Sucks!
Root canals, dental implants, tooth extraction is painful and expensive.
I actually had a great time when my Wisdom Teeth got pulled. They doped me up with some sort of laughing gas and I don't think I've been had a more intense high in my life. I felt like shit the next day but I wouldn't say any worse than a typical hangover.
I've switched dentists over the years. Of course you need some sort of dentist that will serve your kids until they grow up and then switch them over.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:57:27 PM
I've switched dentists over the years. Of course you need some sort of dentist that will serve your kids until they grow up and then switch them over.
And not by just taking off a crown and putting it back on like some goddamn hygienists would do to me.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 09:58:40 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:57:27 PM
I've switched dentists over the years. Of course you need some sort of dentist that will serve your kids until they grow up and then switch them over.
And not by just taking off a crown and putting it back on like some goddamn hygienists would do to me.
I'm sorry? I don't think I've had that.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:59:29 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 09:58:40 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:57:27 PM
I've switched dentists over the years. Of course you need some sort of dentist that will serve your kids until they grow up and then switch them over.
And not by just taking off a crown and putting it back on like some goddamn hygienists would do to me.
I'm sorry? I don't think I've had that.
They got a really big crown that they hated so they put the old crown back on me until the get the right one.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 10:03:10 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:59:29 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 09:58:40 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:57:27 PM
I've switched dentists over the years. Of course you need some sort of dentist that will serve your kids until they grow up and then switch them over.
And not by just taking off a crown and putting it back on like some goddamn hygienists would do to me.
I'm sorry? I don't think I've had that.
They got a really big crown that they hated so they put the old crown back on me until the get the right one.
Oh. Never had that.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 10:04:35 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 10:03:10 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:59:29 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 09:58:40 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 21, 2021, 09:57:27 PM
I've switched dentists over the years. Of course you need some sort of dentist that will serve your kids until they grow up and then switch them over.
And not by just taking off a crown and putting it back on like some goddamn hygienists would do to me.
I'm sorry? I don't think I've had that.
They got a really big crown that they hated so they put the old crown back on me until the get the right one.
Oh. Never had that.
What I mean by old is temporary crown.
My dentist is a very kind, patient guy who learned dentistry in one of the armed forces (I want to say the Navy but I'm not sure) and has the best "bedside manner" of any medical professional I've dealt with. He will give you laughing gas for anything more invasive than a standard cleaning (even just a cavity filling) and pause the procedure and give you another dose of the numbing drugs if they start to wear off midway through.
The dentist is fine. The toothpaste feels weird however.
Haven't been to the dentist in years. Eventually, I'll have to get a nasty extraction and probably root canal performed. That's because, back in 2009, I had a filling come out while I was chewing gum, so I have big old hole in that tooth that's just been collecting gunk all day every day. Pieces of it have broken off in more recent years, so I'm not sure how much the dentist will have to work with by the time I actually go in for a procedure.
I don't have insurance, and I'm torn between going to a dentist in the US (more expensive but a more pleasant experience) and going to a dentist in Mexico (cheaper but often more painful).
I've gone to the same dentist since the early 1980s; the only things I've needed other than routine cleanings (pauses to knock on wooden desk) have been having two teeth bonded to fill a gap and having my wisdom teeth pulled. My dentist is now in his early 70s and I wonder where I'll go when he retires. I suspect he will refer his patients to someone and I'll try that dentist before deciding.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 09:52:22 PM
Sucks!
Root canals, dental implants, tooth extraction is painful and expensive.
I find it absolutely astonishing that someone age 19 would need any of those procedures, other than perhaps wisdom tooth extraction.
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 22, 2021, 09:40:04 AM
I've gone to the same dentist since the early 1980s; the only things I've needed other than routine cleanings (pauses to knock on wooden desk) have been having two teeth bonded to fill a gap and having my wisdom teeth pulled. My dentist is now in his early 70s and I wonder where I'll go when he retires. I suspect he will refer his patients to someone and I'll try that dentist before deciding.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 21, 2021, 09:52:22 PM
Sucks!
