Are you in the Woodlands, Tx and need to get your wisdom teeth removed? We have so many residents from in and around the Woodlands come down to our dental office to have their wisdom teeth extracted because of our affordable prices. Our team also uses minimal invasive techniques during our surgeries to help our patients recover faster than they would otherwise. In this article we will go in depth about what wisdom teeth are, and how removing them at a young age can benefit your overall health.
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What are wisdom teeth?
Wisdom teeth, also known as your third molars, are the last teeth to develop in your jaws. Most people develop four wisdom teeth during their life: two upper and two lower wisdom teeth. A lot of times these teeth do not have the adequate space to erupt inside of your mouth and remain embedded inside you jawbones. These are affectionately called “impacted wisdom teeth”, and they can cause a myriad of dental health issues inside the mouth. Wisdom teeth, if they do erupt, are usually seen during our teenage years and are removed normally during the same time. Our surgery team at Best Dental always recommends to remove wisdom teeth during your early years to help speed up recovery surgery time. Patients who wait until their later years to have these teeth removed usually suffer from adjacent teeth damage, and a more difficult recovery process.
How are wisdom teeth classified?
There are two main ways that wisdom teeth are classified by: the level of impaction, and the angle in which they are erupting.
Impacted wisdom teeth
Impacted wisdom teeth can be classified by the level of impaction inside the jawbone:
- Full bony wisdom teeth: these are completely encased inside your jawbone, and are usually the most difficult to remove by your surgery team. These are normally also the most costly to remove because of the difficulty of the procedure.
- Partial bony wisdom teeth: these teeth are partially inside bone and partially surrounded by your gum tissue. They are normally the second most difficult teeth to extract which is why they cost more to remove than wisdom teeth that are fully erupted.
- Soft tissue wisdom teeth: These are wisdom teeth that are surrounded purely by your gum tissue. Many of these teeth develop symptoms of pain and a condition called pericoronitis, which is described as severe inflammation of the gum tissue that is covering your wisdom tooth.
- Fully erupted wisdom teeth: These teeth have completely erupted inside your mouth because these patients jaws had the room for them to fully arise inside the mouth. They are also normally the least costly wisdom tooth to remove.
Angle of eruption
Wisdom teeth can also be classified by the way that they are erupting in relation to the adjacent teeth inside your mouth:
- Horizontal wisdom teeth: These are teeth that are erupting sideways towards the second molar. Because of the way they are coming in, they can cause damage to the adjacent teeth inside the mouth causing both infections and tooth decay in the area.
- Vertical wisdom teeth: These teeth normally erupt in a similar fashion as the other teeth inside the mouth. Depending on how much jaw-space you have, these teeth may erupt completely or remain impacted.
- Mesio-angular wisdom teeth: These teeth are wanting to erupt diagonally towards the adjacent teeth. Like horizontal wisdom teeth, they also have a propensity to cause dental decay on the adjacent teeth. These also tend to be the most common angle in which wisdom teeth erupt in.
What is the cost of wisdom teeth removal?
The average cost of wisdom teeth removal in the Woodlands, Tx is $2,800. This includes all four wisdom teeth including IV Sedation. Prices may vary depending on the number of wisdom teeth being removed, the difficulty of the extractions, and the surgery team that is conducting your procedure. Remember, that deeply impacted wisdom teeth removal tends to be more expensive than wisdom teeth that have erupted. Fortuantely we charge $1,200 for all four wisdom teeth including IV Sedation. There is no better deal than that in the entire Woodlands area.
Does dental insurance cover wisdom teeth extractions?
Most dental insurances cover wisdom teeth removal. Depending on whether you have an DHMO plan or a PPO plan, costs may vary. With DHMO plans there is normally a standard fee that your dental team will charge you for your surgery. For PPO plans, each plan will cover a certain percentage of your treatment (most will cover up to 80% of the treatment costs). Remember that most dental surgery teams will not accept Medicaid and DHMO plans. Check with your carrier to find a surgical team that can undertake your wisdom teeth removal surgery.
