Cost of oral surgery

[wendow]

My dd11 needs 8 teeth removed prior to braces. Four are baby and the other four are the ones behind the baby teeth which are still under the gums. We have to go to an oral surgery and they will use IV sedation. We don't have a consult for a few weeks so just trying to plan so I can balance the cost with my Disney plans

Can anyone share about what your oral surgery costs have been?

 

[bdcp]

My dd11 needs 8 teeth removed prior to braces. Four are baby and the other four are the ones behind the baby teeth which are still under the gums. We have to go to an oral surgery and they will use IV sedation. We don't have a consult for a few weeks so just trying to plan so I can balance the cost with my Disney plans

Can anyone share about what your oral surgery costs have been?

No idea about costs, but between the ages of about 8-12 (1968-1972) I had 16 teeth pulled or cut out in order to make room and so I could get braces. 4 were permanent teeth and this was before dental insurance. I also had IV sedation for the 4 permanent and 2 of the baby teeth that were removed at one time. The rest were pulled using novacaine. Amazingly I'm not afraid of the dentist. Anyway, the only way you will know the cost is by doing the consult as the price varies according to location.

 

[lanejudy]

Depending on the reasoning for the surgery and rules of your coverage, you might find her oral surgery can be covered under your medical insurance.

Best of luck to your DD!

 

[mousestruck]

When my son got his 4 wisdom teeth removed, it was covered almost entirely by our medical insurance. The doctor's office checked coverage offered by our dental and medical plans, and our medical plan was better!

 

[wendow]

Thank you all. Our medical insurance is awful since Obamacare was put into place so I'm not expecting any help there. In fact, we have to pay $15,000 OOP before they pay a single penny

I also had many teeth extracted (mix of baby & permanent) before my braces. Mine (other than wisdom teeth) were all done under laughing gas and novacaine. It was such a terrible experience and I also am amazed I am not afraid of the dentist. I am thankful my dd can have hers done under IV sedation. Just worried about the cost!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would get a 2nd opinion. I'm not saying he/she is wrong but personally I'd feel better about the whole thing.
Do you have a flexible spending account through your employer? At least then you don't owe fed income taxes on the $ spend through the account. Dh & I both do the max ($2500 each) while both kids are in braces. We don't have enough medical bills OOP to be able to itemize them on our 1040 so this is the next best thing.

FWIW, I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled and my medical & dental covered it. IIRC, between the 2 policies, they overpaid my surgeon and I got a $400 check from him a few months later. Of course this was 20 yrs ago. Now they'd find a way out of that.

 

[wendow]

We do have an HSA and we can pay some of it out of that but we only have about $1000 in there right now. We just rarely go to doctors (thankfully, we've been very healthy) so we only use our HSA for dental visits. We knew she would be in braces early 2015 so we planned to increase the amount for 2015. We didn't anticipate oral surgery this year. You cannot change your contribution amount mid-year, right?

As far as the treatment plan, I feel very good about it. This is the same ortho who took care of my older dd and her teeth turned out beautiful. He is following essentially the exact treatment plan done in my mouth when I was a pre-teen. My younger dd has big teeth and a little mouth. There is simply no other way around it other than getting some teeth out. I am thankful it is only 4 permanent teeth that have to go. I was afraid it might would be more.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

Both of my kids are having 4 teeth removed tomorrow. General anasethia will be used. The paper work I have in front of me says the cost is $1578 per child. Luckily we have insurance.
We live in the general Seattle area. I don't know how the price is vs other regions of the US

 

[wendow]

Both of my kids are having 4 teeth removed tomorrow. General anasethia will be used. The paper work I have in front of me says the cost is $1578 per child. Luckily we have insurance.
We live in the general Seattle area. I don't know how the price is vs other regions of the US

Thank you! That is helpful to me just to have a general idea.

Best wishes to your dc tomorrow. Give them loads of hugs and ice cream after

 

[newdeal]

my guess would be more like $2500. Up here in canada an extraction from the surgeon runs at least $200 a tooth, IV sedation goes by time but likely $500 for the sedation at least

 

[photos_101]

We just had a baby tooth removed and implant done on my ds. He goes back in sept for the crown. Total for whole procedure was $3500. Our delta dental did not pay for implants. We have had several other extractions of baby teeth and some surgeries to bring the adult teeth down into place. It has all been so expensive. We have paid out of pocket abut $10,000 over the whole course of the braces process. Ins. Picked up their limit which I guess helped but it is expensive. He finally had the braces removed last month after 2 yrs and now has perfect teeth! Good luck!! It will be worth it in the end.

 

[Pembo]

My dd is getting 4 perm. teeth pulled with laughing gas sedation in two visits. Cost is around $600. Her ortho is in with 2 dentists and one of them does extractions.

If you can, call around I found varying prices from different offices.

 

[mom2rb]

My twins are getting their Wisdom teeth pulled Thursday, at the dentist's office. They bring in an Oral Surgeon and have Twilight sedation. The Orthodontist recommended one doctor and the dentist recommended another. The dentist's office called me and gave me a price of $640 per kid after insurance. The full price is $1980. The other office would be full anesthesia and they wouldn't give me a price at all. They just said that they would tell me later. I am not a big fan of surprise bills so I went with the devil you know.