Root canals, dental implants, tooth extraction is painful and expensive.
I find it absolutely astonishing that someone age 19 would need any of those procedures, other than perhaps wisdom tooth extraction.
Well, at least not in this day and age. I knew someone who had her teeth removed and dentures put in at age 19 in the late 1960s.
Does this thread mean that tolbs told his parents that his mouth was falling apart and he needed to go to the dentist? Good for him.
Consult the expert (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cUZhHS0PMM).
Nice one, wanderer.
My childhood dentist was an absolutely great guy, but he was one of those old-school dentists who didn't numb you down when he worked on you. I hated having cavities filled or other work that required grinding or drilling. He retired when I was in college and years later when I was working in his hometown, I ran into him at a store. He recognized me. My dad happened to be with me, out in the car, and Dr. Comley made it a point to stop by and say hello. I also heard from several of his old assistants when I took that job; they remembered me and my family.
His replacement was a more modern-oriented dentist. He filled several cavities for me in the early 1980s and it was a painless procedure. He sold the practice and the new dentist (a female) was also great. They even were able to work on my wife, who was terrified of the dentist because of a bad childhood experience. I have no dread or fear of going to the dentist, except...
Prior to 2014, I was able to use a flexible spending account to pay for two cleanings/checkups a year (plus an annual eye exam and any necessary doctor visits, lab work, and prescriptions.) I also was able to afford extra dental work that needed to be done (some fillings and a few crowns, and I never had to have a root canal before getting the crowns.)
Then came the Unaffordable Care Act, a/k/a 0b@m@care. It ruined my health insurance coverage because my old plan, with low copays for office visits and prescriptions, wasn't eligible to be granfathered in. My new plan became deductible plus co-insurance, which meant my FSA got gobbled up quickly. My first routine blood work under the new plan, which would have cost me $15 out-of-pocket in my previous plan, cost me $700. I had to sacrifice something, and dental work was the choice. I didn't go to the dentist between 2014 and 2017, when I had a filling come out. They discovered that my gums were receding to the point that I needed something called SRP (scaling and root planing) on three of the four quadrants of my mouth. I only had one session done before I had my medical emergency that ate up all my budgeted health care funds for the year. And I haven't been back. I know the problem has gotten worse, and on top of that, I had a filling break out in two stages and I will need to have the remaining tooth extracted, probably surgically instead of being pulled because there's not enough left to grab on to. It's not bothering me now, but I know at some point I'll have to have it taken care of. I'll probably have to forego my annual eye exam that year to be able to afford it.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:34:58 PM
c0v1d
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:27:35 PM
0b@m@care
You know we can't afford one of those high-falutin' automoderator bots that social media sites have, right? We're all humans that can read that...
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:27:35 PM
My childhood dentist was an absolutely great guy, but he was one of those old-school dentists who didn't numb you down when he worked on you. I hated having cavities filled or other work that required grinding or drilling. He retired when I was in college and years later when I was working in his hometown, I ran into him at a store. He recognized me. My dad happened to be with me, out in the car, and Dr. Comley made it a point to stop by and say hello. I also heard from several of his old assistants when I took that job; they remembered me and my family.
His replacement was a more modern-oriented dentist. He filled several cavities for me in the early 1980s and it was a painless procedure. He sold the practice and the new dentist (a female) was also great. They even were able to work on my wife, who was terrified of the dentist because of a bad childhood experience. I have no dread or fear of going to the dentist, except...
Prior to 2014, I was able to use a flexible spending account to pay for two cleanings/checkups a year (plus an annual eye exam and any necessary doctor visits, lab work, and prescriptions.) I also was able to afford extra dental work that needed to be done (some fillings and a few crowns, and I never had to have a root canal before getting the crowns.)
