Dentists........Just shoot me now I'll feel better........

[Hound dog]

No insurance really svcks. Having no insurance with several mouth issues.....is on a whole other level.

Been having issues for a while. Got the infected molar/jaw cared for via ER.....if you want to call it that. Did get really strong antibiotics, but got squat for pain medications. And got treated like a drug addict/drug seeker because my mouth/teeth are a mess (seriously) from having no insurance for so long. Yes addicted tend to have teeth that are in horrible shape.......but guess what? People with teeth in horrible shape are NOT all addicts. Poor people with no insurance haven't got much of a chance to see a dentist.....not unless they don't want to eat, make a house payment, or pay their utilities. So they don't go. And because they don't go, their mouths go to hades.

Called all over 3 counties. Dentists want nothing to do with you if you have no insurance. Did not matter that the 1st time around I had the money to pay for the services. This time I don't........I made that house payment, bought us some groceries. The money for the dentist is gone.

At graduation.....the night before.......I lost the cap to my front tooth. Nichole hunted and hunted and found an ER dentist......she left out the part about no insurance. All I wanted was the thing capped so I could graduate without a gaping hole in the front of my mouth. Dentist is a great guy. Really he is. But there really was no fixing it without causing more issues. So I graduated with a big gaping hole in my mouth.

BUT dentist swore he'd work with me, there would be a payment plan made up I could afford to get my teeth taken care of to get me out of pain permanently. And he was really good about finding the least expensive way to treat me. (which means nearly every tooth pulled and partial instead of full plates as it's many hundreds cheaper) I was thrilled at the thought of eventually being pain free and being able to eat normally again. We set up the appointments. I was to contact his billing person as she was out sick that day.

Billing person said they never do payment plans. I explained to her that I'm fresh out of school and unemployed and that husband only gets his social security.....which all goes to bills and eating. No insurance, I have to attempt to pay for this myself. She responded with Oh they have a Low Interest Credit Card for just this type of thing they have pts apply for ..........And I laughed at her. I said Lady I'm F--ing POOR, I don't HAVE credit. I don't HAVE an income other than husband's social security and credit card co's would look at that and LAUGH! YOU IDIOT! And I also told her the dentist himself promised me an affordable payment plan that would work within my budget knowing full well I was unemployed and not even knowing husband existed as he never asked!! WTH?? Oh yeah lady........I can pull more than 2000.00 out my fanny for dental work, that's why my teeth look like this in the 1st place. OMG how utterly stupid can someone be??

So I cancelled the following appointment. Because as I said.......there was food to buy and a house payment to make. And my mouth was not hurting so was no longer an emergency.

Well a couple of days ago the kids through me a grad party. Stupid me without thinking ate a dorito chip. Evidently a piece of that nice corn chip lodged between teeth where the jaw tooth hurt before. Within a day I was back in agony. Last night I was writhing literally. I did finally managed to swish the piece of food out......but now the tooth is all inflammed and throbbing. Not as horrendous today as it was last night, thank God. So once again I'm ODing on extra strength tylenol just in hopes of taking the edge off. Going to ER is a joke as I won't get a real pain medication and it's not infected so don't need an antibiotic, just need something to get me through the pain until the inflammation goes away and the nerve settles down again.

husband has been sent to by ibuprofen. I've as yet to ever keep it in my stomach long enough to work but am desperate enough to try again. I can't get taking huge amts of extra strength tylenol. And at least I know the script strength of ibuprofen. So hopefully since it's both anti inflammatory and a pain aide it will at least help.

I am NOT for the govt health care plan in any form. But in my opinion it is stupid for any doctor/dentist to refuse treatment of a patient simply because they don't have insurance. Not having insurance doesn't mean they don't plan to pay........even if it will take them a long time to do so.

 

[Shari]

I am with you 100%. I don't know what the answer is, but the system is very broken.

Can you catch husband and have him get kids' ibuprofen liquid? Sometimes that seems to be a little easier on the stomache...

 

[Hound dog]

LOL husband just got back. I took only 2.....with 8 oz of milk.....as school taught. If that doesn't handle it I'll up it closer to script strength. Bit worried about keeping it down, so will see how it goes at normal dose before going to script dose. Gawd I hope it woks.

 

[Shari]

I hope it stays down. Tooth pain is one of those pains that just bring me to my knees...

And I'm lucky enough to be able to take ibuprofen like its nothing, even at script strength. I take it every day for the arthritis in my knee.

