Wisdom Teeth Series: Extractions vs Regular Tooth Extractions

Posted in Dental Insurance , Health Insurance

October 2nd, 2009

If you haven’t had your wisdom teeth removed yet, you may be anxious about the whole thing. A lot of people who have extracted their wisdom teeth describe the experience as painful, and will recount their own personal stories with horror and alarm. It follows, then, that the procedure is more extensive and involved than other trips to the dentist, and that means that it’s going to be more expensive. The reasons for the high price of wisdom teeth extraction versus the removal of regular teeth are fairly obvious.

Difficult Location

One of the biggest reasons for the high cost of extracting wisdom teeth is due to their location: at the back of the mouth. This makes them more difficult to get at, and trickier for the dentist. Another big reason is their size. Wisdom teeth are extra molars, and molars are the biggest teeth in a person’s mouth. Separating them from your mouth is more difficult for the very simple reason that there is more to separate, and they can put up a fight when a dentist is struggling to get them out. Your dentist or oral surgeon may even have to cut the teeth in order to make its removal more easy. Compared to the other, smaller teeth in your mouth, they’re just harder to remove because of their size.

Impacted Teeth

Finally, the most important and common reason behind the higher costs of extracting wisdom teeth is due to the fact that many are impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth – meaning, the tooth is growing into your mouth at an angle that’s destructive to your other teeth, or is growing in an abnormal way – are extremely difficult to remove. Strange angles and proximity to vital nerves make them harder to remove, and that can be a real challenge for even the most skilled of dentists. Because they draw on a dentist’s expertise much more than a normal tooth and take more time, they’re going to cost more to remove.

Luckily, most dental insurance providers cover all or some of the cost of wisdom teeth extraction. To verify whether your provider covers the cost, or requires some sort of copay, be sure to consult with a representative from the insurance agency.