Physics GRE Discussion Forums

My damn wisdom teeth on the left side of my mouth started to hurt last night. The week before finals...urgh....no..dental..insurance...RAAAWRRRR

Do you have general health insurance? Wisdom teeth removal is sometimes covered by it because it's such a common operation.

My parents had a Russian student staying with them for a short time. It was cheaper for her to buy tickets to Moscow, visit her family, and pay for her dental work there then to stay in the US and fork out for the bill.

Anyway, definitely check your health insurance (if you have that), if not there are some dental discount programs that I looked into when we were covered under an HSA. They aren't really insurance, but can perhaps at least save you some money.

Marten

Martha Stewart tip:

You can save tons of money by visiting unlicensed physicians.

twistor wrote:Martha Stewart tip:

You can save tons of money by visiting unlicensed physicians.

Of course...it's so simple. I knew I should have taken Futurama's lessons in full context; Fry I am sorry for doubting your decisions.

That being said, you can definitely save the most money by doing it yourself.

Those wisdom teeth can be tough to get at, but I'm sure there is an instructional video on youtube or some such.

...and then there's always heavy sedatives. Drool away the pain.

Well after a day and half of pain, I woke up from a nap and they had stopped hurting. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

jdhooghe wrote:Well after a day and half of pain, I woke up from a nap and they had stopped hurting. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

Hm... I wouldn't count on it. Does Davis's offer come with dental insurance? I would get it taken care of as soon as you can because I'd imagine it is a problem that only gets worse.

Another fun way of dealing with wisdom teeth while saving money is to have the operation done under local anesthetic (i.e. just a shot in the gums to numb the surrounding area) so you are fully conscious the whole time. That's what I did a year and a half ago because it cost a mere $500 compared to $1500 for regular anesthesia at the oral surgeon. Of course then you get to see/hear everything that goes on... my favorite part was the sound of my teeth cracking as the dentist wrestled with my face trying to get the teeth out. Another highlight was when his hand slipped and he poked me in the back of the throat with a very pointy metal tool, causing a horrendous case of tonsillitis that lasted a good month and a half.

The joys of being uninsured...

perplexity wrote:Another fun way of dealing with wisdom teeth while saving money is to have the operation done under local anesthetic (i.e. just a shot in the gums to numb the surrounding area) so you are fully conscious the whole time.

I just had novocaine and a bit of nitrous oxide (before but not during) for my operation... It's how this operation was done for many, many years. It's not a big deal.