Dentist experience

[Rothman]

Insurance coverage differs by issuer and plan.  Definitely not all equal.

[1995hoo]

I pay $98 for a cleaning. Insurance reimburses $87 because my dentist is out of network. (Why, then, do I have insurance? My wife's dentist is in-network and she needs way more dental services than I do, so it's worth it.) Off the top of my head I don't remember how much more it is when he takes x-rays. I think it's about $25 more, but I'm not positive. Insurance pays that.

[kphoger]

Seems like, if you get a cleaning once per year, it's cheaper to pay cash than to pay for dental insurance.

[kkt]

Unless the exam reveals that you actually need a filling or two, or a crown...

[kphoger]

Unless the exam reveals that you actually need a filling or two, or a crown...

Which wouldn't be part of the cleaning.  At least, I'm pretty sure they don't just automatically start drilling into your teeth without your consent.

[1995hoo]

Seems like, if you get a cleaning once per year, it's cheaper to pay cash than to pay for dental insurance.

I wouldn't have dental insurance if I weren't married to someone who needs it (in fact she had a crown put on today).

[kkt]

Unless the exam reveals that you actually need a filling or two, or a crown...

Which wouldn't be part of the cleaning.  At least, I'm pretty sure they don't just automatically start drilling into your teeth without your consent.

Of course not.  So what are you going to do if you're uninsured, have the exam but if they tell you you need something that costs money just pass on it?  The point of insurance is partly covering the preventative work, but more importantly if there is work to do covering at least most of the cost of that.  I bet a single filling a year would pay for the premiums for the insurance.

[Rothman]

I have found preventative dental care crucial and preventing more expensive treatments.  In the dark days before children were able to be kept on their parents' insurance without paying a costly COBRA premium, I went without dental care for a couple of years and ended up with four fillings.

Pandemic put a halt to me going to the dentist, but when I had a checkup, the dentist pointed out a particular gum issue that, had it not been noticed, could have led to a more serious condition.

[tolbs17]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

[Scott5114]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

It very much depends on a person's genetics. Some people can live their whole life without having them removed and be perfectly fine. Others, not so much. Mine came in at right angles to the rest of the teeth, similar to the X-ray below. If I hadn't had them removed, they would have pushed the other teeth together, making them either come out of alignment or possibly even break.

[kkt]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

[tolbs17]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

[hbelkins]

My wife suffered through wisdom tooth pain for years before finally having them removed.

I don't remember the particulars of mine, but one year I got curious and asked the dentist. The X-ray revealed that I actually did not have wisdom teeth on one level of my jaw, and on the other level, they never came in. I've never had any issues with the uncut teeth.

[bandit957]

I've noticed a few interesting things about dentistry. I don't know if other dentists have this, but mine has a computer diagram of each patient's chompers. Fillings are in blue, and cavities are in red.

Each tooth also has a number. The numbers start on the top row from the right-hand side of the patient's mouth. If cavities are found, the dentist will start rattling off numbers.

[kkt]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

Is there a dental school near you?  I got mine taken out at a dental school and it went very well.  They were students, but every move they made was closely supervised by their professors.  The only negative thing I could say about them was that it took a good deal longer than it would have at a dental surgeon in private practice, because of the need to wait until the professor could look at what they were about to do.  They kept me gassed, so I was happy as a clam looking at the pretty boats out on the lake.  And the price was right, about 1/4 what it would have cost at a private dental surgeon.

[hbelkins]

I've noticed a few interesting things about dentistry. I don't know if other dentists have this, but mine has a computer diagram of each patient's chompers. Fillings are in blue, and cavities are in red.

Each tooth also has a number. The numbers start on the top row from the right-hand side of the patient's mouth. If cavities are found, the dentist will start rattling off numbers.

Tooth numbering has been a thing for at least 25 years. I know my dentist has a record of which teeth are filled, which have been crowned, etc. I haven't been to the dentist in four years so I don't know if their records have been modernized or not to include that information on computer. (I've mentioned the reason why I had to sacrifice dental visits as part of my overall health care routine before).

[1995hoo]

The insurance industry's standard dental claim form uses numbers for the teeth as well.

[tolbs17]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

Is there a dental school near you?  I got mine taken out at a dental school and it went very well.  They were students, but every move they made was closely supervised by their professors.  The only negative thing I could say about them was that it took a good deal longer than it would have at a dental surgeon in private practice, because of the need to wait until the professor could look at what they were about to do.  They kept me gassed, so I was happy as a clam looking at the pretty boats out on the lake.  And the price was right, about 1/4 what it would have cost at a private dental surgeon.

Yes, we have this...

https://dental.ecu.edu/

I normally go to Eastern Pines Dental but I'm not sure if this is better than Eastern Pines.....

