the Price of Wisdom Teeth Removal

I took my daughter to a local Oral Surgeon for removal of 4 wisdom teeth. We had to arrange for the surgery to be done during her Spring Break from college. We made no secret of the fact that she was coming home for one week for the specific purpose of having the surgery performed. The total cost of the procedure included general anesthesia but not post operative pain medication. (that would have added another $200 to the total price). The price was quoted per tooth (approx $300 per tooth) plus the anesthesia and surgical supply cost.

We were very satisfied with the skill of the surgeon. The extractions were done without complication and the post operative course was smooth. What was disturbing was the actions of the office staff. The receptionist was very abrasive and rude. She spent a great deal of time loudly declaring to my daughter as she checked in 10 minutes prior to her surgery that she would be in "too much pain to go back to her college apartment because she was having a"bony impacted extraction". I felt her comments frightened my daughter needlessly and bordered on violating patient confidentiality. The remainder of the staff acted like we were cogs in a very finely tuned assembly line. When my daughter began to choke and gag as we took her to the car, I asked for some extra gauze to clean her up. I was told "there was gauze in our bag" and sent on my way. No One came out to the car to check on my daughter's well being.

Be sure that all pre and post operative planning is done BEFORE the scheduled time of surgery. Plan for all pain medication as part of the pre op planning. Try to obtain prescriptions for those medications before the day of surgery. Be sure you have over the counter pain medication in the house as well, as most people do not require the narcotics prescribed. Use ice packs on the patient's face for at least 24 hours after surgery.