 

[Hound dog]

I hear ya Shari........tooth pain will bring me to my knees everytime. And I'm am soooooooooo not a whimp when it comes to pain.

I've had a heart attack.......I've lived with kidney pain for years........and they don't compare to the agony I went through last night. I just can't do tooth/head pain well. ughhh

 

[Shari]

You have my sympathy and prayers...Hope its short lived pain.

 

[DammitJanet]

Tooth and head pain are awful. I really get crankier than normal with both of them. I will give you a tip, go get a liquid aleive and open it and squirt it on the tooth. That helps a bit. Tony also swears on loading his mouth full of ambesol. His teeth are awful. He is saving up to have them all out. We have a place here that isnt too bad but its still gonna be near a thousand bucks for the whole kit and kaboodle. He has already gone in and had 5 or 6 out peacemeal and that is more expensive. I think that has cost us about 4 hundred.

 

[susiestar]

Tooth pain is the absolute worst. I FEEL your pain, truly I do. My teeth are disintegrating because the years of no Vit D going back decades that no doctor ever mentioned until 3 yrs ago.

Call and find a way to speak to the dentist himself. Or send him a letter marked personal. Tell him what was going on when he saw you (so that he remembers you) and then tell him that the billing person refused to do payments of any kind. Ask him if there is anything he can do. He may say no, but you asked. He may get mad enough to make HER pay for it! I have known it to happen. More likely he might make a rare exception and make her take payments from you. It cannot hurt to ask, esp as he promised to help.

I don't know what it is with dentists, but around here if they take your insurance they LOVE to tell you it is covered, no copay and no fees, or that it is only $50 or so - while they have you back in the chair. Once they are done they take you up front and you get the bill. Which is enormous and you cannot pay it but they keep telling you that you have to - right now, no payments. If you say the dentist told you there was no fee, he comes out and says you misunderstood or he did or it was a mistake, but you do owe the $$. in my opinion it is a ripoff scheme and should be illegal - but who could prove it?

I am sorry your teeth hurt so badly.

PLEASE STOP TAKING TYLENOL!!!!!! Give your body a chance to heal from the large amts you have taken!!! You can take large amts of ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, even Orudis (ketoprofen). They are all OTC in one strength but given in higher doses by rx. These won't be likely to hurt you, but the tylenol WILL!! ESP with your kidney problems!!!!!

There is no sense trying to get rid of tooth pain by causing even more kidney pain, is there?

I wish there was more I could do to help.

 

[susiestar]

I searched for free dental care in OH and found a link to this site with links to free clinics/camps in OH - http://www.freemedicalcamps.com/vcity.php?stateid=OH . You also may try contacting the state dental association to try to find free help with your dental problems. It cannot hurt to ask!

 

[1 Day At a Time]

Hound Dog,

Do you happen to live near a University that has a dental school? When I lived in Cleveland, I went to the Case Western Reserve Dental School to have my wisdom teeth removed. ( I was a student myself). I had to have them pulled (ouch) one at a time. The student dentist who pulled them was wonderful and the price was just a fraction of the normal cost. Also, I highly recommend oil of cloves for toothaches. They kept a small bottle in the dean's office at my high school to help with the occasional toothache. It really works!

Valerie

 

[tawnya]

Sorry, HD. I'm in the same boat here, and they won't even look at you cross-eyed if you don't have insurance.

I am sending you an ice pack.

 

[Hound dog]

I will check out that link.

Good news is so far the ibuprofen is working and for most of the day I just took the normal dose.........I will never try to limp by with tylenol for toothache pain again. Of course tonite it's worse, but then these things always are pure hades at night. So I upped the dose to script strength.

Janet i can get my teeth pulled for maybe 1000-1500.00......that's not counting either dentures or partials........that's just the pulling itself. Partials run 600 each and dentures 1000 per plate.

I'm gonna check out that link and do some calling when the pain calms down enough I can think. I know there is a dental college somewhere about 45 mins away.....I just don't know where or how to contact them.

 

[Marcie Mac]

Lisa, I bought Danny stand alone Dental Insurance and the cost was under 100.00 for the year- course they don't cover 100% but it was better than nothing.

 

[KTMom91]

Hubby needs a lot of work done, too. Thanks for the link, Susie...I'll check it out.

Hope you're able to find a cooperative dentist soon, Lisa.