Dr. Evil Do-er
I have a confession to make...I have not been to the dentist in about 18 years.
I can just hear the collective gasps from everyone.
I know it's bad and if I get one more lecture...I'm going to scream. The problem is that I haven't had Dental insurance and up until recently, I haven't had any problems with my teeth. The key word being recently. Awhile back I broke one of my back molars and surprisingly it hasn't caused me any realy pain until last night. I was awakened to painful throbbing throughout my jaw and a sudden sore throat. I went for an emergency visit to the dentist (who coincidentally is my age and extremely goodlooking...though I'm told he has a girlfriend) only to be told that I have a very serious infection in my tooth and I was given antibiotics that I had to double up on today.
I wasn't feeling good, I hadn't slept and I looked like crap in front of this hot doctor...then he starts telling me that I'm going to have to have a root canal and a crown done next week $1,700. Plus my wisdom teeth are impacted and he wants those to be removed before he does the crown...several hundred more dollars added to the total. I do not have dental coverage. I do not have $1,700 much less whatever else it will cost for the wisdom teeth.
This revelation on top of not feeling well caused me to burst into tears. I didn't want to. I felt like an idiot as the tears spilled over my cheeks. The worst part was when the Technician hurriedly handed me some tissues and a mirror and I realized that I forgot to wear waterproof mascara....shit. I had mascara all down my cheeks, on my eyelids..everywhere. My face was splotchy and my eyes were bloodshot....why couldn't I have had the ugly old dentist today?
posted by Lindsey @ 12/21/2005 07:00:00 PM
29 Comments:
Be careful about believing everything the dentist says. You may not need all of that. In Australia the dental school does work for cheap (but they're kinda studenty).. do they have something like that over there?
awe Linny, I'm really sorry you have to deal with this horrible dentist problem! Dentist problems are nightmares no matter they actually are. Moth of my daughters have become dental assistants - what the heck is THAT? They are all sadists!
sorry lin lin..i didnt go to the dentist for 12 years coz i didnt have dental insurance.. i finally wnet a few weeks ago coz my work gives me coverage and all was gold.
i was quite surprized.
i hope something works out for u...
:)
Well maybe that explains why you can't get date!
Oh poor Linny! Somehow I suspect that this dental exchange has NOTHING to do with the reason you haven't been able to get a date!
There aren't enough good dentists out there, I think, and when you find a good one, you have to stick with 'em. For years, I saw this dentist who was supposed to be "a specialist" and "expert this-and-that", blah blah, but every time I visited him, he and/or his assistants would shove their arms in my mouth up to their elbows and then yell at me to quit gagging. Yuck. So I switched to this guy I went to church with, and I love him. He's nice, his assistants are nice, and the people there are nice to each other. Revolutionary...
I hope you can find a good dentist, Linny. I have an uncle who lives in Cumming... want me to ask him who his dentist is?
Linny, 2006 is a fresh start, a do-over and things will be looking up for you very soon in different areas, I'm convinced (call it 6th sense, and I'm always right!).
Bear hugs, x
Is there perhaps some sort of payment scheme perhaps, so that you can pay off the treatment bit by bit?
Or perhaps that nice boss of yours (recall mentions of wanting to sponsor your education etc) could give you some sort of advance (loan).
*healhealheal* Dental pains
are the worst :(
Feel better!
the option to root canal is to have the tooth extracted. if it's only one molar, you can afford to lose it. I know because I had a lower left molar removed and next week I will have a lower right molar removed.
Why? Because I have dental insurance but they only cover half of a root canal and crown, which means it would cost me about $1,000 to get the root canal. The extraction is MUCH cheaper.
Happened to me earlier in the year... what happened?
Triple root canal surgery (which really isn't as bad as you think it's going to be) and time with the evil hygienist who hurt like hell...
Do get ti sorted... saying that I haven't been since and it was 7 months ago... the pain, the anguish, the sheer cost of it all!
I'm sure something will work out for you. Maybe you can find another dentist that will do the work for less money.
Man, oh man...Dental insurance: I don't have that either. I will though...next October, I think. It'll be the first time I get to go in...(I'm counting)...Five years, by that time?
But really, eighteen years: don't be ashamed about that. Ever. No matter how many people lecture you. I know people who've never been to a dentist! And plus, it really is so gosh darn expensive! They should offer free dental care the same way baby girl gets free health care. I can't afford all the medical cost that comes with a kid, so what am I supposed to do?? The same should apply for dentistry. They'd have to be strict though. Maybe that's why they don't do it...
Anyways, strange little bit of trivia: I too broke a tooth a while back, but doesn't seem to bother me. And my dentist...SO HOT!!
(Sigh)
Always wear water-proof mascara. It's God's gift to women. :)
~ Ash
i only go to the dentist when i need to, but mine's due to fear more than anything, i'm just not a fan of them!
