Wisdom teeth removal - no dental insurance

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who "doesn't have room" for his wisdom teeth. I have read opinions for and against removal, and I've leaned towards against because I imagine it's expensive to pay out of pocket.

1) what is the range of what it will cost with no insurance?
2) If we have BCBS HMO that doesn't have out of network coverage, is it possible to find an in network surgeon to do wisdom teeth removal and get coverage through regular health insurance?

Really appreciate any information you can share with me!

[Anonymous]

Are they impacted or not?

They might not have to come out.

[Anonymous]

My son’s didn’t come out because they weren’t impacted, but my daughter’s did.

[Anonymous]

^but it was dental insurance that covered it, not regular.

[Anonymous]

Would a dental school remove wisdom teeth? My only other thought would be to call some oral surgeons for their no insurance price.

[Anonymous]

I would go with another option: sign up for dental insurance for next year. My dental insurance paid so I don't know if health would pay anything. I imagine not though for an elective procedure.

I had mine removed, but DH didn't. I'm a petite person and he's really big, so maybe his jaw and mouth had room? His have never emerged and he's almost 40. He gets extra xrays from the dentist to make sure they aren't infected (I guess that's common?) every couple of years. I'm not thrilled that my inlaws chose not to pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they impacted or not?

They might not have to come out.

This is important. If they're impacted in more surgical if not then its more like a tooth pull. Cost will also vary based on that. But I second the recommendation to get dental insurance just for the year - see if you have a QLE that will let you get it for less than a year.

[Anonymous]

I would just wait till the next time you are out of the country and have it done then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just wait till the next time you are out of the country and have it done then.

Like as part of a vacation?! I was 16 when I had mine done and was drugged out of my mind afterwards. I made snow angels on the rug in my parents' entry way. Then I just laid in bed with my cheeks packed with gauze and slept. It was super painful for me too. 2 days later I still looked like a chipmunk. I can't imagine wasting a vacation doing that. Plus, plane tickets and hotels would make it the same price as it is in the US. Mine was $500 after insurance.

[Anonymous]

Why do they have to come out?

Only in the US do they push this bs.

[Anonymous]

It's never covered under insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's never covered under insurance.

I assume you mean health insurance. Because it’s definitely covered under dental insurance.

[Anonymous]

Was covered under my kids bcbs ppo. We saw Dr Poshni, who was great.

[Anonymous]

My medical insurance paid for mine. Use an oral surgeon.

[Anonymous]

My medical paid for mine too using an oral surgeon, i had all 4 impacted teeth (never broke surface)out at once under anesthesia. The anesthesiologist came to see in in the recovery room pale and said "I never saw anything like that before he took a mallet and chisel and broke them up to get them out!"

DH was told he didn't need them out when he was young. We have paid tens of thousands for problems stemming from crowding over the decades.