The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: $martypant$ on June 04, 2013, 04:00:39 PM
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Howdy,
So I just started having pain in the back of my mouth and, lo and behold, I have to get the teeth of wisdom yanked out. Thank goodness for insurance, but I still have to fork over $1800 in cold cash. After wrangling the good sir who manages the business side of the operation down for my initial visit from 300 to 99, he said if cash was tight, I might want to consider their "financing options." Normally, I run when I hear those words, but when he said no-interest for six months, my ears perked up.
So, I've been reading this blog for the past few months and have made a lot of changes to my lifestyle. Mustiachian philosophy says to stay away from debt, but I wonder if that's just when there is the added interest expense or whether this would be considered a way to delay payment. I can scrounge up the money now, or just benefit from the free money (I've been thinking of putting it in a CD for six months and use the interest to stash somewhere else). Thoughts?
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No interest is great, but over here you would probably get hit over the head with "fees, charges, terms and conditions".
Just watch for that and pay off the balance before the 6 months. Don't be afraid to take a good deal when it presents
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$1800 sounds quite high. My oral surgeon (in high-cost New York) only charged $900 for mine before insurance, and I paid maybe $150 out of pocket. I'd ask for a second opinion.
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Yes, do shop around a bit for this. You have the luxury of a little amount of time to do that as it is not an emergency/life.
As for Mustachianism vs. Debt, no, I don't think that's our attitude. Smart use of debt and leverage is a valuable life skill to have, and it can be used for good. But, you must always understand the full costs of that debt. 1800$ 0% for 6 months? As long as there are no additional fees on that, and you do not fail at paying it off before that six months is over, I see no problem. Do keep that debt at the forefront of your mind however. When thinking "I only have 6k$ of CC debt and I'll be free finally" or some other goal, always have whatever is left on this or that account come up as well.
Another example is 0% for ~x months on opening a new account for a credit card. Many of the people here have used such deals to great affect, but proper affect means paying it off before x months + 1 day at a minimum.
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Also, you don't NEED to be put under. I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth and a bicuspid extracted a few years ago, and asked for just Novocain. I just put in my headphones and listened to my ipod during the operation. Much cheaper, with the added benefit that I didn't have to have a driver sit there and wait for me. I was able to drive myself home. The one thing I would say, is go get your pain pills before the Novocain wears off. Don't think you can probably tough it out, then end up going to the pharmacy after the pain sets in. It's an excruciating wait.
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that is hard core. seriously no anaesthetic?
I'm a softie. Completely knocked out and overnight stay in hospital covered by private health cover. Took 14 hours for it to wear off before I felt any pain, but by then it wasn't really pain, more of an annoyance.
Played soccer the next day and was fine.
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Marty, standard military bootcamp procedure is wisdom teeth? Novocaine + Vicodin, rip all 4 of those ****ers out, and bedrest for 2 days.
Those were the 2 greatest days, not filled with any bullshit, in bootcamp.
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that is hard core. seriously no anaesthetic?
I'm a softie. Completely knocked out and overnight stay in hospital covered by private health cover. Took 14 hours for it to wear off before I felt any pain, but by then it wasn't really pain, more of an annoyance.
Played soccer the next day and was fine.
Novocain is an anaesthetic. Your whole mouth and face is numbed, you don't feel pain. You're conscious, but it doesn't hurt.
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that is hard core. seriously no anaesthetic?
I'm a softie. Completely knocked out and overnight stay in hospital covered by private health cover. Took 14 hours for it to wear off before I felt any pain, but by then it wasn't really pain, more of an annoyance.
Played soccer the next day and was fine.
Novocain is an anaesthetic. Your whole mouth and face is numbed, you don't feel pain. You're conscious, but it doesn't hurt.
True. My sister and DH both had the surgery, and the big cost involved in the surgery is the anesthetic, so if you say you don't want to be fully 'under,' that will also save you some money. My mom has been a dental assistant for 40 years and a family friend is an oral surgeon, so I'm pretty familiar with this stuff.
