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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Dentist Appointment

This morning I had a dentist appointment...its been 10 years since I last stepped in a dentist office. My stomach was so sick, while waiting for the dentist, I thought I was going to throw up. There is nothing pleasant about a doctor's office...absolutely nothing. Needless to say, I do not like the dentist. Not the dentist personally, I'm sure he's a nice man with a nice family, and a really, really nice house, just don't like having my teeth poked, x-rayed, and so on.

The end result: approximately a $5,000.00 bill...yes, that is five thousand dollars. (This is why I am sure he has a really nice house.) I haven't had anything done yet, but if I do I must give them $5,000.00. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

Is there anyone out there in bloggyland that has never had their wisdom teeth pulled? Do I HAVE to have them pulled? I know I will need a root canal on the other tooth, or just have it pulled, but I am not sure what to do about my wisdom teeth. I need some wisdom, people!

~ Jen ~

6 comments:

Mrs. J said...

Hey, I have the same predicament as yours. I've had braces for 6 years and have visited my dentists regularly. Unfortunately, my dentist in the Phils didn't do a good job so when I had my teeth checked here in America, I had to have an Advanced cleaning. I have 3 more sessions to go because they divided it into 4 quarters so I won't get hurt. I also need a wisdom tooth pulled! All I can say is that I am upset with my Philippine dentist for not telling me I had that MUCH problem! It's gonna cost us a lot too! We have dental insurance but it will still cost us around 1k or more (dont know the exact amount yet for total out of pocket). To add insult to injury and our emergency fund lol, my husband also had to have a rootcanal which cost around $600 oop!

Have you tried searching for dental schools?! I have heard and read they also do good jobs and the fee is very low. I tried looking for one but is waaaaayyyy far from our area so I had no choice but to dive in the dentist here and yeah, I am sure too she has a nice house or houses LOL. Why don't you prioritize your tooth that needs to have root canal first? Since that is more important, in my humble opinion. You might be able to make some arrangements with your dentist too. 5k is just too much!

Ellen said...

I had my wisdon teeth pulled when I was a teen so my parents covered it.

On the other hand I have racked up a $2000.00 bill with my current dentist and even though we owe that much the Lord blesses. He knows we are Christians and do "the Lord's work" as he puts it so my last appointment was a no charge visit and he filled 3 cavities. He also mentioned GIVING me porcelein venteres for my front teeth in the future. I would say pray about it and trust the Lord to take care of it. I know it's easy for me to say that but we are trusting that we will be able to pay our bill. My husband could be weeks away from a lay off, eeek! I could mention you to him and see what he could do for you if you may be coming this way (Missouri). I don't know if the traveling would make it that expensive anyway. If you think I can help let me know.

Dear Abbi said...

I still have all of my wisdom teeth, even though 2 dentists have recommended I have them removed. They don't give me trouble, so I'm not going to do anything about it for now. Maybe I will get an x-ray to check to make sure they aren't eroding the molars next to them (my lower wisdom teeth came in sideways) but if they aren't giving me troubles, I'm leaving them. :) My hubs needs to have his out b/c they do give him trouble from time to time. But he's made it 37 years, and I don't see any immediate plans, judging by his eagerness to make an appt with an oral surgeon.

I would also recommend a dental school. There is one in Montgomery county (outside of Philly) that has cheap cleanings/fillings. Also, I would shop around. I like my dentist and would prefer to go to whomever he recommends, but at the same time, money is money. I will go where it's cheapest. :)

The Equipped Life said...

I work in a dental office. If your wisdom teeth are not hurting, not decayed and they're not crowding your other teeth out of proper bite alignment, then you do not have to have them out. In the long run, it could save you problems, but since there is currently a money issue, you probably COULD put it off. I still have two of mine that are facing totally wrong, but they don't move, so they're no problem.

Dental schools are great, but time consuming. Everything has to be broken down into multiple appointments because the students are slow - they're learning on you. But the price can be 40 - 60 % less. In Texas the waiting list is the main problem.

As far as shopping around, I would like to urge caution... would you shop around for, let's say... a knee surgery, or a cancer dr, or orthopaedic dr to set a fracture? Yet we will allow ANY CHEAP dr mess with our teeth and cut and work in our mouths. Remember, your mouth is still a part of your body - and therefore, a part of your overall health. Also remember that you usually do get what you pay for - they're so 'cheap' for a reason.

Most dental offices offer some sort of payment plan. Many offer interest-free plans for up to 12 or 18 months, while long-term plans are available with interest.

This is simply the viewpoint of an 'insider' who knows the dental field - good and bad - and the way dentists operate (pun intended).

As someone else has already said,though, pray about it - God will provide for ALL your needs. Even the dental ones.

joy said...

sorry to hear about your teeth troubles. dentist give me the same sick feeling. i never had a cavity until i had kids, so i firmly believe they suck the life out of you. lol. :o)

my father in law (our pastor) goes to a dentist that only takes patients without insurance. the cost of paying everything out of pocket is cheaper than if they have to deal with the insurance companies. when i had my root canal, at another dentist, just MY portion of the bill was 800, and that was with the insurance covering the other 50%!! so, in my experience, if you pay cash, with no insurance involved, your price will certainly be negotiable.

i have also heard of dentists that give large discounts to people in the ministry. ill pray that you find one of those!!!!

Julie said...

It's funny that you would go to the dentist, and have them tell you this, right now!! Bill just got his wisdom teeth out last Thursday! He hasn't been to the dentist since I've known him (almost 10 years), and I'm sure he didn't go for a long time before that. The dentist took the x-rays, and said that his wisdom teeth had broken his molars, and that they were past the point of repair. Needless to say, he had a total of 6 teeth removed, all at once. :( She said that if he had gotten it done when he was younger, the molars would have been fine, but because he waited, they were destroyed. He has also done just fine with recovering from this, although he still isn't eating much solid food (which is hard for someone who LOVES his meat!!).

I say that you were brave enough to go in once, so you should definitely keep that up, and get it all done now! (I've been there...if you don't go back now, it'll be years before you go again!) We are facing a bill of several thousand dollars, too...not a fun place to be, but I would rather pay it than to have my husband lose all his teeth, especially at such a young age!

I had a root canal, along with several fillings done last year, and the only thing I would recommend would be to tell the dentist that you're a wimp, and you want a TON of Novocain!! It hurts like crazy to have them give it to you (although my dentist was nice enough to just give me a little at first, then let that take effect before giving me the rest of it), but it's definitely worth it to have the peace of mind that there is no way it's going to hurt while they're working!