[Duff]

It's not always a 50% co-pay. That will vary by state and by plan. I have pretty cheap & awful dental insurance, but wisdom teeth extraction was 100% covered. I think my only cost was the copay for anesthesia.

Dental insurance is pretty cheap -- there are a limited number of high-dollar procedures that happen infrequently. Plus, major costs like anesthesia are usually part of medical coverage. So while the insurance pool is more likely to pay for a wisdom extraction for many folks between 18 and 30, that's a one time event.

Medical insurance, on the other hand, needs to cover a broad array of overpriced procedures with nearly unlimited liability. I had a back surgery that cost my insurance company about $75k. The recent birth of my child cost nearly $25k!