I just need to cry...long..

[SouthOSane]

I know I’m pretty new, kind of, I lurked forever before I joined, so I feel kind of off dumping this on “strangers”…I’ve just had the week and ½ from hell, and I’m sure my friends have had enough of me..plus I’m embarrassed to tell them some of this..at least I can be pretty anonymous here..

The whole money situation for hubby & I used to be worse then bad, we both worked (and still do) super hard to get to a comfortable spot, in the meantime I didn’t want to add to things (bills) by going to the dentist or doctor unless I *knew* something was very wrong. Hubby was always saying I should because we knew things were wrong, but they weren’t bad enough for me to be able to justify another bill to myself. Figured I'd just keep busy and work thru them..

Last Wednesday I went in for back pain I’ve been having, it had gotten to the point that if, on my day off, I didn’t keep moving I couldn’t move. Found out it was pretty bad, now I have to do physical therapy three times a week, thankfully insurance covered all but $150 of it.

Today I finally bucked up and went to the dentist, I hadn’t been in years because of insurance and a really bad experience with my old one (things like leaving a root canal hanging wide open, and saying it was done)..the dentist I saw is getting me a quote written up, I have all my teeth, but I need a lot of work, and more then a couple root canals and a re-do on my old dentists work..he told me today $5,000-$12,000, my insurance covers $1,000 of it, and after December 31, I might not even have that (hubby is on a contract, which is up that day). We don’t qualify for any assistance (years ago when combined we made $7.50/hour we made too much, so we won’t now)..This town is so crappy, I tried before to get a 2cd opinion and nobody would touch it so they didn’t go against another in their field..

I’m due for a physical and over due for a tetanus vaccine, at this point I’m scared to do that, I might find out something else is wrong..

Even if my financial aide comes thru for school I don’t know how I’ll afford books or time with everything else, I can’t stop working full time, I’ve already cut way back on my other jobs (piddly here & there stuff just to get some extra cash).. I don't want to put that off for another 10 years, so I'm terrified to delay it at all..

I just wish I could wake up from this..I told a friend the other week, things were so nice I was waiting for the ball to drop, and it has..

[Gitty]

Well you could cut some of the cost. Here it is $40.00 to have a tooth taken out. Most likely you have 32 teeth. That's $1280.00 to have them all pulled and maybe $500.to get some false ones made. That idea will save you about $10,000. But that is totally your choose.

[SouthOSane]

Gitty - I'm really not quite sure how to respond, other then it's 1) not every tooth in my mouth so having them all pulled would not be right 2) I'm in my 20's the idea of even a partial (which he mentioned), scares me basically it's my molars, (and really you can't, heck I can't even tell on half of them, he said it showed in the x-rays) ..don't know why, but he said it wouldn't save that much 3) I still don't "get" his estimate, I really could see $5,000, really could, (wouldn't freak out over getting a loan for $4,000 to cover this) since alot of it is fixing someone elses hack-job, but I can't get the high end of it, and that scares me he'll come back and say "yup it's gonna be 10-15,000"..

FishmansBetrHalf - I never even thought of that, but if it's enough of a difference I could drive anywhere at this point..going to start looking for one to talk to..
he's out of his office today, so I'm figuring I won't know anything till Monday..promised hubby I'd make the appointment for my physical today..just have to hope that if the end of the year his job disappears the cobra payment isn't too bad

[ckerr4]

My husband has had quite a lot of dental work done lately, and I've had the mother of all root canals just finished, lol. What I would suggest, to begin, is talking to the person in the office in charge of accounts. Tell them your situation. Tell them you can't really afford to pay for the treatment, and that you would like to do whatever will be covered by insurance before the end of the year. And get that done! Waiting for a root canal can (as you no doubt know) be painful. So get one or two things done - find out what you can get done with that $1000. In the meantime, you can deceide what else can be done - either save up a little more for another procedure, find a dental school, apply for something like CareCredit (which is a medical credit card), take out a personal loan. My husband is in much the same situation though - put off getting work done, and is having some work redone after an experience with a bad dentist.

I hope it turns out okay.

[schsa]

Your other choice is to have your dental work done in pieces. There is no reason to have all of the crowns done at the same time. Do one and then the next and so on. If your husband's contract is renewed that means you have $1000 to start on the dental work you need. So don't do it all at the same time, just in bits and pieces.

