1,000 a year, and calls that a sub-limit of the policy's annual maximum, which is the most it pays for your dog in a year. The illness wait is 14 days, with no separate dental wait, and a problem that appears inside those 14 days is pre-existing too. The cleaning itself is never covered, even when it is done as part of treating dental disease. Only the extractions and the treatment of the disease count, and the exam fee is covered only if you add it to the plan.
The figures below assume a 90 percent plan with a $500 annual deductible not yet met. The $500 cleaning share of a $900 bill is never eligible, and the $400 extraction share sits under the deductible, so this bill alone returns nothing. Once the deductible is met, $360 of the $400 extraction share comes back and you pay $540. Embrace's $1,000 a year for dental illness is why the policy is worth more for the next one than for this bill.
The wider question, answered across every bill we have priced: Is pet insurance worth it for a dog?
Questions owners ask
Why does my dog need anesthesia and X-rays just to pull a tooth?
Because the disease is under the gum, not on the visible part of the tooth. The American Veterinary Dental College says scraping tartar off an awake dog is cosmetic, and that cleaning under the gumline, where the disease is active, is impossible without anesthesia. The American Animal Hospital Association calls anesthesia-free dentistry unacceptable and strongly recommends full-mouth X-rays. During the extraction your dog is under general anesthesia with a local nerve block, a numbing injection in the jaw, to control the pain, according to VCA.
Can the extractions be done in the same visit as the cleaning?
Usually yes, and one anesthesia is the point. A common approach is to take the X-rays first, then call you with the number of teeth before continuing, so ask for a range that covers the worst case. In our table the worst case has limits: a Corvallis, Oregon clinic caps a dog's total at $1,000. Texas Humane Heroes charges $675 for six or more teeth, and a Florida bill for two teeth in a small dog reached $1,800.
How do I keep this from happening again?
Brushing. Cornell's veterinary college says daily brushing with a veterinary toothpaste is the most effective home care, and that 80 to 90 percent of dogs over three already have some gum disease. Chews and water additives that carry the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal have trial data behind them for plaque and tartar, according to the Council. The American Animal Hospital Association recommends a first professional cleaning by age one for small and medium dogs and by age two for larger breeds.
Sources
American Animal Hospital Association, 2019 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats · American Veterinary Dental College, position statement on dental scaling without anesthesia, and pet periodontal disease pages · Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Riney Canine Health Center pages on periodontal disease and home dental care, and the Dentistry and Oral Surgery service page · University of California, Davis, Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service, and VCA Animal Hospitals, oral surgery in dogs (recovery) · Colorado State University Veterinary Health, Dentistry and Oral Surgery pricing page · Veterinary Oral Health Council, accepted products · CareCredit, 2025 Average Procedural Cost Study, dog teeth cleaning and tooth extraction articles · Price data: 132 prices collected from published fee schedules, clinic price pages and owner reports online (57 quotes, 13 paid bills), every one re-verified at its source, 59 used after exclusions, September 2026 · Embrace Pet Insurance policy terms (V6), dental coverage and waiting period pages, checked September 2026