Has anyone here ever had to get a wisdom tooth pulled, but been unable to afford it?

[Very_Boring_Name]

I'm 23 and no longer on my parent's dental insurance, one of my wisdom teeth is coming in all wrong and its INCREDIBLY painful. I have no insurance, and NO money.

[Iris]

1. You could try going to the emergency room

[SheilaT]

14. Emergency rooms are not dental clinics.

Not a good idea at all.

[Iris]

45. removing an impacted wisdom tooth is a surgical procedure

And with no insurance, this could be one of the options.

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

2. you can get on your parent's insurance until you're 26 now because of Healthcare Reform.

[pnwmom]

4. Good point!!!

[K8-EEE]

28. Unfortunately it doesn't include dentistry

Or vision. But I'm really happy my 20 year old can be on our policy after college graduation this June!

[boston bean]

31. getting wisdon teeth pulled is under medical insurance. it's surgery. nt

[K8-EEE]

37. My daughter's last week was paid thru Delta Dental.

our dental ins, although I notice they didn't pay the anesthesia so I guess I have to submit that part to med ins. We had to pay $380 per tooth up front & got reimbursed 80% $307/per tooth.

[dflprincess]

40. That's often only true if the tooth is completely impacted

if even a corner has poked through the gum the health insurance company will call it dental, not medical.

[pnwmom]

3. Someone I know had extensive dental work at a University's Dental School.

A student dentist did the work, under the supervision of a faculty member. It was free.

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. I did that!

Had fillings, crowns, braces and so on at UCLA's dental school. The work was passable and the most important thing is that the pain stops and the problem is solved. It's not free there, but if what you need is part of a student's test matter, you can get it done free.

[a la izquierda]

10. You beat me to it.

If you leave near a university that has a MD/DD program, you can get it done there. You may have to wait a bit, though.

[formernaderite]

21. excellent suggestion

used them years ago myself. I had a painful wisdom tooth for years.... also no money. Unless you have an abscess... it won't kill ya.

[soleft]

26. Me too - had 3 pulled

[MilesColtrane]

33. If the tooth is impacted, an oral surgeon is required to remove it.

You won't find one at a dental school, as they are required to have four years of surgical residency after they graduate.

[dflprincess]

42. I had all 4 of my impacted wisdom teeth removed at the U of Minnesota's dental school

though that was a long time ago. At the time I was told that because they used a general anesthesia an oral surgery resident had to do the procedure (apparently someone with less experience could have done it it I hadn't been put under).

Surgical residents need people to practice on too.

[JVS]

5. My brother had a similar situation.

He filed down the tooth himself.

[pnwmom]

9. Ugh -- but that won't work with an impacted wisdom tooth. /t

[JVS]

15. It depends on how it's impacting.

In my brother's case, the teeth were hitting above the gum line.

[Ed Suspicious]

6. It's getting rarer all the time, but some dentists will set up payment plans in house.

Most of the time now they would have you seek financing from a bank or maybe they have sources of outside financing. Ask your dentist about the options. An emergency surgical extraction may be something the emergency room could help with otherwise search for free dental clinics in your area. I once used a service like that. I was basically a dentist who did pro bono work at a school once or twice per month.

[bluestate10]

39. My dentist has a payment plan. The financing is minimal.

It seems to be a good deal for people that are unemployed or have limited capacity to pay large bills with a check or credit card.

[Cleita]

7. Try to find a dental school in your area.

Some do sliding scale fees according to what you can afford. You will have a student work on you, but it will be under the supervision of an experienced dentist/teacher.

I had mine removed with pliers by my dentist and they cost $10 each and that was fifty years ago. However, I don't recommend it. Although if you are close to Mexico you might be able to get them removed for a lesser cost than here in the USA as well.

[htuttle]

11. Tried stopping in at any public hospital ERs yet?

They don't do teeth (and will tell you so), but if you think you also have an infection of any kind (additional swelling, etc...), they will set you up with some antibiotics and possibly a prescription for some halfway decent pain pills. It might help you get through it, anyway.

The only other solution I can think of is looking around for a dental school (we have one in a tech college nearby). They often provide very inexpensive dental care done by their students (and supervised by a real dentist, usually...).

[pinto]

12. Might try contacting a dental school, if there's one near by. Years ago I had work

done at Tuft's for very little $. Student did a great job and the work was supervised by a licensed dental instructor. Or, contact the local professional dental association and ask for ideas / leads / resources. Good luck. :hi:

[Rex]

13. I had all my wisdom teeth yanked out at once in the Army.

Bled like a stuck pig for 2 weeks. Sadly, that is the only way I know to get it done for free.

