Oral Surgeon or Dentist? One St. Louis Office: $299 a Tooth
Revised October 23, 2026
Is it better to have a tooth pulled by a dentist or an oral surgeon?
Neither is automatically better; the two overlap. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons says that for more complicated procedures such as removing wisdom teeth and placing dental implants, a patient should visit an oral surgeon, who completes at least four years of a hospital-based residency after dental school. The surgical and anesthesia scope of oral surgeons is beyond that of dentists.
Keep reading ↓$299 a tooth. That’s what Aspen Dental says its patients pay on average to have a wisdom tooth removed at its South City office on Chippewa Street, with a price range of $184 to $488. Then comes the line in small type under the price: “Please note, we do not accept Medicaid.” And the state’s own MO HealthNet dental page says coverage for adults is limited, built around trauma to the mouth, jaw and teeth.
Read those three facts with your tongue pressed against the sore spot in the back of your mouth, where the gum has gone tight and hot, and you understand why people put this off. A dentist slides a printed referral slip across the counter. It has a name you’ve never heard and no price on it. You fold it in half, stuff it in your coat pocket, and try to chew on the other side for a few more weeks.
Here’s the thing almost nobody tells you before that first phone call, and it’s worth sending to anyone holding one of those slips. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons warns that whether insurance covers wisdom teeth removal may be irrelevant if the policy requires a referral the patient did not have. The order you do things in can cost more than the tooth.
And here’s the St. Louis twist that catches implant patients. Saint Louis University’s Dental Specialties clinic offers implants through its periodontics program, and SLU says its periodontic charges are generally 50 to 60 percent less than private practices in the St. Louis area. But ask it to pull the tooth first and the answer is a flat no: it doesn’t do extractions or remove wisdom teeth, and it sends you to an oral surgeon. Same mouth, two buildings, two bills. Plan both before the first one is booked. If you don’t have a surgeon yet, SLU points patients to the Greater St. Louis Dental Society referral line, 314-569-0444.
So pull the slip back out of your pocket and do it in this order today. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask whether oral surgery needs a referral on file. Call the surgeon’s office and ask the same. Then ask that office for a written treatment plan, with sedation and imaging on it, before you agree to a date. Everything below explains why.
Is it better to have a tooth pulled by a dentist or an oral surgeon?
Neither is automatically better; the two overlap. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons says that for more complicated procedures such as removing wisdom teeth and placing dental implants, a patient should visit an oral surgeon, who completes at least four years of a hospital-based residency after dental school. The surgical and anesthesia scope of oral surgeons is beyond that of dentists.
That’s the honest shape of it. Your dentist already has your x-rays, knows your mouth and handles a lot of what lives in the overlap. The referral comes when the job stops being maintenance and repair. AAOMS puts it in one line: when patients need attention beyond simple maintenance and repair, it may be time to visit an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
So when the slip lands in your hand, ask one question before you leave the chair: what did you see on the film that made this a referral? The answer takes half a minute. It turns a name on a piece of paper into a reason, and you walk into the second office knowing what you’re there for. For the general side of the map, see this guide to finding quality dental services in your area.
What can an oral surgeon do that a dentist can’t?
Put you under and operate. AAOMS says oral and maxillofacial surgeons are the only dental specialists recognized by the American Dental Association who are surgically trained in a hospital-based residency program for a minimum of four years. During those four to six years, residents evaluate patients for anesthesia, deliver the anesthetic and monitor patients after it, on the medical anesthesiology service. That’s the training behind the quiet room, the IV in the back of your hand and the count backward from ten.
The work that follows from it is wider than wisdom teeth. AAOMS lists wisdom teeth management, facial injury and trauma surgery, dental implant surgery, TMJ and facial pain, extractions, corrective jaw surgery, cleft lip and palate surgery, and oral, head and neck pathology among what its surgeons do. Most people meet one for a single impacted tooth and never learn the rest.
Can I go straight to an oral surgeon?
Sometimes, but check two rulebooks first. AAOMS says some oral and maxillofacial surgeons require referrals for all patients, from a dentist or a physician, with exceptions some offices make for emergencies. And while an oral surgeon may not require a referral for a consultation, many insurance policies do not allow a patient to simply book an appointment with a specialist. Medical and dental policies may refuse to cover treatment if their procedures aren’t followed.
That’s the trap from the top of this page, and the fix is two phone calls. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask whether oral surgery needs a referral on file. Then call the surgeon’s office and ask the same thing. If either says yes, AAOMS says to talk with your dentist or physician to get the referral before you schedule. It’s ten minutes on hold, and it’s the cheapest ten minutes in this whole process.
What is the average cost of an oral surgeon?
There’s no single number worth trusting, and a St. Louis office that posts its price says so itself. Aspen Dental on Chippewa Street lists $299 a tooth on average for wisdom tooth removal, with a range of $184 to $488. Its own fine print calls that average a per-tooth approximation based on 2026 internal data that may not reflect the actual cost you will encounter. It names what moves the bill: how many teeth need to be removed, whether removal is surgical or non-surgical, the office location and the treatment plan.
Notice what that list doesn’t settle. Sedation, imaging and the consultation are where people get surprised, because they’re easy to leave out of a number you hear over the phone. Anesthesia deserves its own conversation; our guide to what to ask about anesthesia before surgery covers who gives it and what to ask.
