Hi all so the back story this is my last wisdom tooth left
Its the bottom right tooth . Not fully erupted , my gum needs to be cut ,went to my regular dentist they will not remove it as its too close to a nerve according to my X-ray . They have referred me to an oral surgeon for him to remove it
Just want to know if anyone been through this ? What was your experience?
Im a bit scared as its close to a nerve but also want to get it out as i feel its a food trap and has cavities , thank you !
Anaesthetic service: $694.10. Medibank/medicare together covered $399.10, my payable amount was $295
Removal of 2 teeth (Item no. 323 x 2): $1280. I claimed a significant portion of this under extras.
Unfortunately the hospital I went to send me a physical invoice rather than digital, but from memory it was about $500 - I claimed this through private health cover as this was the "everything goes right" fee and could have increased if there were complications, for which there were not. We also had to pay some pharmacy costs for medicines we took home but that was ~$30-40 from memory
I had my impacted 90 degree wisdom tooth removed by a referred oral maxillofacial specialist about 5 years ago. He wanted to do all 4 but I went with just the impacted one and the normal one above as he said it will affect my bite if I didn't. I did a scan and said nerve is close but he can do it in the chair which I went for to save $. I waited a year until my health cover would cover this and did it at his practice under local. I heard the patient before me screaming while I was waiting but for me it wasn't bad after injections to numb the gums, he said I was the stillest patient ever.
It was $800 or 900 per tooth + a hundred for the local anaesthesia. Only needed the prescribed pain killers for the night, day after the pain wasn't much so didn't need pain killers.
One thing I didn't expect is the gap/hole where the impacted tooth was.
The top 2 of mine have fully erupted, they came out straight and had room. My bottom 2, 1 like it's not even there and the other just slightly sticking out. When I got an x-ray, they said it's right on the nerve, and it's up to me if I want to risk it.
I thought, well, permanent nerve damage or minor issues with food being stuck in there and the uncommon occurrence of inflammation from time to time? I rather not risk permanent nerve damage. My niece went through something similar, she lost more than half her feeling, and it took her years not to dribble water out of her mouth.
Risk is small, yes, but no thanks, unless it's a life or death situation, I rather have my life like this, 99% of the time, my teeth are good. I brush once a day for 4 minutes at night (Grants is an awesome toothpaste), and if I have any issues with inflammation, I use a natural mouthwash that has several things in it that helps and salt water wash. Haven't had a filling or cavity since I took control of my teeth from my parents.
I had a similar situation. Nerve was close to the wisdom tooth and dentist wouldn't touch it. Went to the maxillofacial surgeon and he gave me two options: either go general anaesthetic in a hospital or local at his practice.
The risk was damaging the nerve and losing feeling on the lower jaw (as it is for you)
General was a couple thousand with private insurance. Local was $500.
I ended up going local. You just take the risk after weighing everything up and asking him how many surgeries he's done, and what he thinks the risk of him damaging the nerve is for local and general. There's no guarantee that under general, the nerve won't be damaged either.
Thankfully the surgery went well and the tooth got taken out without nerve damage.
Hope all goes well.
Thank you for sharing your story . It seems like there is a huge price difference in getting it removed under local or general anaesthetic. How was the pain under local ? Did they also cut your gum ?
yeah they did because the tooth was side ways and not completely exposed. Yes, with local they can do it in their practice (like a dentist). With general they need to book a day surgery practice and have all the nursing staff and anesthetist. The pain's not that bad with local. If local pain was really that bad, no one would ever do it. But yes you are awake and can hear drills and everything.
They also give you strong drugs afterwards.
Had mine out ages ago, but took out all four at once. Half half in terms of erupted / under the gum. Don't know how close to the nerve it was though.
My dentist referred me to a specialist, and it was worth it. Made the entire process seamless and painless as possible. Don't remember the cost, but given how long ago it was, probably not worth tracking down.
Went fully under, and woke up the other side largely none the wiser. Til they jokingly pass you a barf bag…Unfortunately they cant vacuum up all the blood as they work. Momentary queasiness aside, recovery was quick.
Anyways, was out and about wandering the shops a few hours later. Complete with ice packs bandaged to my face, tied up in bunny ears above my head.
Could have been the after effects of the anesthesia, but I was a happy chappy afterwards. xD
Very little discomfort, and was back to eating normally relatively quickly. The dissolvable stitches eventually just disappeared without me noticing.