[Lasher]

19. I had one done in the Army.

They certainly didn't worry about being gentle. Looks like they haven't changed any.

[littlewolf]

25. yep navy boot camp all four ....

[WorseBeforeBetter]

16. No. My father was a county government employee with...

excellent medical benefits (although he didn't make that much money). Are you anywhere near a university with a dental school?

How to Receive Inexpensive Dental Care at an Accredited Dental School
http://www.ehow.com/how_4697556_dental-care-accredited-dental-school.html

Isn't your dentist willing to work out a payment plan for you?

Hope you find some relief soon.

[david13]

17. Not me, but a neighbor. But some of the other neighbors took up

a collection, and gave him some work to do, and lent him some money, and drove him over to get it done.
dc

[appleannie1]

18. I have gone to a dental school to have work done on my teeth, as did both my brothers.

[girl gone mad]

20. The oral surgeon who removed mine gave me a big discount.

I was an uninsured student at the time.

You can try calling different offices to see if they are willing to work with you on a payment plan and/or reduce their fees.

Others mentioned contacting a local dental school, which is also an option.

[Demeter]

22. I took one daughter to the Dental School At U of M

because she had 3 impacted teeth. It cost about $30.

Her sister had only one impacted tooth, and I had enough money to cover it, about $200. There is a discount program called Dentemax which can help you stretch what money you have--look it up on the web. You need a dentist that accepts the plan. A regular dentist is less time-consuming than a dental school.

Some dental schools have faculty providing services, too, a little less likely to bring bad work. If it's not a filling, but an extraction, there's less chance of serious complications and bad work.

Your parents should be able to get you coverage through age 26 for medical, under the new healthcare rules. I'm not sure if it applies to dental. Ask!

[uberblonde]

23. There's some kind of grant money for that.

They told me at the University of Penn dental school clinic. Maybe they have it near you, too.

[JVS]

24. You might want to PM PCIntern about this. He works in that field.

[REP]

27. For a while, I had no dental insurance but a discount dental plan through my credit union

When I needed a tooth extracted, I used that plan, and while I did pay all the cost up front out of pocket, it was $86.00 and the oral surgeon was excellent. The cost of the discount plan was very low - under $100 per year - and it worked well for me until I finally got dental insurance again.

[jberryhill]

29. I'll also chime in on dental schools

They do top-notch work.

[Trekologer]

30. I had all of mine removed last year and the medical insurance covered it

The dental insurance covered the visit to the surgeon for the consultation but the medical insurance covered the actual extractions. My medical and dental is with separate companies.

[Greybnk48]

32. Yes. I made an appointment for a consultation with a

Dentist a friend recommended and told him I had no insurance. I asked what the total cost would be and if he would agree to my paying for it in monthly installments. He agreed and we went ahead. You could try that. There are a lot of nice professionals out there who will work with you when you're stuck. Especially if you're up front about your plight.

I stayed with him for 27 years until he retired, and I still miss him. Best Dentist in the world.

[csziggy]

34. Check with the local health department - they may be able to refer you

My dentist does pro bono work for people who really need it and can't afford it. The patients find him through the local health department. Apparently there are a number of local dentists who donate their work so no one dentist is overloaded.

[ThoughtCriminal]

35. My former neighbor went to Mexico for dental work

Not wisdom teeth, but major dental work. Living not too far from Nogales made it practical.

[JI7]

36. how much does it cost ? can you maybe work out a payment plan ?

i know we had some payment plan when i got braces. paid a bit every month directly to the orthodontist.

they might be able to come up with something that works for you.

[bluestate10]

38. Dental offices offer payment plans that are sized to a patient's ability to pay.

I frequently see my dentist, who seems to be a wonderful person, route patients that can't afford to pay to the plan that her office offers. I once saw a patient show up in pain, could not pay, but was put into treatment to fix the dental problem as I was leaving the office. Call around to dental offices. As long as you make a good faith effort to pay, there are likely many that will get you onto payment plans.

[lunatica]

41. Try going to a dental school

Only people with experience and close to graduating do serious stuff. You may have to pay but it won't be much. I paid $35 a while back.

[southernyankeebelle]

43. Some dental offices have a plan where you can make payments.

[Jack Sprat]

44. What about a severe 'root canal'?

I never thought about it, but that deep nerve pain could make someone think about suicide if there wasn't any relief. Never felt a sudden pain so bad in my life. I wish you hadn't made me think about this, but I guess there are cases like this all the time. I pray some emergency room would have the sympathy to take the tooth out or give someone enough pain meds until a dentist could do it.