Cost of oral surgery

[ellochka]

Around $1,500 for IV anesthesia sounds right. Since it's at your Ortho's office, you would not have to pay the hospital facility fee, which can be outrageous. If you want a quote, ask what anesthesiology group they use, and call them up. Medical bills are very hard to figure out.

 

[tasha99]

DS16 has had 6 teeth removed for his braces. 2 more towards the front were taken earlier on, and cost $200 apiece. No IV.

His 4 wisdom teeth were removed later, and we opted for IV sedation. It was about $2500--$500 per tooth and $500 for the sedation.

 

[Halbleib1]

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!

The rules for FSA changed last fall. You can now carry over any balance up to 500.00 into the next year. Just an FYI for anyone that wasn't aware of the change.

 

[stsomewhere]

Both of my kids had pallet expanders to make room in their mouths for all their teeth.

 

[wendow]

Both of my kids had pallet expanders to make room in their mouths for all their teeth.

I didn't have this as a teen and this has never been recommended to us for my dd. At what age do they do this? Can it overcome a very small mouth?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I didn't have this as a teen and this has never been recommended to us for my dd. At what age do they do this? Can it overcome a very small mouth?

My kids didn't need this but my friend's daughter did. IIRC she was around 7 or so when it was placed. I believe it must be done several years before going into braces to give time for the palate to expand. By the teen years, growth is slowing then it's too late. Someone with experience please chime in and correct me if that's wrong.

I was under the assumption that pulling teeth was absolutely last resort. That's why I said get another opinion. I'm not implying your orth is wrong at all. It's just something that can't be reversed later. Once they're pulled, they're gone for good. If a 2nd orth says yes, it must be done, at least you feel 100% it's the best decision.

 

[newdeal]

A pallatal expender is only good for people who have a crossbite of their back teeth. It only expends the upper not the lower, it has to be done early when the child is still growing, after that the bones fuse and an expander will just push the teeth sideways and not expand the bones. The lower cannot be expanded without surgery. When the child stops growing the upper also cannot be expanded without surgery. I am a dentist, I have a pretty good understanding of these things. Your orthodontist would have an even better understanding of these things. The people on here only know what happened in their one specific case, generally there understanding of what was done, and what the problem was that caused it to be done is extremely simplistic. It is best to not take treatment advice from a person with such knowledge as every case is different and only someone with training will know how and why to treat a certain individual.

Pulling teeth isn't a last resort at all. Crowding of teeth is because there is a tooth size to jaw size mismatch. If the jaw size is normal and the teeth are big it depends on a variety of other factors. If the crowing is minimal they may slenderize the teeth a tiny bit to create room (a couple millimetres at most), or they may flare the teeth slightly to expand the arch (if they are tipped inwards in the first place). If there is a lot of crowing, or if the teeth are already flared outwards, the only option is to remove teeth. Expanders make the arch bigger also, this can allow for more space to accommodate larger teeth as well. But only if the upper arch is constricted in the first place (which results in a crossbite of the back teeth). If the upper and lower are in a normal bite, and the upper is constricted that means the lower is constricted also so the palate can't be expanded without surgery to the lower jaw or else the upper teeth would jump past the bite of the lowers! Luckily this is very rare, the lower jaw generally forms normally, the upper jaw often becomes constricted after birth as a result of thumb sucking but the effect of the lower jaw from thumb sucking isn't to constrict it, its to prevent it from growing forwards at a normal rate which leads to people who have a retruded lower jaw (the opposite of what Jay Leno has)

 

[bdcp]

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

What problems? I'm 54 and I posted on the first page, and 4 of the teeth I had removed were permanent. I've had NO issues at all 40+ years later. In fact, my dentist is always telling me how beautiful my teeth and bite are. As the above dentist said, it depends on the reasons for the recommendations. In my case, I had and still have a small mouth. I didn't have room for those permanent teeth or for my wisdom teeth. So, I have 24 teeth in my mouth and there is no room for more.

As for your mouth getting larger, that's not common as people's heads are pretty much adult size before puberty. My boys and my DH had palate expanders and their teeth/bites are no better than mine.

 

[Pooh2]

I didn't have this as a teen and this has never been recommended to us for my dd. At what age do they do this? Can it overcome a very small mouth?

My son had one and I wish I had insisted on having the teeth out instead. It was extremely painful and his mouth is still very crowded as a young adult.
If you feel the need for a second opinion go for it, but sounds like your DD is pretty small and her caregiver is on top of things.

 

[Snoozan]

Just an FYI - I worked in both medical and dental claim departments for years. Medical insurance never did cover extractions except for wisdom teeth and dental treatment only accident-related.(although some now cover preventative care under age 12?) Of course, you can blame your employer if they did not cover them, as they are the ones who pick what's covered under the insurance or not. Don't blame the insurance company as they only apply the provisions of the plan your employer picked. I had this argument with so many people so it's a touchy subject for me!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

A pallatal expender is only good for people who have a crossbite of their back teeth. It only expends the upper not the lower, it has to be done early when the child is still growing, after that the bones fuse and an expander will just push the teeth sideways and not expand the bones. The lower cannot be expanded without surgery. When the child stops growing the upper also cannot be expanded without surgery. I am a dentist, I have a pretty good understanding of these things. Your orthodontist would have an even better understanding of these things. The people on here only know what happened in their one specific case, generally there understanding of what was done, and what the problem was that caused it to be done is extremely simplistic. It is best to not take treatment advice from a person with such knowledge as every case is different and only someone with training will know how and why to treat a certain individual.