I was referred to a specialist for an impacted wisdom tooth. But I didn't want to fork out lots of money for it so I went on a waiting list for a community based healthcare service. I had to wait a year and I remember just before the surgery both sides at different times got really painful to the point where if I had to wait any longer I would rather see a specialist so I don't have to experience the pain again.
As for the surgery it went really smooth. I was awake for it but it didn't hurt and I had to get both sides done. But once the anaesthesia wears off be prepared to experience some of the worst pain you've felt in your life. You will need to use ibuprofen to numb the pain. I tried to get by with panadol because I don't like relying too heavily on pills but in this case I had to make an exception.
Also it was my own fault this happened because my dentist from years prior told me to get my wisdom teeth pulled out to avoid this from happening but I didn't want to get surgery unless it was absolutely necessary so it became impacted.
Had all four removed by a surgeon as they were impacted. Cost a bit but glad I got it over and done with.
Recovery was a bit of a hassle as others have said.
took out 3 at the hospital. Same day in and out with ice pack souvenir around the jaw. Didn't feel anything as i was out the whole duration and was wheeled out to recovery.
Cost was a couple hundreds each + another 600 or so for the anesthetic. Partially rebatable through medicare.
You'd probably want hospital cover, Private hospital admission is where it stings I believe.
I had undecended upper wisdom out recently under GA, day surgery. My oral surgeon was very good and reasonable price, but I'm in Sydney. My general dentist said get it out in the chair but the surgeon advised GA as I'm nervous with dental work, and I think that makes the job more difficult for them. Had to drill into bone and I think procedure was close to an hour, so happy with my decision. Surgery can be claimed on Extras, anaesthetist on Medicare, no rebate on hospital fee unless you have hospital cover. All up, cost me $1000. Really no issues at all with recovery.
I had this issue & was referred to a specialist, the right wisdom tooth kept coming up, breaking the gum & then receding as the other tooth was blocking it's path.
The operation was fine but the interaction with the surgery team was a little dodgy…over the slab, pre-surgery, the anaesthetist demanded cash which my wife had to go to an atm before they would put me under!!! After checking with NIB the prick had double-dipped by getting money from us & also the full amount from NIB…..I think he got struck off the NIB provider list for that!
That seems incredibly wrong. I got an invoice from my anaesthetist around 1.5 weeks prior to the procedure stating that I had to pay by at least the day before the procedure, either by credit card over the phone or by bank transfer to them. It stated that the procedure may not go ahead on the day if I had not paid, and payment would not be accepted on the day.
Are you sure you didn't miss something before the fact? Also sounds like generally a dodgy guy with the double dipping, did you report him to ANZCA?
I had my first 2 done by a surgeon. The surgeon slipped and dropped part of a tooth down my throat and I almost choked out right there. I should never have paid but I was so groggy that I just wanted to get outta there. It was also before I had my OzB membership.
Only $1000 cover for dental phi is such a joke
I had all 4 wisdom teeth and a back molar removed under GA.
Terrified of the dentist so i left them in for years as they decayed and was constantly taking pain killers as they'd flare up and hurt quite often. Wish I'd done it sooner… The pain after was nothing compared to the pain I was in for years with them
All up cost for day surgery was 5k. Paid half out of pocket after insurance
'my regular dentist will not remove it as its too close to a nerve according to my X-ray' ?
I thought all teeth were close to a nerve ? and the point of local anaesthetic injection was to desensitize the nerve during the operation …
but hey - you could get a second opinion - ask dentist 1 for the x-rays - they should be your property.
I had an impacted wisdom tooth removed in Penang Malaysia back in about 1976 - if I recall it was a 2-hour operation in an amazing brand new state-of-the-art surgery with the top local surgeon attended by 5 assistants - cut the badly impacted (leaning over) tooth into 6 pieces for removal - cost me US$30 then - so 46 years later if 5%pa inflation that might be equivalent to 9.43x or US$283 or AU$400 today.
In the last 5 years or so I've had major root canal 3D computer-generated ceramic crowns in East Asia for $800 for urgent 2-4 day jobs - if I was willing to wait 2 weeks it might have cost me more like $300 - I think I got estimates in Sydney for around $4000 for the same job.
my regular dentist will not remove it as its too close to a nerve according to my X-ray' ?
Yeah I thought this was odd too… I think they mean like, jaw nerves? Not teeth nerves? Either way it should be fine most likely…
In the last 5 years or so I've had major root canal 3D computer-generated ceramic crowns in East Asia for $800 for urgent 2-4 day jobs - if I was willing to wait 2 weeks it might have cost me more like $300 - I think I got estimates in Sydney for around $4000 for the same job.
