How much is wisdom teeth removal? This isprobably the commonest question we receive from patients visiting our Smile Angels of Beverly Hills dental clinic. Luckily, we have just the answer. Your dental health is as important to us as it is to you. We wouldn’t like you to get lost trying to compare prices and end up getting poor value for your money or risk dental infections.
This article clearly analyzes and breaks down the cost of wisdom teeth removal in Los Angeles. With it, you don’t have to keep guessing. If you are looking for a dental practice that offers holistic dental treatments, we are your guys. Before we get to it, however, let’s look at how much that’s going to cost you.
Wisdom teeth removal cost may vary substantially depending on several factors as will be highlighted much later. The simplest nonsurgical procedure involves a wisdom tooth that is fully erupted and may cost as cheap as $ 100 per tooth extracted. When all four wisdom teeth are involved, the removal cost may start from $ 300.
Read on to find out full details on the average cost of wisdom teeth removal, how insurance affects the cost, as well as other financing options available.
Table of Contents
What is wisdom tooth extraction?
This is a procedure that entails the removal of one or more wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are the four permanent teeth deeply sitting at the back corners of an adult’s mouth on the top and bottom.
When your wisdom tooth has no room to grow, it is considered an impacted wisdom tooth. It may result in several other dental problems, pain, or even infection. That means you will have to pull it out through the intervention of an oral surgeon or dentist.
If during the extraction the wisdom tooth only requires local anesthesia, the cost may vary from $ 200 to $ 650 per tooth. The most commonly used anesthetic to relax the patient is nitrous oxide. This may push up the extraction cost by about $ 50 to $ 100.
When sedation anesthesia, such as IV is used, the wisdom tooth extraction price rises considerably. IV sedation procedures can cost from $ 250 to $ 1,000 in most cases.
In instances where all the four wisdom teeth require extraction, your dentist or oral surgeon may offer a treatment package. Along with the cost of sedation, the total cost of such a procedure can vary between $ 1,000 to $ 1,700. Adding general anesthesia further drives the cost upwards to about $ 1,500 on the lower side and $ 2,200 on the higher side.
The overall price quoted for wisdom tooth removal may include monitoring the healing progress, routine clinical visits, and removal of surgical sutures.
How do you tell if you have a dental infection?
A dental infection may not always be apparent, which means that it is important to check in with your dentist regularly. However, the following symptoms may be clear indicators of the infection:
- Gum swelling
- Fever and headache
- Bad breath
- Swelling in the jaw
- A sour taste
- Bleeding or swollen gums
If you experience a combination of any of these symptoms, schedule a consultation right away with your Los Angeles dentistry team.
Why should you have your impacted wisdom teeth removed?
Because it may cause other health problems. If your impacted wisdom tooth results in the following problems, you should urgently consider removing it:
- Consistent pain
- Damage to a surrounding tooth or nearby bone
- Gum disease or infection
- Development of dental cysts
- Tooth decay in case of a partially erupted wisdom tooth
- Trapping food behind the wisdom tooth
What is the price of wisdom tooth extraction without insurance?
Because of the difficult-to-access location of your wisdom teeth, extracting them can result in complications that may significantly affect the overall removal cost. Some extractions will be more expensive than others.
Generally, wisdom teeth removal out of pocket cost is higher than when using insurance. The average cost of wisdom teeth removal in Los Angeles without insurance may fall into three categories.
1. Wisdom teeth removal cost for simple extraction
As the name suggests, this is the simplest of all wisdom teeth extraction procedures. The surgery is fairly easy to perform because the wisdom tooth has erupted from the gums. This makes it the least costly of all the procedures starting at only $ 75 per tooth and rising to a maximum of $ 200 per tooth.
If you choose to extract all four wisdom teeth at once, however, the cost will shoot to between $ 300 and $ 800.
2. Surgical teeth extraction (soft tissue impaction) cost
In this case, the wisdom tooth has partially or fully emerged from the gums. That means the tooth is still partly enveloped with the gum tissue making the procedure more intensive and sophisticated as compared to a simple extraction. Your oral surgeon will have to cut through your gums to extract the impacted tooth.
Consequently, the price will also be slightly higher. The average wisdom tooth extraction price for a single tooth will range from $ 225 to $ 400 and $ 800 to $ 1,500 for all four teeth.
