Your brief and helpful guide to impacted tooth removal

The last set of teeth that erupts in your mouth is the wisdom teeth. It is a set of four teeth each comes up at ach quadrant of the mouth. Usually people start erupt these teeth in their late teenage or early adulthood. These teeth come at the back of the mouth and are also called third molars. There is no especial care required when the teeth erupt healthily and in correct alignment. On the other hand one of the common dental surgeries is extraction of wisdom teeth. Why do you think this contradiction exists? It does not require rocket science to understand the reason; when these teeth finally come out there is no space in the mouth to accommodate those and this is the reason why the thick majority of wisdom teeth need to be extracted instead of letting them come out in their usual course explains a busy dentist in London.

When there is no sufficient space for a wisdom tooth to come out properly, the tooth can be impacted. What is an impacted wisdom tooth? An impacted wisdom tooth means the teeth does not erupt fully from the gum. According to an estimation carried out across the United Kingdom by dentists nearly 9 out of every ten people suffer from at least one impacted tooth if not more. An impacted wisdom tooth often leads to various dental problems including plaque build-ups, tooth decay and infection. According to dentists working at leading dental surgery in Wimbledon your wisdom teeth may turn out to be problematic under the following condition –

• The teeth are impacted which in other words mean the teeth could be stuck partially or fully below the gum line
• The teeth develop cysts which in turn can provide harm to the jaw
• The wisdom teeth could crowd the other teeth, making those crooked and exposed those to danger
• The teeth could be responsible for varieties of oral health problems including cavities, inflammation and others

Extraction or removal of the wisdom teeth help prevent these issues in the long run. Wisdom teeth removal is one of the most common procedures across dental surgeries although this does not mean the cost of it is negligible. The expenses of the procedure add up quickly especially when more than one wisdom tooth is involved. Here are few quick facts related to the procedure which are relevant any time you experience any issue related to the teeth.

• When wisdom teeth removal is concerned, sooner is always better than later to avoid pain as well as added costs.
• A speedy recovery following a wisdom tooth removal depends largely on the quality of aftercare.
• After a wisdom tooth removal you must check your diet for a few days to avoid any unwanted complication. It is best to concentrate on soft foods that are rich in protein content the next few days following the removal procedure.

Cost of wisdom teeth removal without any dental insurance

According to a top notch dental surgeon in London the cost of wisdom teeth removal is never uniform and it is based on a number of factors. As far as the United Kingdom is concerned the cost of removing a single wisdom tooth may easily range from £550 to £1550 per tooth. The cost is determined by certain factors like the anatomy or structure of a wisdom tooth itself, the time and expertise required for the removal procedure, presence of any infection or any other complexity and other such factors.

Your dentist will certainly give you a personalised treatment plan and discuss the procedure along with the cost, the risks involved and future implications of the removal procedure before actually removing it from your mouth. The wisdom tooth or teeth that have already erupted or at least partially erupted at the gum line cost somewhat lesser when the removal procedure is concerned. If any other complication is present then that makes the prices go higher. A typical complication that increases the price of this removal procedure is a dry socket during recovery. Simple extractions of erupted wisdom teeth cost most reasonable. Extraction procedure of each such tooth comes around to £240.

Factors that determine how much your wisdom teeth removal will cost

Let us explore some of the factors that determine the actual cost of removal of the wisdom teeth out of your pocket.

The health and condition of the teeth

The teeth that have erupted or emerged from the gums either fully or partially are easier to access and hence also easier to remove. In contrast to the normal teeth, an impacted tooth remains stuck under the gum line or the jaw bone. Thus removal of an impacted tooth is never easy unlike the normal ones. It just cannot be pulled out with administering local anaesthesia on patients.

Extraction of a wisdom tooth often requires administering patients with sedation. In the next step an incision is made in the gum tissue to access the tooth lying under the gum line or the jawbone. In fact removing an erupted tooth is easier compared to that of an impacted wisdom tooth. The later requires higher skill sets, more time, effort as well as resources. All these factors add up to the higher cost of the procedure.

The type of anaesthesia

Usually dentists who perform oral surgery in London administer patients with local anaesthesia for wisdom teeth extraction. Local anaesthesia numbs the nearby area of the mouth so that you do not feel any pain. The cost of local anaesthesia obviously adds up to the overall treatment cost. Other than local anaesthesia, sedation is the other option to numb your pain during the procedure. Sedation can be administered through intravenous or IV medication, oral medication and as gas – like laughing gas or nitrous oxide. When administered with sedative, patients stay calm and relaxed during the procedure.

People are known to have multiple impacted wisdom teeth. In such cases dentists prefer administering patients with general anaesthesia to put them into sleep.    

A patient’s age matters

The cost of wisdom tooth removal is usually higher for older people than it is for youngsters. Performing surgery on adults is more difficult as they develop denser bones with age. The bones in teenagers and young adults are much softer and hence carrying out these surgeries is easier.

In addition to the factors mentioned above, trained and experienced oral surgeons working at the renowned Wimbledon Dentist explain the cost of this treatment is usually higher in urban areas and large cities compared to rural areas and smaller towns.