<p>S had his 4 wisdom teeth pulled today! All four were partially impacted. Is that a real diagnosis, or is that like being a little bit pregnant?Anyway, I was dreading it more than he was dreading it. I read some of the threads on cc. All went well, so far anyway. He had nitrous oxide, and local anesthesia. He did not want general anesthesia b/c he heard from a classmate that his uncle died from general anesthesia while having wisdom teeth pulled (lovely story). No side effects from the Vicodan so far (knock on wood)! So far there is little swelling, but I will know more tomorrow. He is obviously sore, and not someone that you would enjoy being around right now, but doing very well. Oh, and this costs a small fortune BTW, if you do not have dental insurance.</p>
<p>As an adult who got all four out last spring, you can be sure I am getting DS’s out early! And I had a relatively uneventful surgery. The swelling got worse for several days, and then took a while to go away–it’s completely different for the kids.</p>
<p>For those without dental insurance, make sure you check your regular insurance plan. My regular health insurance covered the extraction of bony impacted wisdom teeth (two out of four) but because they also picked up the anesthsia, antibiotics, xrays, etc., my out of pocket was “only” the $600 for the two partially erupted teeth. I did have to get a referral from my doctor as well as my dentist, but the doctor relied on the dentist’s judgment that it was necessary.</p>
<p>Yes, I checked and my insurance does not cover this procedure. Believe me, I did check this out. </p>
<p>I also have have had 2 removed as an older adult. In fact one was extracted this year. I was in more agony with my one tooth than my son is today with four teeth! I remember feeling as though I was punched in the face, and my face was swollen and bruised for about a week.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, my insurance paid for the antibiotics, and the Vicodan, but nothing else. Isn’t that odd? They covered the medications and not the procedure, that seems odd.</p>
<p>My DD attends a UC campus and their plan covered $1000 of the extractions last month! My other daughter attends a different UC campus with NO coverage…so be sure to double check your student’s health plan!</p>
<p>My D had hers done mid-May and one of the four is still somewhat painful…she hardly swelled at all, but had headaches for far longer than we expected and it affected her ability to play sports for longer than we thought!</p>
<p>My son just graduated from hs. His dentist suggested seeing an oral surgeon this summer. He did not want to see my son running into problems with his wisdom teeth during the school year. The oral surgeon said that my son should be available for treatment (just in case) for 2 weeks. Apparently a % of patients develop infections or have food that gets caught in the gums, and it requires the dentist for removal.</p>
<p>oh yummy, food removal from the gums</p>
<p>I’m no insurance expert but I believe your insurance covers antibiotics because they are prescribed for a medical condition (infection) and the typical health insurance covers medical conditions but not dental procedures. Our health insurance covered 100% of our son’s wisdom teeth extraction because his teeth were not only impacted but also abscessed due to an infection. I don’t know how common it is to have an abscess but I think it’s more common with impacted wisdom teeth.</p>
<p>Anyway, I don’t wish for your son to have an infection but you might ask his oral surgeon, especially if he prescribed antibiotics for your son based on something he observed during the extraction procedure.</p>
<p>Best wishes for a speedy and pain-free recovery.</p>
<p>DRJ4, Thanks for the advice and good wishes. He is really doing well tonight.</p>
<p>Even though there is not much swelling now, keep up with icing his jaw line–this really helps. I used packs of frozen veggies (we prefer peas)
under his jaw line–20 minutes on and 20 minutes off for the first 24-48 hours</p>
<p>momofaknight, Thanks. He has been using his ice.</p>
<p>My son had his 4 wisdom teeth out a few weeks ago (2 were impacted). The oral surgeon put him on prednisone starting the day before the extraction, and there was practically no swelling. (He used ice packs the entire day which also helped prevent swelling.) We had never heard of using steroids for oral surgery but it seemed to work very well.</p>
<p>Partially impacted is a diagnosis. The teeth are partially in the mouth, or at least out of the bone, and food can get caught under the flaps of gum causing infections if not removed.</p>
<p>Vicodin works well when combined with ibuprofen. There’s even a medication called vicoprofen. Sometimes even a low dose of a steroid is prescribed to reduce swelling and inflammation further. The oral surgeons who practice next to me routinely prescribe it.</p>
<p>Eventually try to get the food GENTLY out of the sockets but DO NOT let him rinse for at least the first 24 hours so your son doesn’t get dry socket(s) which are more painful than any infected wisdom tooth.</p>
<p>Lastly hats off to your brave son for staying awake for the procedure…anyone who can handle that crunching sound, and being totally numb like that, is braver than I!!</p>