I can certainly identify... Not with the hot dentist... LOL But the no dental insurance... Up until a year ago I'd always had it... Now that I don't I need to see a dentist bad and don't have the money.
Just don't do what I did... I extracted a tooth myself... It did not tickle, I assure you!
That sucks.
Linny -
Earlier this year, I broke/cracked 2 teeth -upper and lower)while eating a brownie (Damn Walnut).
Although it hurt like hell, I put it off for a week, too busy at work to go to the dentist. Then had to go to a funeral, then put it off again..yada yada yada. I hate dentists as well. Long story short - I woke up one morning - blinding pain - looking like Marlon Brando with the mumps. Found a dentist and he wound up being really great. I needed 2 root canals and because of the infection more oral surgury on my jaw. My Dental insurance only covers 1,500 a year - I blew through that with the root canals. I talked it over with the dentist and worked with me on getting everything fixed. I used to wonder about people who actually wanted to put thier hands inside peoples mouths - that and "The Marathon Man" really put me off of dentists. I really like mine, no pain at all - he even sent me a Christmas Card!
Also you mayu wanna check out these new "sleep Dentists", you go to the office - take a pill - sleep for 8 hours and they do all the work while you are out could. They do everything at once so it's only one visit.
I'm so sorry, Linny. That really sucks...
If it helps you any - I haven't had dental insurance in like 4 years, and thus, I also have not visited the dentist like I should (or at all in the last 4 years).
I'll probably also need some root canals by the time I actually get up the courage to go back.
Most dentists will do payment plans, though it sucks to pay monthly for something that you didn't want in the first place.
What about one of those places like Liberty Dental or something like that. You have to pay monthly but it gives you some coverage!
signed,
fellow no dental coverage survivor
gurl u aint the only one. I havent been to the dentist since, heck, i dont thinnk i have ever been to one....I do need to see one but the shit IS expensive. I think dental insurance is a freakin scam. I mean seriously, they only pay x amount of dollars per year knowing damn well one root canal or whatever the hell else they do cost double that. Go figure. Anyhow, others are right, they usually do a payment plan. You could just tell him to fix the real problem and do the rest later when u got more money.
hope you feel better, toothaches are the worst...hope he perscribed some vicodin with those antibotics.
and ol phil is totally wrong for what he said.
awww,
sorry about your tooth and the pain...
Make shure that the doc. is not looking for money. chris went to one doc and told him one thing and it was going to cost a lot of money then went to another one and he said he did not need all that work and he only spent 50 bucks i think...
get better soon!!!
Don't worry Linny.
I bet you still looked hot.
And surely he will work with you on price if he really thinks you need all that done.
Don't worry, I haven't been to the dentist in years either. But I am obssessive about my teeth--brushing them three times a day, rinsing and gargling twice a day. I also use whitening strips on them. The biggest obsession? Flossing.
The pain of a rotting tooth is unbelievable. I got a prescription for Vicodin when I had an abscess. Although, I think women have a higher pain tolerance.
eeeeks. SOrry to hear that girl. I go every six months like clock work. My teeth are VERY important to me. Very! And thankfully, they are in very good health. *knocking on wood*
I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was 16. They were impacted, so he had to go in and get them. Worst pain of my life. SOrry to tell you that. But you need to have it done. :(
Good luck.
**I have not been to the dentist in about 18 years.
HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! lol! aww Linny u naughty gal...:)
Well mebbe cos u have pretty good teeth but a cleaning is necessary every year isnt it?
Hey tc girl..Im sorry to hear abt ur dental probs...it costs alot of money yes...but go and get a 2nd opinion...dentists can be rippers!
Keshi.
Oh no! I hope you feel better soon! Dental work is expensive. I don't have dental insurance but the visits are less than $100 so I pay for those. I just keep my fingers crossed that I never have to have a root canal or something. Everything will work out hon!
Dental work is not much of a Christmas present. Sorry you're lumped with that. Will this affect your turkey and Christmas cookie consumption? I hope not.
Have a great Christmas, Linny. Should I phone Santa and order you some dentures? It’s a local call, you know... Santa is Canadian.
Crap, Linny, that totally sucks. I hope you get to feeling better soon. A tooth ache is one of the WORST things to deal with. I really feel for you.
What is UP WITH ALL THE HOT DENTISTS?!? My last one was a total hottie and the one my friend, Tonya, works for is as well. Figures.
I'm sorry about the steep bills... ugh... that really sucks.
I got my wisdom teeth out when I found out I was leaving my old employer (when I had dental insurance). I had 3 total - and once "put out" they actually tried to remove a tooth that wasn't there in the "4" spot. I had a huge infection and it was horrible.
Oh - wait a sec - I meant to make you feel better. That won't happen to you - I promise. :)
Hang in there, girl!!! Just think - once you get the work done, you'll be good to go hopefully for another 18 years!!!!!!!
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