How Much Does Laser Therapy for Toenail Fungus Cost in Toronto?

Laser therapy is one of the best options for treating toenail fungus — but how much does it cost? Honestly, that’s a tricky question and it can be quite difficult to answer.

Laser therapy is a service and like every service, it’s hard to affix a fixed price without prior consultation. We can only provide a price range that is also constantly changing due to many factors.

Toenail fungus is extremely annoying and can be embarrassing. This is especially true for people who care about the appearance of their toes.

For some people, it’s not about aesthetics. Nobody wants to have to deal with fungus forever. It’s painful and can cause permanent damage to your toes.

There are multiple treatment options to get rid of fungus infection on your toenail. However, for this blog, we’ll only be discussing laser therapy. Today, it is the most effective solution to toenail fungus.

Since it is highly effective, it’s easy to wrongly assume the cost of laser therapy for toenails is expensive. This is one of the stereotypes we’ll be addressing in this post. Keep reading for a comprehensive breakdown of the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus.

What is Toenail Fungus?

Just as the name implies, toenail fungus is a fungus infection that affects the toenails of an individual. This infection usually causes the toenails to thicken, turn yellowish and become unsightly. In some cases, it causes the toenails to become brittle and crumbly.

The toenail fungus infection has several stages. It generally begins with a slight discolouration of the tip of the toenails to yellow. As it progresses, the nails take on a darker colouration and begin to harden. At the last stage, the nails begin to crumble slowly from the edges until they eventually crumble completely.

The major symptoms of toenail fungus infection include:

• Discolouration of the nails
• Hardening of the nails
• Irregular toenail shape
• Brittle, crumbling nails
• Pain in the tips of the infected nails
• Foul odour coming from the nails

Several things can lead to toenail fungus infection. This can include:

• Abnormal skin PH level
• Poor foot hygiene
• Injury to the toenails or the foot
• Exposure to fungus-infected items
• Moisture getting beneath the nail

All of these factors make the toenails a suitable environment for fungus to thrive. Therefore, when the fungus finds its way to the toenails, it finds the place comfortable and starts growing there.

Related Article: Laser Nail Fungus Treatment

Cost of Laser Therapy for Toenail Fungus

Generally, people tend to imagine any therapy involving the use of lasers is expensive. Sure, there are laser skin care therapies with prices ranging in hundreds to thousands of dollars.

However, the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus pretty much hovers around hundreds of dollars. Averagely, you can expect to spend around $800 on effective laser treatments for toenail fungus.

You may also spend less or more depending on a variety of factors. Like we mentioned at the beginning of this article, these factors greatly influence the cost of services like laser therapy.

Some of these factors are variable costs that add up to become the overall cost of the treatment. Conversely, some are just ordinary market factors that determine the prices of skin care services.

Seeing an expert is the best option for you if your toenail fungus keeps getting worse. You’ll know this when it becomes painful and is giving off a bad odour. At this stage, the best treatment is laser therapy or in severe cases, surgery.

For laser therapy, best prepare to spend at least $1000. The cost may end up being lower than that amount or even higher. You can also check with different facilities to compare prices and see what suits your budget best.

While medical professionals recognize the infection as a medical condition, most insurance companies do not. As such, your health insurance may not cover the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus. You’ll need to discuss this with your health insurance provider.

Factors that Determine the Cost of Laser Therapy for Toenail Fungus

We’ll try to explain them in detail. This way, you’ll be able to use them to determine the average price for your laser treatment sessions.

Number of nails that require treatment

The cost to treat toenail fungus with laser therapy will go up if you have to treat multiple toenails.

The higher the number of toenails with the fungus infection, the more the amount of resources that go into the treatment.

For instance, the laser equipment used for the treatment will require more power. There’s a type of laser that works with CO2. If you are getting treatment on multiple nails, the medical spa will have to arrange for more CO2. Typically, this will reflect in the cost of treatment.

Furthermore, the more toes that need treatment, the more time it will take for the medical aesthetician to complete the treatment. Hourly cost is one of the variable costs that constitute the overall cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus in Canada.

How severe the infections are

The severity of the fungus infection on the toenail affects the cost of laser therapy as much as any other factor. The severity of the infection implies how bad the fungus infection is.

In some cases, it is very mild while in other cases, it can be terrible and may require special treatment. Toenail fungus infection is no joke and it can quickly get worse.

To put things in perspective, fungus infection is capable of destroying your toenails if you don’t act on it quickly. Recently, Rachael Manion, the executive director of CSPA (Canadian Skin Patient Alliance) stated the severity of toenail fungus infection.

In the statement, she estimated that one in every five Canadians lives with toenail fungus infection. However, the most important point to remember is that toenail fungus can easily get out of hand.

For a severe infection, more time, resources, care and skill will be needed to treat it. Another major talking point is that the severity of the infection can differ from toe to toe.

You can have a toe filled with a fungus infection and another one with only a slight discolouration. As you may have guessed, treatment for the completely covered toe will cost you more than the other toe with a mild infection.

Type of nail fungus

There are different types of fungus that affect the toenails. These different types have varying effects on the toenails and may require special treatment to get rid of them.

To better understand how these types of fungus infections drive the cost of treatment, we’ll discuss some of them below.