This huuuuuuuurts me. Just about to finish (tomorrow) my first and hopefully only root canal and crown procedure. Will be about 6k all up.
All teeth are indeed close to a nerve. Large nerve trunks run along your upper and lower jaws and provide supply to the teeth, gums, bone and even to the skin on your face. When a dentist talks about wisdom teeth being "close to a nerve", they are referring to the large Inferior Alveolar Nerve trunk, which provides sensation to the lower teeth, part of the gums and finally, the skin on your chin. The problem isn't usually desensitising it, more so the risk of damaging it in the process of pulling the tooth out. If the roots of the wisdom teeth lie in close proximity to the nerve trunk, the risk of damage increases.
If damage occurs, it may be temporary, or in rare cases permanent. This is experienced as numbness, tingling or some other altered sensation on the part of the patient around the chin area.
Hope that helps clarify things.
SOURCE: Am dentist.
this is awesome intel! if you can be bothered explaining, why did i experience numbness when i had a tooth infection (addressed with a root canal now - almost done!)? like, what's the mechanism?
Tooth infections tend to follow a certain pattern: in the case of tooth decay, bacteria penetrates the outer shell of enamel and dentine , gradually spreading towards the inner core of nerves and blood vessels. They then attempt to spread from the tooth to the rest of the body. Teeth receive their blood and nerve supply through a small opening at their root tips, which acts as the path of least resistance for bacteria to spread to the rest of the body.
At this point they meet resistance from the body's immune system which causes swelling and inflammation in the area. This usually presents as pain and tenderness when biting on the tooth. However, if the swelling is large enough, and in the vicinity of a large nerve trunk, it can actually exert enough pressure on the nerve and its blood supply to result in a numbing sensation (somewhat akin to falling asleep on your arm resulting in pins and needles).
Root canal treatment solves this issue because it disinfects the tooth where bacteria are most prevalent. The immune system does the rest in clearing the external inflammation and swelling, and the numbness goes away as a result.
Sorry for the long explanation but hope it made sense.
@kr0nix: 100% perfect explanation mate, love the extra details. It makes it make way more sense. my infected tooth was the 3rd molar from the rear on the bottom left - i suppose that's probably a spot close to those nerves etc.
I wanted to ask the dentist (i have somewhat a science background and just generally like to know how stuff works) but i was too anxious and hearing about the processes made me want to throw up lmao. so thanks for providing that context!
i didn't really have much pain with the infection but the numbness was infuriating - it really made me panic.
i think there's a lot of work to be done around dental education in this country. my situation sucks and it is pretty avoidable.
Hey OP.
I’m a super anxious dentist person.
I wrote some other comments in this thread but please feel free to DM me to discuss. I’m not in Melbourne which I think I saw you were, but I’ve had a bunch of oral surgery (5 extractions including wisdom teeth) both under sleep dentistry and normally. My dads had even more.
Happy to answer any questions.
i went through a similar situation. wisdom teeth to be removed. they were close to a nerve that runs through my face. they stated something like a 1% risk of permanent numbness / droopy face. they really went to town on my gums as it was difficult to get to the teeth. i felt a weird numbness for 2-3 years after that then it eventually went away.
Did it a year ago to extract two and half teeth. The oral surgeon explained
the risk as the roots were too close to nerve.
After surgery felt numbness at tip and side of tougue as a sign of nerve damage. It gradually went away in a few months time.
I've just had 2 wisdom teeth removed less than 12 days ago. They put me under. Painful!
I did all 4 under LA, didn't go under. I had to see a specialist and mine weren't out either with my gums needing to be cut. Needles in the gums (profanity) suck but I'd still prefer it to going under…
I had all 4 out at once, the bottom 2 were badly impacted and a nerve had wrapped around one of the roots. Really badly. Could have lost my facial control on one side of my face and sense of taste (given at the time, I worked quality control at a flavour company, that wouldn't do).
Ended up being referred to a maxillofacial surgeon to perform a new procedure that was being studied called a coronectomy. Essentially, the crown is removed leaving the root to naturally dislodge itself from the nerve as it dies out and shrinks, causing no problems. Whilst the recovery was pretty bad, and the cost was not great, AND I was the one in a million patient who had his sinus ruptured during the procedure that cost another $1000 to repair and has left me with lifelong sinus problems…
It was worth it. No nerve damage, no loss of anything. No more pain and intolerance to hot and cold.
Take from that what you will.