<p>My son also had 4 out a few weeks ago. 2 were fully impacted and cost more than the 2 that were partially impacted. I noted there was only one charge for anesthetic, so it was cheaper to have all 4 done at once. Our dental insurance has a calendar year max of $1000 per person - total bill was $2600! He recovered quickly.</p>
<p>How many of your children had symptoms before removal? As a surgeon, one considers risk. What if impacted wisdom teeth are watched periodically? I refer to this as the Everest dilemma. Why do dental surgeons remove so many wisdom teeth? Because they are there. Dentists are taught that impacted wisdom teeth need to be removed. As a parent, of an age similar to most of you, I don’t think I ever had an intelligent conversation with a dentist. Bright dentists must exist, but I never found one. No offense to any parent dentists. I recommend observation, unless your child has had multiple infections. Antibiotics almost always get these infections under control if started early. So send your child with a bottle of ampicillin and ask them to call if a problem occurs. Wisdom teeth extraction is like tonsillectomy. It is occasionally indicated but widely overdone. I’m sparing my children.</p>
<p>my daughter had orthodontia that concluded without wisdom teeth- as they can cause problems- she had her last two wisdom teeth out last winter
vicodin makes her puke- so she got by with ice and motrin</p>
<p>I still have my wisdom teeth- but i had 4 teeth pulled when my orthodontia began
I think for the thousands of kids who went through lenghty orthodontia to great expense of their parents- their parents don’t really relish the thought of the wisdom teeth undoing all that effort</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901877.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901877.html</a></p>
<p>EK, That is very interesting. I wonder if OBs ask their pregnant patients if they have wisdom teeth. I know the one that gave me prenatal care did not, and I did have 4 wisdom teeth at that time. I wonder when this linkage was discovered and if it is accurate information. My children were term babies, and I never developed gum disease. I realize that this is anecdotal and does not make for any meaningful scientific information. BTW, EK, we must have shared the same orthodontist b/c I had 4 wisdom teeth (until I had 2 extracted recently) for the same reasons.</p>
<p>My s. had his out senior year of h.s. I wanted to be sure he was living at home and covered by insurance - rather than have him in his mid twenties, living out of state, dodgey insurance and dealing with an infection. If you can see an x-ray with teeth that are poised to grow sideways, that’s evidence enough for me that they will need to come out at some point and I’d rather it be done when it’s most convenient/less costly. I may have dreamed this (and don’t want to look it up) but I would be curious to know how the Peace Corps and military treat wisdom teeth. (I think I remember the Peace Corps wanting people to have them out before they start service - or there was some complication involving a peace corps member). </p>
<p>I look on arranging the removal of wisdom teeth as a parental responsibility - more important than getting a driver’s license.</p>
<p>“My son also had 4 out a few weeks ago. 2 were fully impacted and cost more than the 2 that were partially impacted. I noted there was only one charge for anesthetic, so it was cheaper to have all 4 done at once. Our dental insurance has a calendar year max of $1000 per person - total bill was $2600! He recovered quickly.”</p>
<p>NJres, That 2600 was probably the going rate. As far as price, our S had 4 partially impacted wisdom teeth (so I am told, going on blind faith though) and the bill would have been $1600 (+$700 additional if S wanted general anesthesia). I have some dental membership (not dental insurance) that brought the cost down to $1250.</p>
<p>scidoc–I was one of those who ignored the repeated advice to have them extracted–they weren’t causing me any trouble. But in my thirties, two of them started to erupt. Ultimately, they caused problems with the adjoining teeth, and also undid some of the hard work of orthodontia in my teens. I was having trouble with food getting caught as well. By the time I got them out at 44, there was some beginning gum problems and I faced a much greater risk of nerve damage. The oral surgeon was very cautious–he made sure I was aware of the possibility of permanent nerve damage, and asked a lot of questions about whether I was a public speaker, singer, etc. He was clear that if I was surgery might not be advisable. I saw the proximity of the tooth root to the nerves in my jaw–pretty scary; that is something that changes over time, and not for the better. The early judgment that there wasn’t enough room in the jaw was spot on, and I paid the price for taking a “wait and see” approach.</p>
<p>“undid some of the hard work of orthodontia in my teens.”</p>
<p>This is what my dentist and oral surgeon warned me about regarding our son. They said that the wisdom teeth would effect the alignment of his other teeth if they were not extracted, and may cause him other problems. I am just glad that we had them extracted. Also, the surgeon did look at the proximity of the dental nerve to his wisdom teeth. This seems to be of concern and apparently can cause some problems after extractions. In my son’s case this was not an issue, b/c the nerve was not going to interfere with the procedure.</p>