Then came the Unaffordable Care Act, a/k/a 0b@m@care. It ruined my health insurance coverage because my old plan, with low copays for office visits and prescriptions, wasn't eligible to be granfathered in. My new plan became deductible plus co-insurance, which meant my FSA got gobbled up quickly. My first routine blood work under the new plan, which would have cost me $15 out-of-pocket in my previous plan, cost me $700. I had to sacrifice something, and dental work was the choice. I didn't go to the dentist between 2014 and 2017, when I had a filling come out. They discovered that my gums were receding to the point that I needed something called SRP (scaling and root planing) on three of the four quadrants of my mouth. I only had one session done before I had my medical emergency that ate up all my budgeted health care funds for the year. And I haven't been back. I know the problem has gotten worse, and on top of that, I had a filling break out in two stages and I will need to have the remaining tooth extracted, probably surgically instead of being pulled because there's not enough left to grab on to. It's not bothering me now, but I know at some point I'll have to have it taken care of. I'll probably have to forego my annual eye exam that year to be able to afford it.
Let's keep politics out of this
Any moderator or admin action which is the purple text coming?
In b4 lock because some people can't let shit go.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 22, 2021, 03:34:18 PM
Any moderator or admin action which is the purple text coming?
No action needed at this time.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2021, 03:19:29 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:34:58 PM
c0v1d
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:27:35 PM
0b@m@care
You know we can't afford one of those high-falutin' automoderator bots that social media sites have, right? We're all humans that can read that...
The only real advantage is when one of you gets the bright idea of rendering–oh, I don't know–all instances of "Alanland" as "Magical Place of Destiny" or something. If, say, HB were worried that all instances of "COVID" might get similarly messed with, then typing it funny would make sense.
Does a temporary or permanent crown feel better?
Not sure how HB was unable to keep his previous plan and why it wasn't "grandfathered in." I never had a plan through the exchange and I still get the form that states it counts as health insurance. If his plan was better than what was being offered, then it should have met the requirements as well.
When Obamacare first came out, my wife and I signed up. Then, shortly thereafter, my employer was required to start offering health insurance. Because they then offered health insurance, we no longer qualified for an Obamacare plan. Unfortunately, the plan offered by my employer was approximately 6,420,000 times more expensive per month with less coverage. So we dumped health insurance altogether. Back to where we were before Obamacare.
I fully expect to pay cash for whatever dental work I end up needing, but I'm not about to sink money into it if I don't actually need it yet.
BTW, I went tonl Eastern Pines Dental.
Quote from: Rothman on July 22, 2021, 04:44:26 PM
Not sure how HB was unable to keep his previous plan and why it wasn't "grandfathered in." I never had a plan through the exchange and I still get the form that states it counts as health insurance. If his plan was better than what was being offered, then it should have met the requirements as well.
It was never explained publicly, to my knowledge. It was mentioned in a fall 2013 meeting of the Kentucky Personnel Board, during which a representative of the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet's Division of Employee Benefits (or whatever it was called at the time) explained to the board that the policies offered under the Kentucky Employees Health Plan were not eligible to be grandfathered in. Speculation has been that the old policies had lifetime benefit limits or certain
verboten exclusions in coverage. I tried to find the link to the minutes of that meeting, but I'm getting a
503 service unavailable error.
Back then, I looked up the old benefits and compared them to the new ones, and they came up lacking in every way. I get reminded of it every year in my Facebook memories.
It should be pointed out that dental coverage has never been included in our health insurance. (Neither has vision). In the past, we were given options for payroll deduction for several third-party insurers and plans, but that was scrapped a couple of years ago in favor of optional plans offered through the administrator. (We're self-insured but the program is administered by Anthem BCBS.)
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 22, 2021, 03:45:05 PM
Does a temporary or permanent crown feel better?
