TimFountain

Our dental coverage at work is absolute BS. I need to have my wisdom teeth removed, under general and a fairly complicated extraction. Our coverage only covers $1500 per year, total, everything per household.
Well, the latest estimate I have from the oral surgeon is in the $5,000 to $6,000 range depending on how long it takes, excluding anesthesia (which should be 100% covered on the medical insurance). So my "co-pay" will be $3,500 to $4,500. What a load of crap.
I really can't afford it, so I'll just have to suffer with throatache, infections and toothache. Oh, and if I do get it done, the rest of the year's dentist visits are all out of my pocket.
This system is very screwed up IMHO.

Just wanted to rant

- Tim

Elvira

Have you shopped around? All my sons had their wisdom teeth extracted under some kind of intermediate anaesthesia - in between a local and a general.

Mind you, it still cost a tidy packet (4 figures).

OT: Do you have kids? The lifetime maximum of $1500 for orthodontics............. what a joke.

g1ant

Been there, done that and the T shirt is on order.

My dentist just fitted me with a nice new crown. $1100 with the insurance picking up half. Except that after a month the insurance (United crapcare) have decided that my dentist capped an "unviable" tooth and have refused to pay their half. Triffic..

Tracym

I second the shop around. I had a impacted wisdom tooth extracted for around $5-600. We used nitrous and local - you're conscious but don't really care - they could have removed my nose and I'd have hardly noticed.

Rete

I'm with you Tracy. However, the OP said "teeth" as opposed to "tooth" and he said it was complicated. So wonder why he has not checked with a general surgeon to see if they would do it in the hospital. I do know of someone who had done that a while ago. Medical insurance picked up the fee for that.

Wonder why anyone is still walking around with 2 or more wisdom teeth as an adult?

Jerseygirl

Seems here if you reach your mid/late teens and the wisdom teeth aren't through they are extracted as a precaution. It is not the same in the UK...they are only removed if they begin to cause problems.

Tegwyn

I think the reason they remove those wisdom teeth here is mostly for cosmetic reasons. They're inclined to push the other teeth forward and give you that cluttered appearance. I however had one of mine out about a year ago as the root was taking aim at bone in the jaw. I kept thinking it was a sort of migraine, but appears it was this nasty tooth. Because it fell under medical, my insurance picked up the agreed 85%. Worth pursuing the MD side of it.

Tracym

Not always done here as a precaution. I still have most of mine - just removed one that was potentially causing a problem.

It might be a good idea to remove them on principle though - without causing pain or being noticed, they can apparently displace the adjoining teeth and cause various problems.

Tracym

I was told it was not cosmetic - they actually can cause bone damage and gum pockets leading to peridontal disease.

I'm still chicken thoough - and the rest of mine aren't in too bad a position.

snowbunny

Well then let's just pull out all of 'em we don't need to chew then!

Bastards make a killing pulling perfectly fine teeth. I have all four of mine thank you very much. Funny, growing up poor meant no orthodontia and no pulling teeth that did not need pulling.

We're heading for the poorhouse with the youngest.... eldest's teeth are like mine, naturally cavity resistant, more or less straight, all in place.

Youngest's teeth are huge (2x the size of her baby teeth, saw them this morning on x-ray) and she has a small palate meaning major major work beginning now (age seven). Just got back from the visit for both kids and told ex-husband to get me the small print on orthodontia coverage (he carries them).

Bob

you live in a city...look for a dental school, they are much cheaper...

only downside is that you usually have to wait a while, and they obviously aren't open outside of school terms.

Tracym

I don't mean wisdom teeth that have come in correctly. I was talking about ones that have not erupted. We don't chew with those.

And I was having some damage from an impacted one. My mother had significant peridontal disease, I don't want to end up the same. So I'm pretty much for preventative removal if it's indicated.

snowbunny

I agree. However, all four of mine have erupted and are not impacted and STILL the dentists try to talk me into having them removed. Of course, when I was a teenager and my family had no money, no one said anything then.

Tracym

I guess it would depend upon how much I trusted the dentist. And WHY he thinks they should be removed. I do seem to remember something about being overcrowding sometimes causing peridontal disease over a long period of time.

And that's the extent of my dental knowledge

Texas Mom

I have three on my wisdom teeth. One was impacting on the tooth beside it and growing in side ways and causing extreme head aches. This was done back in the UK with the dentists knee in my chest as he was pulling it out. Touch wood no probs with the others!

We had our son at the dentists and they told us that he had a tongue thrust and that they would start therapy for it when he is six or seven. OH's sister is a practice manager in the UK and used to look after all of us and I told her about said tongue thrust and she said it was a load of bollocks. Just wondered if anybody had heard of this or if your kids have had it too???? Strikes me as a money making exercise.