A couple of days ago, I got a toothache.
Now, when I say I got a toothache, I don't want you to imagine me suddenly putting my hand to my cheek and saying "Goodness, that smarts!" Think more of me running to the bathroom mirror and looking in my mouth for the wasp that had clearly snuck into my mouth and was stinging my gum.
After determining that ignoring it was not in fact going to make the pain go away, I went to the dentist today. As some of you know, I hate hate HATE going to the dentist, which is funny since I've had to spend so many delightful hours in the chair. I'm told that I got all my childhood diseases at roughly the same time, at the age of four or five, and I got them bad. I had chicken pox on the bottoms of my feet and inside my mouth, for example. As a result, I was told by my childhood dentist, my permanent teeth developed into little 90 pound weaklings at the beach, constantly having sand kicked in their little teeth faces.
After sitting through a meeting with my boss this morning and smiling happily while resisting the urge to cry, swear or throw myself out the window from the pain, I called 1-800-DENTIST, told them my insurance carrier and where my office was, and they found someone who would take me right then, just run out to the car and go go go.
So I went went went. And like every other time I've gone to the dentist, the news was much worse than I thought it would be.
I was confused because the tooth that was hurting was a crown, and I figured it must have had a root canal at some point. But no, it was a crown on a tooth with a functioning nerve, and thanks to a poorly attached crown when it was originally done, there was decay and infection underneath. To make matters worse, it had spread to the two teeth on either side, one of which DID have a root canal and a crown but would now need a new crown.
So the total required work to Rob's Mouth of Horrors: TWO root canals and THREE crowns. The total cost will be about five grand, and my insurance stops paying after a thousand.
I wish I had a cute, pithy ending to this, but my mouth still hurts. My wallet's feeling sort of woozy too, now that you mention it.
You need to read this article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/12/20/121018/65
It's called HOWTO: Get Your Teeth Fixed in Mexico. It's very infomative, and since you live in Texas, highly relevant.
Good heavens. That's awful. I had a toothache a couple of years ago that resulted in my dentist coming in on the weekend and telling me she could do a root canal (which might or might not do the trick) or yank it out and me screaming OUT! OUT! I'll tell you right here and now, it hurt worse than labor. So I feels for ya. And in the wallet, too.
ReplyDeleteOuch Ouch Ouch!!! Oh, Rob, that sucks, it really does. I'm sorry about your teeth. -V.
ReplyDeleteWheww - just catching up after cataract surgery for one eye. When you young ones with incredible nearsightedness have to have this done - the doc says the 'cataract belt' is anywhere from 50 to infinity but he's even seen some 40s - take heart because they can make your sight better! However, you'll be lopsided until the other eye gets corrected too.
ReplyDeleteBut I digress... I will put some $$ in the till as soon as I get this stuff straightened out and encourage any and all to join. Let's help Rob's mouth.
Meanwhile, Rob, don't delay the work as I think it might affect all the rest of your body but of course verify that with your lovely lady doctor. Ask the dentist office to set up a payment plan for you I'm sure they're used to that.
Also, right now if you haven't yet, register trademark the Zombie Jesus and Sleazy Whatever that was ...darn I forgot and can't go back to that page.
Good thoughts to you.
Hope you're feeling better soon!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if this is an option for you but consider having your teeth fixed at a dental school. The students are over seen by actual dentists and they do give drugs. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I know friends who have done this and got their care at a fraction of the cost.
You may hate the dentist more than I do and for good reason. I'm so sorry. Tooth pain sucks.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. Your daughter is a beautiful girl - she inspires me.
I had posted an entry about this, but upon further reflection, I decided it was posted in anger and gave the person I was responding to more attention and validation than I think they deserve.
ReplyDeleteSo let me simply say this. I'M NOT ASKING, OR EVEN HINTING, FOR ANYONE TO GIVE ME MONEY TO GET MY TEETH FIXED.
I went to the dentist, got a shocking projected cost for the procedure, and blogged about it. If you found out after having a toothache for a day that it was going to end up costing you a few grand to fix, I suspect you'd blog about it, too.
God, I hate the fucking internet sometimes.
I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this; however, I really encourage you to get a second opinion.
ReplyDeleteI had my dental moment of crisis about a decade ago. I finally went to a new dentist (as opposed to the one I had seen since grade school - which became impossible after I went to college in another state.) I went to a dentist that was covered by my dental plan, but had nothing else to recommend him. After a round of x-rays and an exam that was cursory, to be charitable, the dentist advised me that I needed 3 crowns and a root canal, plus a boatload of other filings and work. I don't remember what the quoted cost estimate for any of this was, but I walked out of the office in a daze.
After that diagnosis, I asked a co-worker for a referral for a second opinion, and found a real dentist. When I saw him, I had a meaningful exam, and felt that he actually considered my needs and what was a practical treatment regimen. The verdict with dentist #2 was that I did need a crown and a root canal; however I didn't three crown, or much of the other work the first dentist had wanted to push me into.
