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Getting wisdom teeth removed?

latergator116

latergator116

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 30, 2003
1,689
20
Providence, RI
My friend's wisdom teeth are growing in are starting to impact his teeth. I remember when my wisdom teeth started to grow in and how much it hurt. He doesn't have dental or health insurance and he doesn't have the money to pay for a dentist. Is there a way through the state he can get the procedure done for free or at reduced cost? I feel like there are options out there, I just don't know where to look. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I may be soon in the same position as your friend.
As far as I know so far, you can really only do a monthly payment schedule until you pay it off, kinda like a car. Cuz we all know how much dentists cost!
 
Maybe a dental school, which are probably part of medical schools...or just calling an oral surgeon's office and trying to work something out.

Or if your friend lives close to mexico, some people go there for dental vacations--seriously...go down to enjoy the weather and get their teeth fixed up at bargain prices at the same time. Or possibly go to canada and sneak in to get work done for free as a canadian (actually i dunno if they have free dental care, probably not...but it was a joke..i think someone did that in the michael moore sicko movie)
 
I am sure you can find an oral surgeon to remove each tooth for $500 per tooth. You most likely doesn't have to have them removed all at once.

$500 per tooth is a good deal, although you wouldn't think so considering it takes about one minute to remove it. Basically you are paying $30,000 per hour.

Man did I get into the wrong professional. Just make sure you get some Percocets or Vicodins for pain after. They are commonly prescribed for this type of procedure. Enjoy!
 
Frisco said:
I am sure you can find an oral surgeon to remove each tooth for $500 per tooth. You most likely doesn't have to have them removed all at once.

$500 per tooth is a good deal, although you wouldn't think so considering it takes about one minute to remove it. Basically you are paying $30,000 per hour.

Man did I get into the wrong professional. Just make sure you get some Percocets or Vicodins for pain after. They are commonly prescribed for this type of procedure. Enjoy!
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Bahhh...not necessary...I had mine taken out awake and just took ibuprofen afterward...and they actually had to drill into my jawbone.....(and I am not bragging I am a strong willed person...just that the pain is not as bad as everyone says)
 
swingerofbirch said:
Bahhh...not necessary...I had mine taken out awake and just took ibuprofen afterward...and they actually had to drill into my jawbone.....(and I am not bragging I am a strong willed person...just that the pain is not as bad as everyone says)
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I think it sometimes depends on the skill of the oral surgeon. I had one taken out under nitrous oxide and ibuprofen was all I really needed. Later, with a different surgeon, the next impacted wisdom tooth seemed to come out easily enough but within a few hours I had developed big bright purple colored bruise that ran down one side of my body, from my ear to my knee. I looked (and felt) like someone had beat me with a baseball bat. By the next day my jaw puffed out to grapefruit size and in general it hurt like hell for the next three days.
 
swingerofbirch said:
Bahhh...not necessary...I had mine taken out awake and just took ibuprofen afterward...and they actually had to drill into my jawbone.....(and I am not bragging I am a strong willed person...just that the pain is not as bad as everyone says)
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It depends on how impacted they are. Mine were bad enough that I had all four removed under a general anesthetic. I bled for two days before they finally clotted properly.

I believe I had them done on a Thursday morning and was back at work Monday morning.

They gave me oxycodone, which I was careful to take sparingly.
 
Had all of mine out last summer. Really wasn't that bad but I had 5 days of vicodin afterward. The oral surgeon quoted $400/tooth, which would certainly be steep for someone without insurance.

It was a world of difference afterward, however. The right side of my face had been swelling up and keeping my jaw from opening all the way periodically for two months beforehand, and I've been beautifully free of that since.
 
Going to a dental school is a good suggestion, they have to have real people to work on for practice and it's done at a discounted price. He could also call up local charity organizations that helps people without health insurance and ask who they use or refer to for dental work. Then call that provider and try to work something out at a discounted rate or monthly payment plan.

The worst thing about getting mine pulled was waking up at home in bed to find out that while I was out my mom and sisters had packed ice in pantyhose, wrapped it around my head and then taken pictures of me like that, drool and all. :eek: Quite the humbling experience. I don't remember the pain being bad at all, but I think mine was a pretty routine case with no complications.
 
mscriv said:
Going to a dental school is a good suggestion, they have to have real people to work on for practice and it's done at a discounted price. He could also call up local charity organizations that helps people without health insurance and ask who they use or refer to for dental work. Then call that provider and try to work something out at a discounted rate or monthly payment plan.

The worst thing about getting mine pulled was waking up at home in bed to find out that while I was out my mom and sisters had packed ice in pantyhose, wrapped it around my head and then taken pictures of me like that, drool and all. :eek: Quite the humbling experience. I don't remember the pain being bad at all, but I think mine was a pretty routine case with no complications.
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Now that's just not nice! *though pretty funny* lol.
My wisdom teeth removal was no big deal - all 4 at once with I think some vicodin afterwards which I took for like 1 day. My funny story though was waking up with my face completely numb, eating a milkshake and then walking around ALL DAY with dried milkshake all over my face and NOBODY saying anything - even friends that had come to visit me!

Good luck to your friend OP. Sounds like a dental school is definitely the way to go - or try something like a "chain" of dentists, i.e., Western Dental. I believe they specialize in those without dental insurance and work out payment plans and stuff.
 
Also to the OP's friend--being diligent with ice RIGHT AWAY is very helpful. It seems to me that makes a big difference. And also, putting on a wet black tea bag instead of gauze when you get home really helps slow the bleeding fast. I think I was told the tannins in it are vasoconstrictors.
 
I'm supposed to get mine removed in the summer. I really don't see how it is necessary because they aren't even hurting me. I think the dentists just say that they need to go to make some extra cash. I have a dental plan though so I only pay a very little amount.
 
tallguy said:
I'm supposed to get mine removed in the summer. I really don't see how it is necessary because they aren't even hurting me. I think the dentists just say that they need to go to make some extra cash. I have a dental plan though so I only pay a very little amount.
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arent bothering you yet you mean

they will at some point
 
I paid about $2800 to have all four removed, but that also included full anesthesia, which I highly suggest. You can save some money by going with a local anesthesia, and possibly a dental school. I have heard of some people having all four done for as cheap as $200 a tooth.

I went in to the dentist at about 9AM, they put me under, I woke back up about 9:50 minus four teeth. The pain wasn't all that bad afterwards, the worst part was actually from having my jaw opened too wide for an extended period. Bleeding is probably the biggest issue for the first few days, but after you get over that it is pretty smooth sailing. The holes in your gums will last about a month, and you're going to have to rinse them out all the time.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone... I forgot about this thread! He just signed up for dental coverage a few days ago, but it won't start covering him until July, so hopefully he can wait it out instead of paying the money out of pocket for the teeth to be removed.
 
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