Yeast Infection

This is more popular in people with genetic disorders but it rarely ever occurs. This type of infection occurs as a result of the actions of the yeast Candida Albicans.

It causes toenail infection when it affects the toenails. However, it can also affect other parts of the body such as the scalp, torso, and mouth.

White Islands

This type of fungus infection is more popular but not as dangerous as the other types. It affects both the toenails and the fingernails.

This superficial fungus often goes to the nail bed and develops cloudy “white islands” under the nails. Even though it’s not very dangerous, it’s still not desirable to contact White Islands.

Mould and Dermatophyte infection

Essentially, three species of fungus affect the toenail. We already mentioned yeast. The other two are mould and dermatophyte species.

The mould infection generally causes the toenail to change colouration to dull brown. But the dermatophyte is the more popular one that turns the nail yellowish.

The best method of treatment for all these types of fungus differs. Laser therapy is sufficient to get rid of any type of toenail fungus infection. However, the approach may be different for each case.

This implies the approach to the laser treatment for a yeast-induced infection will be different from a mould-induced infection. Consequently, you can expect the cost of laser therapy for each infection to differ.

The type of facility providing the treatment

Majorly, the average price of laser therapy for toenail fungus is a function of your care provider. To explain it simply, if you go to an expensive therapist or clinic, you’ll pay a lot of money.

On the other hand, if you visit a low-cost medical spa or clinic, you’ll pay the average market price. However, you can often count on more expensive clinics to deliver high-quality service.

More expensive clinics are often so because they use high-quality tools, and products. They also employ skilled medical aestheticians and therapists who can provide quality and timely services. Not to forget their state-of-the-art facilities that include everything you need to receive quality laser therapy treatments.

On the other hand, low-cost facilities do not provide some of the luxuries you’ll get to enjoy with expensive facilities. For example, they may make use of cheap products and tools.

They may employ only a few skilled practitioners. So, there may not be enough workers to attend to clients. And lastly, the building and available facilities may not be state of art or well equipped.

Patient factors

Your health and lifestyle can affect the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus. This has to do with how your body will respond to laser therapy. Different patients show different responses to laser treatment regimens. This can be due to any of the following factors.

Family History

Some patients have genes that do not cope well with fungus infections. Other patients are genetically prone to contracting fungus infections. If you fall in any of the two categories, you’ll need more laser therapy sessions to get rid of the fungus infection.

Immune system

Your immune system plays a major part in your ability to fight off any disease or infection. A strong immune system will be able to fight off or prevent the spread of infection.

However, if your immune system can’t keep up, you’ll need more laser therapy sessions for the toenail fungus infection. More treatment sessions will cost more money.

Activities of the patient

Various activities can cause a fungus infection to develop and spread. These are often activities that involve wearing tight shoes.

For example: runners, and athletes participating in stop-start sports such as soccer, football and basketball have to deal with toenail fungus. All these activities contribute to the development and spread of toenail fungus. If the infection gets worse, you’ll have to spend more on laser therapy treatments.

Other factors

These are variable factors that can increase how much you have to pay for laser therapy for toenail fungus. These factors may not have a direct influence, however, their indirect effects are also often significant.

For example, the general cost of skincare procedures and products in your city of residence is a factor. Also, your overall wellness can determine the cost of your laser therapy regimen.

Diabetics are prone to fungus infections. So if you’re a type 2 diabetic, you’re more likely to develop a toenail fungus infection. The more frequent the infection occurs, the more it will cost you.

All these factors contribute immensely to the total cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus. However, the cost ultimately depends on who’s charging you for the service. Highly trained medical aestheticians tend to charge more for laser therapy sessions.

Is the Cost of Laser Therapy for Toenail Fungus Worth it?

For starters, there are several types of laser devices for administering laser therapy. All these devices show varying degrees of efficacy according to reports and reviews from users.

Furthermore, these devices have due approval from the proper departments in the Canadian Ministry of Health. But, that does not imply they all work with the same level of efficacy.

Laser therapy devices work by temporarily reducing the discolouration in the infected nails.

Immediately after the therapy, patients will start to notice some temporary clarity on their toenails. After a while, it’ll return to the colour before the procedure. This will then start to clear off gradually.

The long-lasting curing is more gradual and may take weeks or even months. Studies indicate that patients notice a 61% cure rate within 16 weeks of the therapy. The study also shows a 91% cure rate within 180 days after the procedure. So, after laser therapy, it’s only a matter of time before the fungus infection disappears.

To answer the question “is the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus worth it?” We’ll say yes, it is very well worth it. It shows a higher cure rate than all the other treatment options.

It does better than the 44% cure rate of topical medication and the 40% cure rate of oral medication. And, it has a lesser risk of side effects in comparison with other available treatment options.

Related Article: How to Treat Nail Fungus Effectively

Conclusion

Given that there are so many factors that determine the cost of laser therapy for toenail fungus, it’s difficult to determine the exact price. The best way to get an exact price is to get a quote from a medical aesthetician after they examine the situation.

However, you can start preparing for a price range with the information available above. This should be sufficient to help you estimate the cost with more accuracy.

Or you can get a factual price estimate from a highly trained medical aesthetician. Here at Canada MedLaser Clinics, we are home to highly trained medical aestheticians who can diagnose and provide an effective treatment plan for you. Book an appointment with us today.