EDIT - This was all done under a local with an IV sedation. I was conscious the whole time and small snippets returned to my memory in the years afterwards.
Had 4 out at once, 2 horizontal. Lucky not to have nerve damage, rather painful post op. I should have done it when I was younger instead of deferring it.
I was a similar case. Went to my usual dentist (who is good), he said the same thing your dentist said, that the bottom wisdom teeth have the nerve running very close between the roots, and then i was referred to another dentist that specializes in wisdom tooth extraction. He looked at the xray and advised I see an Oral Surgeon and go under general anesthesia.
I had 3 of my remaining wisdom teeth removed in October 2021. 3 other people were booked in on the same day as myself. I appeared to be significantly more swollen than others (they seemed to just get up like nothing happened and were asking when they could have a smoke).
My Oral Surgeon had to remove a significant amount of bone from my lower jaw, and also made an incision into my cheek and pulled the buccal fat pad out and over the top extraction where it was sutured in place (didn't stay sutured long).
The incision and operation to my cheek / bucccal pad was run by me before or after surgery, it was only after I had this huge white mass of flesh hanging down the side of my upper row of teeth that I asked what was up, and was told not to worry and that i would go away. It took a while, but the fat pad did eventually retract back into the cheek and is no longer noticeable. I was trying to google this practice after i was told about it and could find very little and was worried, but it turned out fine.
Also, my lower extractions got lots of food stuck in them, and I wasn't told how or given anything to manage it. After I went back to my dentist and the surgeon, both gave me a syringe to squirt down the sockets and clear them.
Basically the surgery went fine. Try to minimize use of pain killers, i nearly had a clogged ass which, once again i wasn't told about, and i was only taking minimal pain killers which made me feel like crap (i dont know how people get addicted to them tbh)
Reading other comments, I had a strange experience too with the Anesthetist. He demanded to be paid in cash, no EFT option, and was a bit of a jerk (when i woke up post op the nurses were trying to keep the pain low and were just asking if i needed more and he was telling them to give me panadol, after he left the nurses gave each other a look).
One lower tooth extraction should be fine. Your recovery time will probably depend on how much bone is cut into / the trauma to the area. I had post-op xrays to determine if there was any infection due to pain, which didnt show anything clear. After going back to my regular dentist, he had a good look and pulled a piece of bone out of the socket/wound that had worked its way through, about the size of a 2 dimensional pea. I didn't get dry socket to my knowledge, but was super careful.
Worst part as others have stated, is not being able to open your mouth much, the pain, being on liquid diet for atleast a week (i was on one for probably 3 weeks), and any possible post-op complications, but you should be right.
Hope you went with a proper oral maxillofacial surgeon
Ask for the billing item numbers from the surgeon and run them through your PHI.
I thought I was covered, but I wasn't covered for much at all
Yes I definitely will . My dentist gave me their item number for surgical extraction and it was covered under my general dental limit . So hopefully its the same at the oral surgeon but will double check
Surgical extraction came under Major Dental for my Extras cover (NIB)
Had the same thing several years ago, all four taken out under general anaesthesia. The bottom two were sideways, one impacted and had slightly erupted and food would get stuck under it no matter how well I brushed. Pain every now and again.
Got referred to oral maxillofacial surgeon, went through options, went through possible post surgical adverse effects (i.e. close to the nerve, could result in loss of taste). Guy gave me a quote as I didn't have private health insurance.
Get it done if you've got pain, get it done at a young age and you'll bounce back a lot quicker….be prepared for a liquid diet for the first few days….still remember the first solid meal, a burrito from GYG, took me 1 hour to eat the damn thing as I watched the bloke at the next table inhale his in about 2 minutes.
No ill effects, no dry socket, rinsed with salt and chlorhexidine mouth wash (watch out for oral thrush!).
Very happy to have gotten it done, happy to recommend the guy if you're in Brisbane.
Thanks but im in melbourne . I have passed the young stage im afraid . Im 34
Got 2 extractions done when i was 23 and it was a pretty much painless experience
Got 1 extraction this year at 34 and i was in pain for over a week
Travel to India and get the work done in 1/5th of the cost with the same or better quality treatment. The cost is including the travel. Just gotta be mindful that you find a great dentist in India though. If you know someone or check online for suggestions from people who have had similar procedures they'll refer you to the best one.
I have a more positive experience. I got all 4 out (with a couple being close to nerves and angled weirdly) at a private hospital with Oral surgeon and overall, couldn't have gone smoother. Took 2 panadol the following morning and that was literally all that was required for pain management. A bit of discomfort eating for a few days.