The only number worth budgeting against is the written treatment plan the office hands you after the x-ray, with every line on it. Ask for it before you pick a date. If an office won’t put it on paper, keep the slip in your pocket and call the next one.
Walk into the consultation carrying more than you think you need, because the plan is only as good as what the surgeon knows. Bring a list of every medication you take, including supplements and anything that thins your blood. Bring both insurance cards if you have dental and medical coverage, your dentist’s name and number, and any x-rays already taken, or ask your dentist to send them ahead. A plan built on half your history gets rewritten later, and rewrites are where the second bill comes from.
Does insurance cover oral surgery?
Often in part, and the paperwork decides how much. Aspen Dental says it accepts most insurance plans. AAOMS warns that medical and dental insurance policies may refuse to cover treatment costs if their procedures are not followed correctly, which is why the referral question comes first. And if you’re an adult on MO HealthNet, the state’s dental page describes adult coverage as limited and tied to trauma to the mouth, jaw, teeth or nearby sites, and the Chippewa Street office doesn’t take Medicaid at all. Call MO HealthNet or your plan and ask what your coverage includes before you book.
When you call any insurer, ask three things and write down who answered: is the surgeon in network, is the person giving anesthesia in network, and will the office send a pre-treatment estimate before the procedure? If coverage itself is the problem, start with how to get health insurance in Missouri.
Soft-food days are coming. Save Golden Chicken for the day chewing feels good again.
How do I get my wisdom teeth removed if I can’t afford it?
Say the money part out loud at the front desk, before the appointment, not after. The posted options at the one St. Louis office with a price are plain: for patients without coverage, Aspen Dental says financing is available through third-party lenders, and it offers the Aspen Dental Savings Plan, which it says is not insurance. Read the terms before you sign either.
It’s an uncomfortable sentence to say to a stranger behind a glass window: I can’t pay this all at once. Say it anyway, and say it early. Ask whether the office offers its own payment plan, whether it can split the work into more than one visit, and whether any line on the treatment plan is optional. Front desks hear that question all day. The worst answer is no, and then you’re exactly where you started, with a written plan in hand to take somewhere else.
There are lower-cost doors too, and we keep them in one place: our roundup of free and low-cost dental care in St. Louis covers sliding-scale clinics and how to get in. If any part of your care runs through a hospital, read how hospital billing and charity care works before the bill arrives.
What not to do is wait it out with the tooth that throbs every time you lie down. If the pain is building, call the dentist who wrote the referral and say so. And if the tooth can still be saved rather than pulled, that’s a different specialist; here is what an endodontist does and when you need one.
The four questions to ask before you book
Shortlist two or three offices and ask each one the same questions on the phone. You’re not haggling. You’re hearing how each office runs, and the differences tell you more than any quoted figure.
- Do I need a referral on file, from you or from my insurance, before the consultation?
- Who gives the sedation, and what is that person’s credential?
- Will you put the full treatment plan in writing, with sedation and imaging on it, before I schedule?
- Who do I call after hours if something goes wrong, and does that reach a person?
A good answer sounds specific and a little boring. It names a credential and a phone number. Confidence without detail is the thing to watch for, and that holds whether you’re booking a surgeon or choosing an orthodontist for a teenager.
Holding a referral slip? Make the two calls today. Ask your insurer and the surgeon’s office whether a referral must be on file, then browse oral surgeons across the metro on St Louis Near Me Directory and ask two or three for a written treatment plan before you pick a date.
If you run an oral surgery practice, list it with us so patients comparing written treatment plans become your customers.
Frequently asked questions
Why would you go to an oral surgeon?
Because the job has moved past maintenance and repair. AAOMS says complicated procedures such as removing wisdom teeth and placing dental implants belong with an oral surgeon, whose work also covers facial injury, TMJ and facial pain, corrective jaw surgery and oral pathology. Sedation is a big reason too, since anesthesia is part of the surgeon’s hospital training.
Is an oral surgeon higher than a dentist?
An oral surgeon is a dentist first. AAOMS says an oral surgeon is a dental specialist who completes at least four years of a hospital-based residency after dental school, and that the surgical and anesthesia scope of oral surgeons is beyond that of dentists. The two still overlap, so many routine jobs stay with your dentist.
How much is it out of pocket to get a wisdom tooth pulled?
At Aspen Dental’s Chippewa Street office in St. Louis, patients pay $299 per tooth on average, with a range of $184 to $488. The office says the total depends on how many teeth come out, whether removal is surgical and the treatment plan. Ask for the written plan, with sedation and imaging on it, before you book.
Will dental insurance cover wisdom teeth removal?
Often in part, but follow your plan’s rules first. AAOMS warns that whether insurance covers wisdom teeth removal may be irrelevant if the policy requires a referral the patient did not have. Call your insurer, ask whether a referral must be on file, and ask the office to send a pre-treatment estimate.
Can I go straight to an oral surgeon?
Sometimes. AAOMS says some oral surgeons require referrals for all patients, and many insurance policies do not allow a patient to simply book an appointment with a specialist. Call your insurer and the surgeon’s office before you schedule.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.