I have personally had all four wisdom teeth removed, though none were impacted, the first two on the left side of my mouth when I was 20, and then the second two on the right side of my mouth when I was 30, just two years ago. I was just at my regular dentist with nitrous oxide and novocaine, which made the whole thing completely painless, didn't even use my iPod since it was so quick, then I took ibuprofen (Advil) every 4 hours for the first 24 hours. First two days, I was recovering and changing gauze regularly, but on the third day, I had no pain and ate a taco salad. Before the procedure, I mentioned to the dentis fully intact, and now I keep them in a little jar of peroxide in my office at work. :p
My number one tip: do not use a straw for about a week after having the teeth removed, maybe even longer, and avoid really hot or really cold beverages. You do NOT want a dry socket. Just sip liquids and have really soft food on hand (my DH got me a bunch of flavored instant mashed potato packets, which we made kind of runny the first day, and more firm on the second day).
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I've had all my wisdom teeth out, and I also went with local anesthetic. The two bottom ones were impacted, my dentist had to cut each tooth into four pieces to get them out and then stitch up my gums with soluble thread. Didn't feel a thing. I can't remember if I had both out at once or did it in two visits. It did take quite a long time. The two upper ones weren't serious, I had them out a few years after that, and they were a simple extract job. I suppose if you're getting all four out at once, then it probably makes sense to go fully under.
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I've had all four of my wisdoms out (plus four more perm's as well) with only local anesthesia.
Agree with other that the initial cost estimate seems high at $450 per tooth! An additional cost and safety factor to consider: general anesthetic is much higher risk than a local (plus gas if you need it). A doctor friend once told me "If you're having surgery, worry most about who your anesthetist is. If anyone kills you, it's going to be the anesthetist."
One last negative on general anesthesia: they have improved general anesthesia, but it can cause nausea and other side effects. Good luck!
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Yeah, $1,800 on top of insurance sounds crazy high! Definitely shop around. YMMV, but I've had good experiences at dental school clinics.
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I had all mine removed for $400. No insurance.
This was awhile ago though. $800 would be a fair price now assuming none are impacted.
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I'm having all 4 of mine out tomorrow and I'm only going to pay $462 after insurance. Your quote is very high.
But I would not shy away from the 6 month interest free financing if it is causing you pain right now. Just be sure to pay it off within that time frame.
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Another person here who went the just-novacaine route. No problem though one of my 3 (I only had 3) was very hard to get out (the ~70-year old dentist who did the job had to break it up in order to get it out and later told me "I had never seen one quite like that one before." Great!). So having my mouth open for so long was not comfortable, but there was no pain.
Take chapstick with you and use it, and ask if you can have the prescription for whatever painkiller will be provided before the day of the extraction (then get it filled, so you'll have it handy). Because, yeah, getting painkillers prescribed while you're wandering around with a sore-recovering-from-numb mouth (or anesthesia) is no fun and entirely unnecessary.
Sorry your teeth are bothering you. I had mine out for the same reason and, ugh.
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Also just novacaine here- and they did it with a hammer and chisel- so I had drops of blood and tooth chips all over my face. It wasn't quick for me- an hour at least. That was a little traumatic, but I survived. I don't know how much it cost because I was 16.
Definitely try to get the pain killers called in the day before and pick them up on your way to the dentist. No soda, no straws. Also stock up on pudding, mashed potatoes, ice cream, apple sauce, and tomato soup for the first few days.
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Or you could go the really Mustachian route and just not get them cut out. My mom did it, and I'm going to unless I start having pain. I found an interesting article about it in the NY Times, there's very little medical evidence that it's a necessary procedure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0)
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Or you could go the really Mustachian route and just not get them cut out. My mom did it, and I'm going to unless I start having pain. I found an interesting article about it in the NY Times, there's very little medical evidence that it's a necessary procedure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0)
This is true.
