Wisdom teeth removal can be expensive for many patients. On top of this many people do not have dental insurance, with many people also not having health insurance. Even if you have both dental insurance and medical (health) insurance many of the costs associated with surgery to remove wisdom teeth will not be covered and you will be responsible for the bill. X-rays and anesthesia can also add to the cost of the surgery.
The actual costs of wisdom teeth extraction surgery vary and depend on numerous different factors. I have previously discussed this over at http://www.teethremoval.com/wisdom_teeth_extraction_cost.html. In this post I talk about how an impacted wisdom tooth can cost between $100 to $878 to be removed. Some of this cost depends on the location you live in and the skills and experience of the surgeon. In addition, the cost depends on the type of impaction you have.
The cost of extraction can increase depending on the type of anesthesia you have done and if you have a cone beam CT scan performed in addition to an x-ray. For many young patients these costs can be significant. In order to reduce costs, you could attempt to research online different surgeons in your community and try giving them a phone call or scheduling a consultation. You could also try to get the surgery done at a college or university where dental students that are training could use your case to attempt to learn. Of course having an inexperienced dentist or surgeon extracting your wisdom tooth may be more risky and could even be more costly in the end if complications occur after surgery.
Other options to attempt to save money include some sort of a payment plan or credit card. You could also attempt to haggle with your doctor as I discussed in this post Haggling With Doctors: Lower the Cost of Your Medical Bills but this may not go over particularly well.
If you are going to have a dentist or oral surgeon remove your wisdom teeth and do not have either dental insurance or a dental plan you should explore your options. There are also discount dental plans available. For example, the Aetna Dental Access plan which can allow you to save hundreds and even potentially thousands of dollars on dental bills. It is important to note that the Aetna Dental Access plan is not insurance but is a plan that allows you to save some money each time you visit a dentist. This can save you some money on x-rays and extractions.
Of course I don’t think you should skimp on costs for wisdom teeth removal due to potential problems that could arise. I have even advocated for in this post Potential Alternatives to the Current Medico-Legal System in the United States bringing in a lot of cash and paying your surgeon more than he/she charges as a way to motivate them and make sure you receive quality care that is pain free.
I think Dental Plans make so much more sense that traditional dental insurance these days. If you don’t wish to give up on the insurance, you can sometimes even use dental plans along with your dental insurance for even more savings on your dental care. Definitely worth looking at.