Don't be afraid to push for more information, or to ask for a second opinion - even if it means more money, it may make you much happier with the end result.
Best of luck to you.
That's a good idea, I may do just that.
ReplyDeleteSo you took that post down. hat woman is toxic, pure and simple. As a longtime reader, and reasonable, rational person (I like to think), I found it weirdly interesting to see the crappoloa you have to deal with and I am somewhat torn over your decision to remove the link. But that would be the highroad a classy writer like you would take. A way to navigate your readers around the garbage dump of that other particular site. So I have to respect that. I hope you're feeling better soonest. Honestly, there is nothing worse. A small thing like a tooth can affect absolutely everything. Take care, Julie
ReplyDeleteIf you can figure out which dentist did it, is there a chance you could go after them for the money required to fix it?
ReplyDeleteJulie S
Oh my gosh. That is a lot of money. How suckey!
ReplyDeleteSo first you blog about your diabetes diagnosis and request donations for diabetes supplies. Then you blog about your huge dental bill, and complain when someone wonders if now you're asking for money to deal with your dental bill. Is that so out of line, really, considering your recent history?
ReplyDeleteReading is fundamental, Anonymous Genius. Since I keep reading how shameless I was in asking for help, I suppose you may assume that if I feel so inclined, I will in fact shamlessly ask again.
ReplyDeleteOh damn! I'm sorry! That sounds so painful, both to the mouth AND the wallet.
ReplyDeleteFeel better.
ack, i feel your pain. i suspect i am in for something similar when i get up the nerve to go in. i had a blind-as-a-bat dentist who sealed decay in beneath a filling, and when i went back he just kept filing it down saying it was a bad fit and that's why i had pain. he retired and the dentist that bought his practice told me he'd been blind as a bat. nice. she put on a crown (more money and pain, of course). i went back because it hurt, and they sent me away. it's been a couple of years and i need to look for a new dentist...i'm sure it's at root canal stage, though. after reading your story, i'm hoping that the decay hasn't spread to its neighbors...gak.
ReplyDeleteanyway, here's to a big shot of novacain and some laughing gas.
As others have said, get a second opinion. For some reason every time I go to get my teeth cleaned, the dentist tells me that I've got cavities or gum disease or need a root canal or whatever else. So far, nothing's fallen out, nothing's been done and I'm fine. Seems like a lot of dentists are just interested in pushing extra procedures on people. So people end up avoiding going.
ReplyDeleteObviously the pain is a sign that something is wrong, but you might not need all of the procedures they're pushing.
My wife is a dental hygienist and she said that the price you mentioned was "in the ballpark" for the work that you said you needed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you want a second opinion the dentist she works for isn't too far away from you (north Rowlett) and is reasonable, honest, and will work with you on an affordable treatment plan.
If you want his name and number, email me, chancew1@comcast.net, and I'll send you the info.
PS - she said not to go to Mexico.
God, tooth pain -- especially what you're going through -- is worse than childbirth. Gah. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteidriveatruck is right about crown replacement. here's something to think about---instead of yr standard metal crowns, you can get ceramic crowns made, that are basically CAD-modeled to fit exactly on top of your existing tooth (or any portion thereof that is saveable) and then is like chemically fused to the rest of the tooth. These babies are supposed to last much much longer than metal crowns. They are, of course, much more expensive as well. I know you're hurting for money these days (literally, I imagine, given the tooth situation) but if you end up either winning the lotto, or having to wait on fixing your face until you have more cash (which sucks a lot but it happens to the best of us) at least ask a good dentist about the ceramics---cost vs. lifespan. "CEREC" is what you want to ask about, or see http://www.cereconline.com/ .
ReplyDeleteI have a nightmare of a mouth myself, and am a little dentist-phobic too... sort of a chicken-or-the-egg deal there I'm sure... opted for the ceramics because I'm damned if I'm going to have to spend all this time replacing crowns AGAIN in ten years. Definitely spendy, I've been working my mouth for over 2 years now in sort of a "look, some spare cash, let's buy a tooth!" type deal, but if it means I never have to do a full-mouth overhaul again, it'll be worth it.
On the plus side, it makes my dentist's day to make a tooth for me... he's a real gadget hound and loves to show off the 3D modeling part of the process in particular... it's kind of funny, he's like an overgrown kid with a new toy.
Rob, may I suggest Dr. Kent Herndon, in north Dallas? He's on the Dallas North Tollway, between Keller Springs and Trinity Mills. I've gone to him for about 8 years, and on my recommendation, more than 25 coworkers, friends and family have switched to him, as well. He will work with you, and is very good about saying, "We'll just keep an eye on that, and maybe address it in a couple of years."
ReplyDeleteHe also never, never hurts.
And - I hit publish before I signed the prior - sorry!
ReplyDelete~Shayne