I'm pretty sure my bottom two could have stayed in. But I don't think there would have been enough room for my top two.
All four straight as an arrow are in a plastic bag now in my desk drawer.
It's just a common dental procedure that has been brainwashed into society that they gotta come out. It wasn't too long ago that it was common to get your tonsils taken out even if they were fine.
If your mouth is big enough that they fit, and they will grow correctly best to leave them in.
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Or you could go the really Mustachian route and just not get them cut out. My mom did it, and I'm going to unless I start having pain. I found an interesting article about it in the NY Times, there's very little medical evidence that it's a necessary procedure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0)
Do people really take them out for no reason? I had mine out because I was in braces, and they had to get them out before putting the bottom braces on, plus a bicuspid out, just to have enough room to fit the teeth. (As an adult getting braces, my teeth were very badly out of alignment.) The OP and other posters mention pain. Why would anyone pay for having pieces of their body removed without a reason?
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I had a dentist who was great with Novocaine and he took them out in two visits. Mine were sideways, so they had to come out. I must say, I recovered much quicker than my friends who went under. Anesthesia takes a lot out of you.
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Or you could go the really Mustachian route and just not get them cut out. My mom did it, and I'm going to unless I start having pain. I found an interesting article about it in the NY Times, there's very little medical evidence that it's a necessary procedure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0)
This is true.
I'm pretty sure my bottom two could have stayed in. But I don't think there would have been enough room for my top two.
All four straight as an arrow are in a plastic bag now in my desk drawer.
It's just a common dental procedure that has been brainwashed into society that they gotta come out. It wasn't too long ago that it was common to get your tonsils taken out even if they were fine.
If your mouth is big enough that they fit, and they will grow correctly best to leave them in.
Most people's mouths aren't big enough. They just don't come in if your mouth isn't big enough. Granted, if you/your parents have already paid thousands for orthodontia, then you probably won't want to mess up your perfect teeth, but my mom didn't think that was necessary either, so mine are just going to stay there unless something is actually wrong with them.
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I still have my wisdom teeth and had a dentist declare as soon as he saw them that they should be taken out. He's the only dentist who's ever told me that. I didn't go back to him. I have never had any problems with them. I'll keep them until I do.
Definitely get a second opinion as far as cost...it does seem a little high.
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I would also suggest getting a quote from another oral surgeon. My copay was ~$500 for removal of four wisdom teeth with general anesthesia.
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Does Novocaine effectiveness vary per person? I don't have wisdom teeth and apparently won't, but I did have a filling a few months ago and has 3 shots of Novocaine before I couldn't feel anything. Dentist was surprised after the second shot.
If you are having pain, Camilia is great.
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Kaytee, some dentists are better at Novocaine than others. I had one dentist who could NOT get me numb. He told me I had psychological problems. I told him that I was quite sure I had psychological problems (don't we all), but they had nothing to do with his inability to get me numb. Found another dentist who got me first time every time. He was the one I allowed to take my wisdom teeth out.
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Or you could go the really Mustachian route and just not get them cut out. My mom did it, and I'm going to unless I start having pain. I found an interesting article about it in the NY Times, there's very little medical evidence that it's a necessary procedure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html?_r=0)
Do people really take them out for no reason? I had mine out because I was in braces, and they had to get them out before putting the bottom braces on, plus a bicuspid out, just to have enough room to fit the teeth. (As an adult getting braces, my teeth were very badly out of alignment.) The OP and other posters mention pain. Why would anyone pay for having pieces of their body removed without a reason?
There are a few reasons to have wisdom teeth removed even if they are fully erupted and not causing any problems. I have a pretty small mouth and somehow still had 'room' for all four teeth and could even chew with them, but they are just so darn far back in the mouth, it made it difficult to keep them clean. I got cavities, and they don't generally fill cavities in a wisdom tooth, just pop it out. Makes flossing a lot easier, too. :)