Wisdom Teeth Extraction Scheduled

I had a consultation with an oral surgeon nearby and found out some interesting news. My bottom two teeth are impacted as I had seen in the x-rays but the surgeon was a little apprehensive about having them extracted. The roots of one of the wisdom teeth is curled and touching a nerve, so unless it’s really painful, he would prefer not to extract it because there could be complications involving permanent numbness, etc. That being said, I’m scheduled to have the top two removed next Monday (they’re pushing the rest of my teeth and messing up my million dollar smile) and the estimated cost to me will be $264.00.

My friend claimed his was $198 for four teeth and in thinking about it some more, that doesn’t sound right. He said his original bill was for $2,000 so a straight 20% of that would already be $400 not counting a deductible of $50. Regardless, here is the breakdown for my operation:

One tooth will cost $300 (partially erupted) and the second tooth will be $375. The general anesthesia will run $230. 20% of that total is $181. Add in $20 for meds and a $50 deductible and we’re talking a total of $251.00. They added on a $13 consultation fee.

Grand Total: $264.00 (estimated)

With the procedure numbers, I’ll be able to call up my dental insurer and get an absolute co-payment value instead of this estimate by the secretary. One trade off I considered was to get local instead of general anesthesia but I have no idea how much money that would save (plus I’d only be saving 20% of that). Since I’m only paying $46 for the anesthesia, the motivation for not going under wouldn’t be financial.