Pulling teeth isn't a last resort at all. Crowding of teeth is because there is a tooth size to jaw size mismatch. If the jaw size is normal and the teeth are big it depends on a variety of other factors. If the crowing is minimal they may slenderize the teeth a tiny bit to create room (a couple millimetres at most), or they may flare the teeth slightly to expand the arch (if they are tipped inwards in the first place). If there is a lot of crowing, or if the teeth are already flared outwards, the only option is to remove teeth. Expanders make the arch bigger also, this can allow for more space to accommodate larger teeth as well. But only if the upper arch is constricted in the first place (which results in a crossbite of the back teeth). If the upper and lower are in a normal bite, and the upper is constricted that means the lower is constricted also so the palate can't be expanded without surgery to the lower jaw or else the upper teeth would jump past the bite of the lowers! Luckily this is very rare, the lower jaw generally forms normally, the upper jaw often becomes constricted after birth as a result of thumb sucking but the effect of the lower jaw from thumb sucking isn't to constrict it, its to prevent it from growing forwards at a normal rate which leads to people who have a retruded lower jaw (the opposite of what Jay Leno has)

Thanks for sharing a pro's opinion.

 

[danygirl]

Palette expander increases the room in the mouth. Was not painful. Multiple dentists told me that as people age if they had teeth pulled their bites end up collapsing. I had teeth pulled and then after puberty I grew. Had to redo everything to get wisdom teeth to come in and fill the excess space. Was shocked to have two dentists and three orthos tell me that pulling teeth to make space is a poor choice, wish my parents had the sense to get multiple opinions like I did.

 

[wendow]

A pallatal expender is only good for people who have a crossbite of their back teeth. It only expends the upper not the lower, it has to be done early when the child is still growing, after that the bones fuse and an expander will just push the teeth sideways and not expand the bones. The lower cannot be expanded without surgery. When the child stops growing the upper also cannot be expanded without surgery. I am a dentist, I have a pretty good understanding of these things. Your orthodontist would have an even better understanding of these things. The people on here only know what happened in their one specific case, generally there understanding of what was done, and what the problem was that caused it to be done is extremely simplistic. It is best to not take treatment advice from a person with such knowledge as every case is different and only someone with training will know how and why to treat a certain individual.

Pulling teeth isn't a last resort at all. Crowding of teeth is because there is a tooth size to jaw size mismatch. If the jaw size is normal and the teeth are big it depends on a variety of other factors. If the crowing is minimal they may slenderize the teeth a tiny bit to create room (a couple millimetres at most), or they may flare the teeth slightly to expand the arch (if they are tipped inwards in the first place). If there is a lot of crowing, or if the teeth are already flared outwards, the only option is to remove teeth. Expanders make the arch bigger also, this can allow for more space to accommodate larger teeth as well. But only if the upper arch is constricted in the first place (which results in a crossbite of the back teeth). If the upper and lower are in a normal bite, and the upper is constricted that means the lower is constricted also so the palate can't be expanded without surgery to the lower jaw or else the upper teeth would jump past the bite of the lowers! Luckily this is very rare, the lower jaw generally forms normally, the upper jaw often becomes constricted after birth as a result of thumb sucking but the effect of the lower jaw from thumb sucking isn't to constrict it, its to prevent it from growing forwards at a normal rate which leads to people who have a retruded lower jaw (the opposite of what Jay Leno has)

Thank you for your response. I do feel comfortable with our ortho's plan. Not a single red flag going off for me with this. I had/have the same small mouth, larger teeth and over-crowding. Pulling teeth was the best option for me and I have a beautiful smile thanks to my ortho (and mom for paying for all of it!).

 

[wendow]

What problems? I'm 54 and I posted on the first page, and 4 of the teeth I had removed were permanent. I've had NO issues at all 40+ years later. In fact, my dentist is always telling me how beautiful my teeth and bite are. As the above dentist said, it depends on the reasons for the recommendations. In my case, I had and still have a small mouth. I didn't have room for those permanent teeth or for my wisdom teeth. So, I have 24 teeth in my mouth and there is no room for more.

As for your mouth getting larger, that's not common as people's heads are pretty much adult size before puberty. My boys and my DH had palate expanders and their teeth/bites are no better than mine.

Same here! I have 24 teeth and I still have a small amount of crowding. For some people, there is just no more room. And I also have had no issues from having those teeth removed. My bite is fine. I think I posted this earlier but my dh did not have teeth removed prior to braces and due to the crowding that wasn't addressed, his teeth have shifted on the bottom and he has a lot of jaw pain. My teeth haven't moved more than the maybe 10% that everyone's do.

 

[newdeal]

Palette expander increases the room in the mouth. Was not painful. Multiple dentists told me that as people age if they had teeth pulled their bites end up collapsing. I had teeth pulled and then after puberty I grew. Had to redo everything to get wisdom teeth to come in and fill the excess space. Was shocked to have two dentists and three orthos tell me that pulling teeth to make space is a poor choice, wish my parents had the sense to get multiple opinions like I did.

The people who you have talked to have given you incomplete information. I don't doubt that you had a certain experience however what is true for whatever condition you had is certainly not true for a huge number of other people out there who have totally different conditions that they would describe as "crooked teeth". Those professionals were dumbing things down for you, please do not tell people what was right in your situation is gospel for everyone. Pulling teeth to make space is often the only choice for some people. There is simply no other way to eliminate 10+ millimetres of crowding, which you ay not have had but many people do. Pulling teeth to camouflage other conditions instead of opting for surgery is a poor choice, but on the other hand not everyone wants surgery and is happy to do a couple of extractions to mask a problem instead of having surgery to correct the bones.