Go have your physical. You have nothing to loose and you may end up further ahead than you think. At your age you're too young to have too much go wrong.

Take it piece by piece. You don't have to do it all today.

[SouthOSane]

Ok, so THANK YOU! I found a dental shool w/ a clinic 2 hours away, had a number for new patients, so I'll call them Monday (right now I don't have much time, physical therapy in an hour and work in 3, plus I want to see what the dentist has to say). I shouldn't freak, but, like I said the ball dropped. Everything has just hit me at once, hubby might not have a job, but then if things go right, it is the nearing the end of the year, I can max out my $1000 now and remax it after Jan.1 (if we still have it)..

ckerr4 - I'll have to look into that card, and really, I don't have pain, that's the weird thing, the one tooth he said needs a RC I didn't even know had a cavity..

schsa - that's what I thought witht these two trips, how bad could it be LOL I'll be 27 in two weeks, guess I do have to have something right with me..I did go out & get vitamins & calcium, the spinbrush the dentist said would be better (I was so worried he'd tell me some $100 toothbrush, but he likes the nice $4.50 one) & he sent me w/ high flouride toothpaste..maybe it's all my wakeup call to take care of ne a bit

Think I'll defere (sp, being lazy & hurried) school, maybe it's a good thing, I can get more aide/grant/scholarship applications out if I do..I just so want to go back to a real job, but actually have a salary instead of the pennies I was making before (the whole reason I got stuck in the job I have now..)...

[schsa]

South, I have the mid priced Oral B rechargable tooth brush and my hygenist says that if I didn't brush my teeth for 6 months they would still look good. It's worth the investment because it really does clean the crap out of your teeth. I go in every 6 months for a cleaning and Sherry, my hygenist, rarely has to do any real scraping to get the plaque off.

[AngelGrim]

My dentist hacked on me too so now have to have more work done, is this an epidemic of dentists messing up. Hope everything works out for you:)

[jdglmg]

It really sounds to me like the dentist thinks because you're in a small town with limited options, he can do work that you don't really need and charge you out the wazoo for it. He knows that no one in the town will give you a second opinion (good ole boys network in action) and probably counts on you not looking into any other options (like the dental school). If that's the case, that kind of thing just makes me mad! :mad:

I hope everything works out for you!

[gemini26]

If you are within any distance of Mexico dental work there is good and a LOT cheaper. Everyone we know goes there including our family. We are about an hour and a half from the border though maybe 2 hours.

[Gotahaveit]

At your age you're too young to have too much go wrong

That's not even true, Age makes no difference.

You do need to get a physcial just to make sure you are healthy. At your age you also need to have a mammogram. I was 27 when I got breast cancer, had a Mastectomy. I'm 31 now and I have to have a hysterectomy. So, my point is, illnesses can strike anyone no matter how young or old the person.

I would also suggest not having all of your teeth removed. That's crazy..I don't know any dentist who would remove healthy teeth.

Hope everything works out for the best.



my hygenist says that if I didn't brush my teeth for 6 months they would still look good

I hope you don't believe that...Your teeth would look nasty after a couples days of not brushing. Why would dentist tell you something so foolish? Did you happen to meet your dentist in the unemployment line?

[Jacie]

"my hygenist says that if I didn't brush my teeth for 6 months they would still look good." I am astounded that any hygienist would make this remark! What an idiot. Having been in the dental field for years, I suggest you find another hygienist. At the very least, a second opinion.

[guesswho!]

We just used a Care Credit card & i wanted to add that they're interest free for up to a yr., depending on the amt. charged. The higher the amt.,the lgr. u have to re-pay. You still have to re-pay, but at least it's over time, vs.lump sum. Also it's only int.free if u make your minimum monthly pyments & it must be pd in full by the end of the grace period, or then interest will apply! It is a great alternative if you're w/out dental insurance.

The dental schools also can save youy mega bucks. I do know ppl who've used them, i've never been brave enough! Also, some schools have an assistance program where depending on income you can get free or very reduced charges, you just have to talk to the secretary & they can check with whomever to see if u qualify & u must supply financial documents. (I've done this for an eye exam & only pd.less than $20.& qualified for free glasses - it might also apply to dental). Worth checking!

If none of this works, churche usually have funds for ppl. who need medical care of any type. If it reaches that point, try giving local ones a call.

Good luck to you. Better to get it done now,than wait til later & have even more unpleasant surprises.