Cost a reasonable amount out of pocket, but definitely worthwhile and would much prefer going under than just doing in the chair.
I had all four removed at Westmead Hospital. Was given choice of local or general anaesthesia. Had a bad experience with local with my teeth before so I said "Eff that, knock me out!"
I just so happened to have my last wisdom tooth removed last July. It was close to a nerve, growing sideways, impacted, with just the top side of it sticking out of my gumline.
My surgeon recommended that we break the crown off the root, remove it in pieces, while leaving the root in there so as not to disrupt the nerve. He said there is a small chance that the root may extract itself from my jawline, which may require removal down the track. The majority of cases find the jaw healing itself over with no further problems. I followed his advice.
I was about $1300 out of pocket which covered the initial consultant fee as well as the gap that my private insurance left me. I took five days off of work and it was definitely needed, as were the pain meds. It was a few weeks before I was able to chew on the affected side without discomfort.
I had a good experience, but luckily I am out of wisdom teeth now so I do not have to go through that one again!! :D
I had mine done in the chair at the dentist no issues probably a days pain at the worse. My son had his done at the oral surgeon in the chair under local as they were impacted. He slept the rest of the day but was back at work next day no worries. He had all four at once and 2 cost $570 each and the other 2 $500 and he got 80% back on health fund. I think you probably bounce back quicker in the chair - but the sound of teeth cracking is pretty gross.
I had 2 wisdoms done in Thailand a few years ago before Covid, at 1 of Bangkok's top dental hospitals. Lots of bleeding and feeling faint the first day, then strong painkillers for 2 weeks straight. Not the most fun experience.
I had all four out. The surgery itself was fine, however I was unlucky that the surgeon damaged the nerve on my lower jaw. I could not feel anything from the middle of my lower lip around halfway my jaw on my right side, and for a few months it had a constant dull ache pain meds wouldn't touch even though I couldn't physically 'feel' the area.
That was about 10 years ago, it never fully recovered but I can now sense temperature and some pressure. For the first few year I could easily have chewed my lip if I wasn't careful and not noticed.
Apparently this is pretty rare, lucky me :)
EDIT - even though the above sucked, it was still way better than the problems the wisdom teeth were causing
Yep have done that. All 4 removed because 1 lower tooth was impacted pointing forward instead of up.
Go in, sleep, wake up, walk out.
No particular swelling or pain after. Stitches dissolve.
Had to be careful eating for a little while while it all heals as can get food stuck in the holes.
Exactly same experience as you. Went in, sleep, wake up and wife drove me home. Soup date for fews day but thats bout it.
Get health insurance and you won't have to pay much at all.
I have private health insurance . I get 80 % back on general dental with a limit of $1000 back
I had 4 taken out last year. Look into sleep dentistry. I hated dentists but this experience helped a lot. I woke up when all was done and the meds were strong enough so I wasnt in pain. There was no pain just felt uncomfortable afterwards. Soup diet for few days.
When I was younger I had all 4 removed and 1 had to be cut out.
I was fined other than that side of my jaw being twice the size for 1-2 days 🤣
My case was similar to yours. I had to get three out, of which one had emerged and two still still under the gums. The particularly worrying one was one under the gums sitting too close to the nerve. I saw two dentists and neither was confident to extract it themselves.
I went to see a good maxillofacial surgeon. He explained the surgical process including cutting the gums to extract the teeth and assured me that the problem tooth wasn’t that close to the nerve and that in most cases even IF the extraction process did hit a nerve, it would only be temporary side effects. So the risks were low and I felt confident enough to with him.
It was a day procedure, I went to a private hospital and put under GA. I never felt a thing. Woke up, went home and took about a week off work. My gums were sore for about a week but it wasn’t anything that paracetamol couldn’t handle. All up, I had a really positive experience.
The extractions were claimable under extras - general dental. The hospital accomodation, and anaesthesia was somewhat covered under my hospital cover. I was out of pocket by around $2K which was no surprise because all the fees were quoted upfront and I had checked with my PHI.
I was 28 and located in Melbourne when I had my wisdom teeth out. I can safely report that my gums have healed up nicely with no post-surgical issues.
Yep, got two out in the chair at a oral surgeon courtesy of public health. My friend got a dentist to pull out 4 in burwood NSW for about $500 cash on the other hand. Shop around
Thank you . Ill give him a call . If you dont mind me asking do you remember how much it was with him