Dental Hell

[islandpiper]

This might end up being a really long story if I decide to post the whole thing someday. Till then the Reader's Digest version is this:

JUST BECAUSE A GUY HAS A DRILL AND DIPLOMA AND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DOES NOT MAKE HIM A GOOD DENTIST

I have just spent a month and a half in DENTAL HELL because this character is in the business of "insurance extractions".....that's where they leave your teeth and just extract every dollar out of your insurance.

End of short rant.

piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

I've not tried this yet myself, but maybe angieslist.com would have some recommendations?

 

[islandpiper]

Angieslist......another face of George Soros.......no thanks.

I'm going back now to my previous dentist.

Insurance may or may not be a good thing. Back in the UP, our dentist did good fillings for $ 20. Then the local teachers union, along with the cooks, janitors, bus drivers, school administrators and teacher's aides all got dental insurance for the first time. Fillings went IMMEDIATLY to $ 90......same filling, same good work, a 450 % increase........

Now, instead of getting a cleaning and fix a cavity if needed, you get a FIVE VISIT TREATMENT PLAN, including repairing teeth THAT LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT GIVE YOU TROUBLE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW.........plus, dentists use to check if an old filling was solid and "sound".....now, guys like the first one i mentioned agressively try to pick portions of them out, breaking bits off so that hey must be replaced. That's like me dropping a violin and then charging the client for repairs.

piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

OK, I'm not familiar with Soros.

 

[dawallace45]

Piper I share your pain ,

When I lived out Clermont dental work was a nightmare , suffering from chronic back pain I have a problem with cracking teeth as I tend to bite down hard with sharp pain and the teeth can only be repaired so many times , the dentist at Clermont was expensive and you were looking at over $250 for a simple filling but the dentist in one case just put a dressing on it and told me to come back the next month as she didn't have time to do it properly at the time , I ended up going back 3 times to get it filled and each time I was expecting to get the proper filling only to be told that she had but another dressing on it , after the last visit I told her she could shove it up her backside if she thought I was going to pay another $100 for a temp filling when she was supposed to fill it properly , she then told me that she couldn't now fill it as too much of the tooth had been ground away and the tooth would need a crown at just over $2000 , at that point I wasn't as polite as I had been when I told her she could shove it up her backside and walked out , had to wait 4 months to get in on a cancellation down in Emerald and the dentist down there told me the same thing that there wasn't enough left to fill and it was either a expensive crown or extraction so I had it out and it cost me $325 and because the tooth was fused to the jaw I was pulling out bits of bone for the next 3 months

Last episode with a dentist was a filling and extraction which cost me $575 all up but again the extraction was a difficult one and once again the tooth was fused to the jaw and almost dislocated my jaw getting it out and damaged two other teeth in the process so now I pretty much have to chew with my front teeth as the chewing teeth are hot and cold sensitive

David

 

[Kayak Jack]

I guess I'm pretty lucky. I lost a couple of molars a s a kid - probably didn't do a good job of brushing. Learned, and now have pretty good teeth. And, fortunately, a very good dentist. (And, his hygienists are cute.)

 

[jdupre']

I heard all the dental horror stories when I was young and took them to heart. I brush and floss ( yes, even on camping trips) and have them cleaned annually at least. I still have all of them.

I did have a strange dentist visit about 25 years ago. The assistant took an X ray of my mouth for a baseline since I was new to this dentist. She says "Oh, I see you've had four molars pulled in the past.......one on each side ... top and bottom. "No mamm." says I. "I DEFINITELY would have remembered four molars being pulled." Turns out, the last set of molars never did form, which is why I had no problems with my wisdom teeth emerging.

Joey

 

[Wannabe]

I have bought my denist a car, maby two of them.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

Dentists have been insisting for over 55 years that I have my wisdom teeth pulled, "They make my job more difficult."

"They don't bother me". I reply. "And, I don't see the sense of expense and pain on my part to make your job a bit easier. Would you have a finger or toe removed to make me happier?"

I never get a "yes" to that one. So, my wisdom teeth still go around with me. One of these days, they'll work and I'll gain some wisdom?

 

[islandpiper]

I get the same thing. I still have all my WISDOM TEETH, so far, untested I guess. and the dentists all want to take them out. I think they are in the original blueprint and God signed off on it. Remodeling can screw up a good design.

piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

I think they are in the original blueprint and God signed off on it. Remodeling can screw up a good design.

In our cases, Piper San, I'm not too sure we can make that claim. We're as good as God wanted us to be. If She wanted us any better, rest assured She'd be haranguing us personally.