By all means, a permanent crown. The temp one is quickly designed at the dentist's office and is meant to be just that -- temporary. It's to cover the stub of the tooth that is to be covered while the permanent crown is being fabricated offsite. Very often the temporary crown won't fit perfectly. I had one years ago that had a noticeable edge at the bottom of the crown near the gum line that my tongue was drawn to.
My wife kept a temporary crown for years. She got it when she was a teenager and for some reason, her parents never took her back to get a permanent one installed. We got quite good at putting it back on, as it would occasionally come off. She finally had a permanent one made and has been very happy with it.
The permanent crown will fit better and will feel better. Trust me on this one.
Quote from: kphoger on July 22, 2021, 03:40:57 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2021, 03:19:29 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:34:58 PM
c0v1d
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 02:27:35 PM
0b@m@care
You know we can't afford one of those high-falutin' automoderator bots that social media sites have, right? We're all humans that can read that...
The only real advantage is when one of you gets the bright idea of rendering–oh, I don't know–all instances of "Alanland" as "Magical Place of Destiny" or something. If, say, HB were worried that all instances of "COVID" might get similarly messed with, then typing it funny would make sense.
It's getting to be a habit. I posted on Facebook about an encounter with a co-worker in Frankfort who told me she hadn't been vaccinated. I spelled out the word without mentioning the viral disease for which shots are currently being promoted. FB inserted its standard nag about information on the jab. So I edited the post to the altered spelling, substituting characters for certain letters, and the notation vanished. So I'm getting in the habit of doing that everywhere.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 22, 2021, 03:21:06 PM
Let's keep politics out of this
Politics has nothing to do with the fact that I can't really afford to go to the dentist anymore, and I could prior to the passage of a certain piece of federal legislation.
And learn how to trim your quotes. :-D
Quote from: Rothman on July 22, 2021, 04:44:26 PM
Not sure how HB was unable to keep his previous plan and why it wasn't "grandfathered in." I never had a plan through the exchange and I still get the form that states it counts as health insurance. If his plan was better than what was being offered, then it should have met the requirements as well.
I don't know anything about H.B.'s plan, but most of the time whenever people weren't able to keep their plans after ACA, it's because their plan sucked and didn't cover everything the ACA required it to, but the person complaining didn't mind because it was cheap.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2021, 07:47:19 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 22, 2021, 04:44:26 PM
Not sure how HB was unable to keep his previous plan and why it wasn't "grandfathered in." I never had a plan through the exchange and I still get the form that states it counts as health insurance. If his plan was better than what was being offered, then it should have met the requirements as well.
I don't know anything about H.B.'s plan, but most of the time whenever people weren't able to keep their plans after ACA, it's because their plan sucked and didn't cover everything the ACA required it to, but the person complaining didn't mind because it was cheap.
My current plan is actually marginally cheaper than the one I lost, and it even provides me with an extra $1,000 for my FSA, but the out-of-pocket expenses I now have to pay eat into that pretty quickly.
I went to the doctor today for blood work and prescription refills. If I remember right, that visit in the past would have cost me $15 for a co-pay and the lab work an additional amount (somewhere between $5 and $15, I don't remember for sure). I will get a bill from the doctor's office for $80 and a bill from LabCorp for probably $50.
Next month, I have an appointment with a specialist. Under the old plan, that would cost me $21 out of pocket. I'm looking at a bill for around $100 for that one.
I hesitate to inquire as to what dental service prices are these days. A clean and check is probably $150 now.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 07:41:23 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 22, 2021, 03:45:05 PM
Does a temporary or permanent crown feel better?
By all means, a permanent crown. The temp one is quickly designed at the dentist's office and is meant to be just that -- temporary. It's to cover the stub of the tooth that is to be covered while the permanent crown is being fabricated offsite. Very often the temporary crown won't fit perfectly. I had one years ago that had a noticeable edge at the bottom of the crown near the gum line that my tongue was drawn to.