[SectorZ]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

Unless Aspen Dental is the only dentist around, you're better off going to any other dentist.

[tolbs17]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

Unless Aspen Dental is the only dentist around, you're better off going to any other dentist.

Nah, there's many more. You have ECU Dental Clinic, Eastern Pines, Dental Care Center, etc.

[dlsterner]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

Welcome back, Tolbs.

If you are told that they need to come out, you probably should have them done.  In my case, I had mine out in the late 1980's when I was around 30.  My X-ray looked similar to the one Scott5114 posted above, so the longer I would wait, the more the wisdom teeth would "push" on the rest.

If cost is an issue, here's a thought ... East Carolina University is local to you (unless you've moved).  Do they have a dental school?  If so, they might be able to remove it for much less than you would pay a private oral surgeon.  I'm sure the whole process is continually supervised by an experienced professor (probably an oral surgeon him/herself).  I would recommend getting either IV sedation or nitrous oxide gas sedation for the process.

And a hint from someone who's had his share of dental work - at home, have waiting some ice cream, milk, and a blender.  Make some milkshakes to drink - they would help soothe your mouth afterwards (if they say it is OK).  If you were over 21 I would suggest adding a shot of Kahlua to the milkshake if you want, but forget I said that ...

[jdb1234]

I have found preventative dental care crucial and preventing more expensive treatments.  In the dark days before children were able to be kept on their parents' insurance without paying a costly COBRA premium, I went without dental care for a couple of years and ended up with four fillings.

Pandemic put a halt to me going to the dentist, but when I had a checkup, the dentist pointed out a particular gum issue that, had it not been noticed, could have led to a more serious condition.

Same thing happened to me.  I went 5 years between cleanings, and as a result needed fillings done.  I had to wait another year before I could get that done as I did not have dental insurance at the time.

As for wisdom teeth, I had them removed back when I was 16.  It was known that I was going to have to have them removed and my mother wanted me to do it while I was still young.

[abefroman329]

I got a crown in 1999 and had it replaced 10 or so years later (I did not know "permanent" crowns only last around 10 years).  Both were porcelain and fine.  Then I got it replaced again in 2018, and my current dentist didn't tell me it would be replaced with a composite crown.  I hate it, it feels like a temporary crown and it feels much smaller than my porcelain crowns, but I guess it's better in some respects.

[hbelkins]

Another option to consider is if the National Guard is conducted medical operations in your area. For the last three years, there have been military clinics set up in various locations in Kentucky, providing free care to hundreds. I can't think of the formal name of the program, but lots of people have taken advantage of the service. When Mike Pence was vice president, he even visited one of the operations in Clay County, Ky., to see what it was all about.

Even if ECU doesn't have a dental school (and I'd be surprised if it did), UNC or NC State probably has one. Kentucky, a smaller state, has two (UK and U of L). Let them evaluate you and even if you have to pay for travel and lodging, it might be cheaper than having it done professionally at a local clinic.

[dlsterner]

I wonder what will happen if you don't get your wisdom teeth removed. I heard the doctors said it will damage your healthy teeth aswell...

They start hurting.  If you still don't get them removed, they hurt worse.  Becomes difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I did try going to AspenDental but they are too damn expensive to remove them. They did advise that I NEED to get them removed, but we are going to find a cheap dentist that CAN do that.

Welcome back, Tolbs.

If you are told that they need to come out, you probably should have them done.  In my case, I had mine out in the late 1980's when I was around 30.  My X-ray looked similar to the one Scott5114 posted above, so the longer I would wait, the more the wisdom teeth would "push" on the rest.

If cost is an issue, here's a thought ... East Carolina University is local to you (unless you've moved).  Do they have a dental school?  If so, they might be able to remove it for much less than you would pay a private oral surgeon.  I'm sure the whole process is continually supervised by an experienced professor (probably an oral surgeon him/herself).  I would recommend getting either IV sedation or nitrous oxide gas sedation for the process.

And a hint from someone who's had his share of dental work - at home, have waiting some ice cream, milk, and a blender.  Make some milkshakes to drink - they would help soothe your mouth afterwards (if they say it is OK).  If you were over 21 I would suggest adding a shot of Kahlua to the milkshake if you want, but forget I said that ...

Even if ECU doesn't have a dental school (and I'd be surprised if it did), UNC or NC State probably has one. Kentucky, a smaller state, has two (UK and U of L). Let them evaluate you and even if you have to pay for travel and lodging, it might be cheaper than having it done professionally at a local clinic.

This prompted me to check.  ECU does have a dental school!  Tolbs, here is the link:

http://dental.ecu.edu

Good luck with the tooth, whatever choice you make.