 

[lanejudy]

We do have an HSA and we can pay some of it out of that but we only have about $1000 in there right now. ... We didn't anticipate oral surgery this year. You cannot change your contribution amount mid-year, right? ...

If it is an HSA -- Health Savings Account -- you should be able to adjust your contribution amount at any point during the year if you discover you need it, up to the maximum. This account balance will carry forward if you have unspent funds remaining at the end of the year.

If it is an FSA -- Flexible Health Care Spending Account -- I believe you are locked in at the amount set during open enrollment. This account is a use-it-or-lose-it and must be spent for that year.

Check with your employer's benefits department on how to change your HSA contribution. Good luck!

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We do have an HSA and we can pay some of it out of that but we only have about $1000 in there right now. We just rarely go to doctors (thankfully, we've been very healthy) so we only use our HSA for dental visits. We knew she would be in braces early 2015 so we planned to increase the amount for 2015. We didn't anticipate oral surgery this year. You cannot change your contribution amount mid-year, right?

As far as the treatment plan, I feel very good about it. This is the same ortho who took care of my older dd and her teeth turned out beautiful. He is following essentially the exact treatment plan done in my mouth when I was a pre-teen. My younger dd has big teeth and a little mouth. There is simply no other way around it other than getting some teeth out. I am thankful it is only 4 permanent teeth that have to go. I was afraid it might would be more.

When DD had her wisdom teeth removed, including sedation, we were quoted (and had to pay up front) $300. After it was complete, the bill was over $2,500, and we had to pay another $350. The rest was covered by dental insurance. The increased cost had something to do with the type of extraction they thought she needed was covered higher than the actual extraction she ended up needing under our dental plan. We never went through medical insurance.

We paid all of our costs through the HSA. You can change contributions at any time during the year for an HSA, as long as you and your employer don't contribute more than the max allowed through out the year. It does not work like an FSA in that regard- and you can only use what's actually in the account at that time.

 

[danygirl]

I would get a second orthodox opinion. Two different ortho told me pulling teeth is out, it causes problems years later and now they do the pallet expander or other things. I know they pulled my teeth and after puberty my mouth got bigger, so I had to redo my ortho work again. My kids have HUGE teeth. With one we did the expander and with the other we waited until she was very along age wise. She was almost 16 when she got her braces and was done in 9 months. She looks amazing! We did the ortho who used the robot designed wires (forget what they call that)

Would not pull teeth without more opinions, most ortho give free consults anyway. And would not start until she loses her baby teeth

 

[Lewisc]

I would get a second orthodox opinion. Two different ortho told me pulling teeth is out, it causes problems years later and now they do the pallet expander or other things. I know they pulled my teeth and after puberty my mouth got bigger, so I had to redo my ortho work again. My kids have HUGE teeth. With one we did the expander and with the other we waited until she was very along age wise. She was almost 16 when she got her braces and was done in 9 months. She looks amazing! We did the ortho who used the robot designed wires (forget what they call that)

Would not pull teeth without more opinions, most ortho give free consults anyway. And would not start until she loses her baby teeth

+1 Waiting will also give you time to contribute more to your HSA. Waiting until 2015 will give you time to adjust your FSA, if applicable.

Depending on the reasoning for the surgery and rules of your coverage, you might find her oral surgery can be covered under your medical insurance.

Best of luck to your DD!

Maybe but rarely if the extraction is required for orthodontics.

When my son got his 4 wisdom teeth removed, it was covered almost entirely by our medical insurance. The doctor's office checked coverage offered by our dental and medical plans, and our medical plan was better!

Impacted wisdom teeth might be covered under medical insurance. OPs kid still has baby teeth. I'd be very surprised if medical insurance covers it.

JMO--There is nothing wrong with the OP checking their medical insurance. There isn't a down side. I check my lotto tickets. Expectations are the same.

 

[wendow]

If it is an HSA -- Health Savings Account -- you should be able to adjust your contribution amount at any point during the year if you discover you need it, up to the maximum. This account balance will carry forward if you have unspent funds remaining at the end of the year.

If it is an FSA -- Flexible Health Care Spending Account -- I believe you are locked in at the amount set during open enrollment. This account is a use-it-or-lose-it and must be spent for that year.

Check with your employer's benefits department on how to change your HSA contribution. Good luck!

We do have an HSA and not a FSA so going to look into changing our contribution right now! Thanks

 

[wendow]

I really appreciate all the suggestions and those sharing costs!

In my dd's case, our regular dentist has been very involved as well. He believes our orthos treatment plan is completely on track. I wish I could show you guys her panoramic that was just done. It's scary how many teeth are still up in her gums fighting for such little space to be able to come in. She has the tiniest mouth (very petite like me) but even larger teeth than mine I had the same permanent ones removed prior to braces and my teeth look great but I do still have a small amount of crowding. And I still have a small mouth. It never really grew much. I just do not see how she can get around having some removed.

And as far as future problems due to the removal of teeth, I have had none. My dh, otoh, should have had a couple of teeth removed on the lower jaw prior to his braces and did not. His teeth have crowded up down there and he gets a lot of jaw pain.

 

[MommyBryn]

A few years ago I had my 4 wisdom teeth out, and my bill (no insurance) was $1500. Not sure if that helps or not....