Dear all,

I had two wisdom teeth on the left side removed. Days ago when I was reviewing my insurance claim, I realized that I was charged for about $500 in total for two procedures that I was unaware of until I saw the claim. And they are not covered by my insurance. One is bone graft and another is guided tissue regeneration.

I called the dentist office before I made a decision to extract my wisdom teeth, to find out required procedures and cost under my insurance. They never mention that I could need these two procedures. They have my x-ray pics.

During the extraction, the dentist did mention that he already put some bone graft to help my bone to grow. Since I'm not a dental professional, I didn't even doubt whether it's necessary. I didn't know it's separate procedure either and didn't know it will be charged separately from the extraction fee. As for the tissue regeneration, I do not recall whether he informed me of it.

And after the extraction, when I was paying my out-of-pocket amount, the office manager (same lady who picked up my consulting call) didn't mention the two procedure either.

When I saw the claim, I asked the dentist office. She replied as below:

"The only reason we used 2 procedures for the bone graft is because insurance companies itemize everything and we are forced to comply with their policies, especially since we are contracted with them. A bone graft requires guided tissue regeneration because it ensures that the bone has time to form before the tissue can fill in the space where the bone should be."

It makes me puzzled. My questions:

1. Is bone graft really necessary for wisdom teeth extraction? I did some research online. Most opinion says it's unnecessary unless my teeth was totally impacted and covered by bones. Bone graft is usually used for implant placement or denture stabilization (sorry I can't post link to provide the source). Referring to wikipedia, I believe my wisdom teeth were not impacted. Although my bottom wisdom teeth was mostly covered by gum and erupted toward the molar next to it, the top part (about 3mm) was out of the gum.

2. According to the manager's reply, a bone graft requires guided tissue regeneration. Is it always the case?

Thanks very much for your help!

MQ