My wife kept a temporary crown for years. She got it when she was a teenager and for some reason, her parents never took her back to get a permanent one installed. We got quite good at putting it back on, as it would occasionally come off. She finally had a permanent one made and has been very happy with it.
The permanent crown will fit better and will feel better. Trust me on this one.
I'll have to take your word on it cause the dentist had the wrong crown so they put the temporary one back on.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 08:00:24 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2021, 07:47:19 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 22, 2021, 04:44:26 PM
Not sure how HB was unable to keep his previous plan and why it wasn't "grandfathered in." I never had a plan through the exchange and I still get the form that states it counts as health insurance. If his plan was better than what was being offered, then it should have met the requirements as well.
I don't know anything about H.B.'s plan, but most of the time whenever people weren't able to keep their plans after ACA, it's because their plan sucked and didn't cover everything the ACA required it to, but the person complaining didn't mind because it was cheap.
My current plan is actually marginally cheaper than the one I lost, and it even provides me with an extra $1,000 for my FSA, but the out-of-pocket expenses I now have to pay eat into that pretty quickly.
Have you considered that the changes in out-of-pocket cost may have nothing to do with the law changing, and may be just be a cash grab on the part of the insurance company or doctor's office, using the law as a pretext?
When I worked at the casino, there was a kerfuffle for a few months where they started trying to withhold an extra $50/month from our paychecks, supposedly due to the ACA. I watched the bill very closely as it went through Congress and knew that the reasoning they presented to us was totally bogus, but because this is a conservative area, they thought they could use Obama as a boogeyman and get everyone mad at him instead of the company. Well, they didn't realize that people would be both mad at Obama and still miss the $50/month enough that they would start getting jobs elsewhere. A couple months later they "found out" that the ACA didn't actually require them to withhold $50/month after all, and they stopped doing it. Huh! Imagine that!
Someone in Frankfort must have fed the hamsters that run the wheel that powers the servers that host the Personnel Board's site.
Quote from: https://personnelboard.ky.gov/Minutes/2013-09-minutes.pdfMr. Cowles handed out a summary of the employees' health plan for 2014 to the Board members and staff. Mr. Cowles stated that the health plan for 2014 will lose its "grandfather" status and had to be redesigned, using the states of Tennessee and Georgia as models.
This was all the public explanation that was given.
Similar to 1995hoo's situation, I've been seeing the same dentist since 1985 (geez, 36 years). We joke about how my folder is like two inches thick and has been taped up several times due to splits.
He has a good "chair-side manner", always checks that I am sufficiently numbed, explains things well, and never rushes things.
I'm sure he is nearing retirement age, so I hope I do well if I ever need to find a new dentist.
HB, although dental and vision are separate from our health benefits, they do not cost more in terms of a premium. That said, the dental plan had gone way downhill in terms of dentists that would accept it.
Of course, our contract has just been revised, so I look forward to how it will change.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2021, 07:47:19 PM
I don't know anything about H.B.'s plan, but most of the time whenever people weren't able to keep their plans after ACA, it's because their plan sucked and didn't cover everything the ACA required it to, but the person complaining didn't mind because it was cheap.
Meaning they were no longer able to keep a plan they actually liked and wanted–having instead to get a more expensive plan with bells and whistles they don't even want.
All I know from personal experience is that, when ACA first launched, it looked like a good deal to my wife and me and we signed up on the exchange. Then, the next year, premiums across the board started going up. And the small business I work for was required to offer health insurance, which then meant my wife and me were no longer eligible for the ACA exchange plan. In order for us to afford my company's health insurance, we'd have to pay an arm and two legs every month, and we'd still get crappy coverage with high deductibles unless we wanted to pay another arm every month.
Then again, being on the church personnel committee, I've seen how much our pastor has to pay for his family's health insurance, and it comes to roughly half my family's income. It's insane how expensive health insurance costs.