3. Surgical teeth extraction (bony impaction) cost
The average cost of wisdom teeth removal through this surgical procedure is the highest because of the intensity of the procedure. It is an extensive surgery since your whole wisdom tooth or part of it is still deeply entrenched into your jaw bone. To gain access to the teeth and remove it, therefore, the dentist will have to also remove some parts of your jaw.
That level of difficulty propels the extraction cost to the highest mark at between $ 275 and $ 900 for a single wisdom tooth. Involving a bony impaction surgery for all four teeth pushes the cost even higher to range from $ 1,000 to $ 1,800 or even $ 3,000 in certain cases.
Does insurance cover wisdom teeth removal?
Yes, depending on your dental insurance plan. Most plans cover up to 80% of your dental extraction cost. While this is a great way to save on extraction costs, have in mind that some insurance companies have a fixed annual limit on how much they pay out for dental extraction.
To get more coverage, you might want to split the dental extraction procedure into two. If, for example, your dental insurance plan comes with a yearly limit of $ 1,500 but the wisdom tooth extraction price is $ 800, you still have $ 200 to cover other dental procedures within the year. However, if the wisdom teeth removal cost exceeds the limit, you won’t receive any more dental care benefits for the remainder of the year.
When considering wisdome teeth removal cost with insurance, it is important to check with your insurer first. Some companies may have a waiting period before financing the dental extraction. So, before scheduling the wisdom teeth extraction, ensure you have satisfied the waiting duration.
If you think you might blow your wisdome teeth removal cost with insurance benefits, you might opt for dental discount plans. Talk to your dentist before the procedure and find out what financing benefits are available. They will break down the cost for you and guide you accordingly on the best treatment plan without blowing your budget.
How can you reduce the cost of wisdom tooth removal in Los Angeles?
You don’t have to feel the heat of a paining wisdom tooth or even foot exorbitant costs of extraction. There are other ways to finance your wisdom tooth removal without breaking the bank. They include opting for payment plans and discount dental plans.
What is a dental payment plan?
This is a financing plan that allows you to save on wisdom teeth removal costs in the absence of dental insurance. Depending on the understanding you have with your surgeon, they may permit you to pay off a portion of your surgery over a few weeks or months. That means you would have to pay your surgeon directly.
What are discounted dental plans?
Want to save some money on wisdom teeth removal? You can start by taking advantage of the many discounted dental plans available. Such plans allow you to save up to 50% of your dental care costs.
Moreover, they don’t come with yearly limits like insurance plans. You only pay a one-time low yearly fee that allows you to access full dental care all year long. There is also the option of making low monthly payments.
Talk to your dentistry team to find out what type of discounted dental plans they offer. Don’t let wisdom teeth removal cost keep you from taking care of your dental health.
What next after wisdom teeth extraction?
Losing your wisdom tooth is not the end of the road for you. You can still live a wholesome smiley life with the help of a bone graft. This is a procedure that introduces dental implants to take up the place of the extracted wisdom tooth. Aesthetically, these implants are a better alternative to dentures because they produce a more natural finish.
The bone graft procedure is particularly ideal for jaws that are too soft or thin to secure the implant in place. This is important because the key to successful dental implant surgery is the ability of the implant to be held in place firmly and securely.
To complete the procedure, your dentist will use a bone from a different part of your body as the bone graft. Once the procedure is done, you may have to wait up to a few months before the implant fully integrates with your jawbone.
How much do dental implants cost in Los Angeles?
The cost of implants in LA will mostly depend on the number of implants you need as well as the implant dentist you visit. Additional services, such as bone grafts and bone regeneration, may also affect the cost. Dental implant may cost quite a fortune but the value for money you receive is for a lifetime. Compared to traditional dental bridges and dentures, implants last for the rest of your life affording you a long lasting smile.
The average cost of dental implants within Los Angeles ranges anywhere from $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 per tooth. At Smile Angels of Beverly Hills, however, we offer affordable dental implants. Schedule a consultation to find out your options.
Get your holistic smile back!
At Smile Angels of Beverly Hills, we thrive on smiles. We understand what it takes to bring out your best smile. As such, our full range of holistic dental treatments guarantees you healthy smiles without feeling the pinch in your purse.
Get in touch with us for the lowest possible cost of wisdom teeth removal in Los Angeles without sacrificing your dental health and comfortable smile. You can also request a dental consultation to find out about our financing options.