Showing posts with label dental. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dental. Show all posts

Does The Tooth Fairy Visit Adults?

Last year, I mentioned about how my tooth hurt when I ate hard food like granola. The tooth was probably cracked but the dentist couldn't see anything. Being the frugal person I am, my motto is "it's not a problem, til it's a problem". So I did nothing, except maybe nurture that side of my mouth to avoid pain from biting on that cracked tooth. This worked for a while, but then last week it finally happened - a chunk of my tooth came out while I was eating cereal. In case you've never experienced your tooth falling out - its like eating rocks. You feel a funny tingle and then crunch. Then you wiggle your tongue over there and confirm it really happened. I pull out the little piece and rolled it around in my fingers, pondering how much the tooth fairy would give me for part of a tooth. Probably not much. Not enough to cover the bill anyway.
 
So, now we have a problem. And it must be dealt with. I've let the dental plan expire, but since I did let it expire they want us back. So they sent a 25% off coupon to get us to renew. Good thing I waited. Not. Now I have to wait a couple days for it to become effective. Meanwhile I have a partial tooth in the back of my mouth. Luckily my dentist could fit me in first thing Monday. Today it was. So I took the whole day off work to enjoy my new tooth. Except it started off with going to the dentist.
 
I generally have pretty good teeth, but I still don't really care to go to the dentist. Part of the experience that bugs me the most is the noise. And the big needle of Novocain. I brought my own Ipod to help cover up the drilling noises, but there's not much you can do to avoid the cloud of dust and debris flying out of your mouth from drilling. I gagged at the smell of the burning tooth dust and metal. What an absolutely terrible combination of noises and odors. At least there was no blood in the mix. I think. So what seemed like a really long time they finished the drilling and moved on to the impressions and packing the core to ready it for the temporary crown. I tried not to watch but did happen to see the guy lifting a small black slimy string thing that looked like a worm, and drop it into my mouth. Then with his tool he starts pressing it into the mold where my new tooth stump is. I almost passed out it was so gross. He added some other stuff with a caulk gun and starts pumping in cement and then eventually tugged the worm back out, but it was yucky.
 
All in all it went smooth. I didn't drool that much, and my gums are tender, but not bleeding from all the hacking they did. The worst is over, except for having to pay. As I said before I signed up for dentalplans.com and it cost $134 for 13 months of coverage for both DH & I. The plan dropped the cost of the core and crown from $1321 down to $753. Almost half price just because I signed up for a dental plan. Definitely a frugal idea.

 

Frugal Dental

A couple days ago I went to the dentist to investigate a little tenderness in my back molar when I bite hard stuff, like granola. They did a full set of x-rays since I didn't have a set on file. I decided to go ahead with it since they are valid for 5 years and I really wanted to know what the deal is with my bum tooth. All these dental decisions were a little easier to make since I had recently signed up with www.Dentalplans.com (my referral code is 65A21S68) in case you sign up too.
 
Since the insurance options offered by my employer are pretty un-frugal, we checked out other options. DentalPlans.com is not insurance, but is a discount dental plan designed for individuals, families and groups looking to save money on their dental care needs. Participating dental care providers have agreed to accept a discounted fee from plan members as payment-in-full for services performed. As a plan member, you simply show your membership card when visiting any participating plan provider to receive most dental services at discounted fees.
 
My DH had a chunk of his tooth fall out earlier this year and had to make an emergency visit to the dentist. We didn't have any insurance or dental plan, so the expense looming was not cool. I quickly searched the internet and found www.dentalplans.com and my dentist participates, so I signed up and we were covered for the dental appt two days later. I think the plan cost about $140 for a year of family coverage, less than the price of two cleanings for the year. As it turned out he needed a root canal and crown which would have cost over $2000 with out any plan. With our discounted fees, it came to 1/2 that for $1000.
 
Now with my deal, it turns out I have a cracked tooth. When I bite down on the old filling it pushes the crack open and I feel some tenderness. There is no pain yet, but I need to get the tooth ground away, replace it with a core and a crown, for the estimated price of $700. Without the dental plan, it would cost about $1200 for the core and crown. So this year it is definitely paying off to have this discount plan.
 
So if you can't afford the dental insurance provided by your employer, I would suggest investigating a discount dental plan, its worth it.
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