Dental work, though, is something it's often decently affordable to pay for out of pocket with cash.
Quote from: kphoger on July 23, 2021, 09:26:29 AM
Dental work, though, is something it's often decently affordable to pay for out of pocket with cash.
That hasn't been my experience. I thought routine care (clean and check) and standard procedures (fillings) were costly years ago.
Quote from: Rothman on July 23, 2021, 12:14:06 AM
HB, although dental and vision are separate from our health benefits, they do not cost more in terms of a premium. That said, the dental plan had gone way downhill in terms of dentists that would accept it.
Of course, our contract has just been revised, so I look forward to how it will change.
We don't have contracts. And vision and dental have never been a part of our standard insurance plans. They have always cost extra and were optional.
A few years ago, the state went away from all payroll deductions for third-party insurance (dental, vision, life, AD&D) and instead offered only plans through the administrator (in this case, dental and vision through Anthem BCBS). I had a payroll-deducted life insurance policy and had to switch to automatic bank drafts to keep the policy. My understanding is that the third-party insurers that had arrangements with the state to offer policies via payroll deduction were not happy. I can see the state's point in that it's easier to not have to deal with processing all the payroll deductions, but it was still an aggravation for the companies and their customers to make the alternate payment operations.
All that being said, I may look at the dental options when open enrollment comes back up in a few months, see what the monthly costs and the out-of-pocket costs would be, and see it it would be worth it for a year to have a bunch of dental work done.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 22, 2021, 08:03:20 PM
I'll have to take your word on it cause the dentist had the wrong crown so they put the temporary one back on.
That happens. The lab must have shipped the wrong one.
The permanent fitting process isn't bad. The dentist will pop the temporary crown off, put the permanent crown on, and have you bite on a piece of colored film to see how well it fits. If it needs adjustment, they'll go grind and shave on it, put it back on, and try again. When they're satisfied with your bite and you're comfortable with the way it fits and feels, they'll affix it permanently. It's not a painful process at all.
Bad teeth are cool.
But I've had unusually good luck with dentists. I had the same dentist from as far back as I could remember all the way into college. He was a nice guy, and he was fairly competent, but I hated going there.
I didn't visit a dentist again until I was about 30. I got a new dentist then. She was very brash, but she was also competent. That's when I discovered that my teeth were pretty much rotted, which is pretty cool. She actually pulled 2 teeth, but I didn't know she was going to pull them until the day she pulled them. They used a local anesthetic, but they didn't put me under. I could feel them crushing the tooth as they pulled it, but it didn't hurt much, because of the anesthetic. I remember walking home from the dentist and spitting out blood every so often after she pulled them.
After that series of visits, it was years before I visited a dentist again. The dentists at this practice were pretty competent also. But I did have to go to a surgeon to get 2 more teeth pulled. That time, they put me under.
I think I have 20 fillings. But I'm only missing 5 teeth.
I have never had anything done about the rather obvious crookedness, because back in the 1970s that was considered fairly normal. I have to get very thin dental floss though. Unlike people in the 1970s, however, I don't have silver fillings. That was cool back in the '70s when people had those. My upper right lateral incisor very clearly grew in all wrong, and my original dentist always pressed on it with his finger when I visited. But at least now when I go to the dentist, I can always recognize which x-ray is mine.
Quote from: bandit957 on July 23, 2021, 12:27:49 PM
I could feel them crushing the tooth as they pulled it, but it didn't hurt much, because of the anesthetic. I remember walking home from the dentist and spitting out blood every so often after she pulled them.
I once hitchhiked home from the dentist in downtown Glen Ellyn (IL) to my home in Wheaton, after having had half my mouth Novocained for a deep-cleaning. A driver stopped, asked where I was headed, and then I realized that I probably sounded like a drunk guy answering him–not being able to control half my mouth while speaking.
Man. Makes me happy I don't work for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. :D
Quote from: Rothman on July 23, 2021, 03:07:30 PM
Man. Makes me happy I don't work for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. :D
Sounds like someone's getting wealthy and it ain't the commoners.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 23, 2021, 04:26:08 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 23, 2021, 03:07:30 PM
Man. Makes me happy I don't work for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. :D
Sounds like someone's getting wealthy and it ain't the commoners.
Communism at work: once the wealth is spread amongst the commoners, there's no wealth left for anyone to have.
Wait, did I just accuse Kentucky of being Communist?
But cavities are a pain in the ass.
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 26, 2021, 10:25:24 PM
But cavities are a pain in the ass.
Most people don't get cavities in their ass.
Quote from: dlsterner on July 26, 2021, 10:49:02 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 26, 2021, 10:25:24 PM
But cavities are a pain in the ass.
Most people don't get cavities in their ass.
Well, that would certainly make cavity searches more difficult.
Quote from: kphoger on July 27, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Quote from: dlsterner on July 26, 2021, 10:49:02 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on July 26, 2021, 10:25:24 PM
But cavities are a pain in the ass.
Most people don't get cavities in their ass.
Well, that would certainly make cavity searches more difficult.
Not if you combine it with a prostate exam.
How would they do a prostate exam, if you don't have a cavity in your ass?
Quote from: kphoger on July 27, 2021, 12:28:07 PM
How would they do a prostate exam, if you don't have a cavity in your ass?
How can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat?
Quote from: hbelkins on July 22, 2021, 08:00:24 PM
I hesitate to inquire as to what dental service prices are these days. A clean and check is probably $150 now.
In my relatively expensive area, they bill at about $120 for a cleaning and check, but pretty much no one actually pays that. People with insurance, the insurance pays the negotiated rate of about $80 and the patients have no out of pocket because the insurance company comes out better if people get preventative care. Cash customers pay a discounted rate for paying at time of service instead of being billed.
Insurance coverage differs by issuer and plan. Definitely not all equal.
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.
Seems like, if you get a cleaning once per year, it's cheaper to pay cash than to pay for dental insurance.
Unless the exam reveals that you actually need a filling or two, or a crown...
Quote from: kkt on July 30, 2021, 04:20:41 PM
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.
Quote from: kphoger on July 30, 2021, 12:55:59 PM
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).
Quote from: kphoger on July 30, 2021, 04:33:59 PM
Quote from: kkt on July 30, 2021, 04:20:41 PM
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.
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.
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...
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Impacted_Wisdom_Tooth_aka_Lower_Right_Third_Molar_48_RVG_IOPA_Xray.jpg/320px-Impacted_Wisdom_Tooth_aka_Lower_Right_Third_Molar_48_RVG_IOPA_Xray.jpg)
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 28, 2021, 12:46:52 AM
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.
Quote from: bandit957 on September 28, 2021, 10:59:35 AM
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).
The insurance industry's standard dental claim form uses numbers for the teeth as well.
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 01:56:14 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 28, 2021, 12:46:52 AM
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.....
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 28, 2021, 12:46:52 AM
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.
Quote from: SectorZ on September 28, 2021, 03:56:41 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 28, 2021, 12:46:52 AM
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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.
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 28, 2021, 12:46:52 AM
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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 ...
Quote from: Rothman on July 31, 2021, 11:28:04 AM
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: dlsterner on September 28, 2021, 04:18:32 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 28, 2021, 12:46:52 AM
Quote from: kkt on September 28, 2021, 12:36:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on September 27, 2021, 11:22:51 PM
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 ...
Quote from: hbelkins on September 28, 2021, 06:48:33 PM
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 (http://dental.ecu.edu)
Good luck with the tooth, whatever choice you make.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 28, 2021, 06:48:33 PM
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.
It looks like this is the program (which only has an operation name specific to this one event): https://www.wmky.org/post/medical-service-mission-provide-free-healthcare-eastern-kentucky
I've never heard of the Washington National Guard deployed to do this, even in our poorer areas, outside of disaster recovery.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 28, 2021, 06:48:33 PM
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.
UNC Dental School has a traveling clinic program that bounces around North Carolina. It was here in Orange County a few years ago (our church provided some of the volunteer staffing), and they don't anticipate getting back here for a while (perhaps every 5 years). As
Tolbs already mentioned, ECU is the other public dental school in North Carolina. Many (if not all) of the other UNC campuses have dental schools (pre-dental) that feed into UNC and ECU.
For those not familiar with North Carolina's university system, UNC and North Carolina State do not compete with each other academically. From the 10,000-foot level, these institutions function similar to a single university on two separate campuses, except that they have separate administrations. There is one overlapping program: computer science. Both are taught with similar curriculum, except that NC State's computer science program is ABET accredited (those are the folks that focus on science, technology and engineering college accreditation).
Quote from: kphoger on July 23, 2021, 09:26:29 AMAll I know from personal experience is that, when ACA first launched, it looked like a good deal to my wife and me and we signed up on the exchange. Then, the next year, premiums across the board started going up. And the small business I work for was required to offer health insurance, which then meant my wife and me were no longer eligible for the ACA exchange plan. In order for us to afford my company's health insurance, we'd have to pay an arm and two legs every month, and we'd still get crappy coverage with high deductibles unless we wanted to pay another arm every month.
We've been on marketplace insurance twice in the past few years, as I've lost employer-sponsored health insurance (as well as employment) twice since then.
The first time was really a learning experience for the second time. I valued being able to see my primary care doctor, who's a curmudgeon about which plans he accepts (all plans, not just marketplace plans), and paid way too much for that privilege. The plan also didn't cover one of my psych meds, and it cost me about $80 a month to get it filled at Costco. I broke my arm while covered by this plan, and was able to get the same level of care I would have gotten with an employer-sponsored plan. I probably paid about the same amount of money in copays and such.
The second time, I made sure to choose a plan that covered all of the meds my wife and I take, and that allowed our son to keep seeing his usual pediatrician [although he ended up qualifying for S-CHIP, so that was a moot point in the end]. It cost about the same as an employer-sponsored plan, and believe it or not, I pay more for prescriptions on my current, employer-sponsored plan than I did on the marketplace plan.
Quote from: kphoger on July 23, 2021, 09:26:29 AMThen again, being on the church personnel committee, I've seen how much our pastor has to pay for his family's health insurance, and it comes to roughly half my family's income. It's insane how expensive health insurance costs.
My late father-in-law effectively went from working as a preacher to being part-owner of a company that manufactured bleachers, and never had health insurance at all until he qualified for Medicare. He was no liberal, but after he started obtaining medical care through Medicare, he declared "I am a socialist now."
Quote from: Dirt Roads on September 28, 2021, 08:15:59 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on September 28, 2021, 06:48:33 PM
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.
UNC Dental School has a traveling clinic program that bounces around North Carolina. It was here in Orange County a few years ago (our church provided some of the volunteer staffing), and they don't anticipate getting back here for a while (perhaps every 5 years). As Tolbs already mentioned, ECU is the other public dental school in North Carolina. Many (if not all) of the other UNC campuses have dental schools (pre-dental) that feed into UNC and ECU.
For those not familiar with North Carolina's university system, UNC and North Carolina State do not compete with each other academically. From the 10,000-foot level, these institutions function similar to a single university on two separate campuses, except that they have separate administrations. There is one overlapping program: computer science. Both are taught with similar curriculum, except that NC State's computer science program is ABET accredited (those are the folks that focus on science, technology and engineering college accreditation).
For years, Kentucky basketball fans have derisively referred to the team that wears pale blue as "UNC-CH," putting it on the same level as UNC-Asheville and UNC-Wilimington. The team's mascot is the Tar Holes.