Dentists

[minx]

Having a crown and two fillings done tomorrow.  Cost will probably be in the high 1k's before insurance.

FB friend needed extensive dental work - think things like multiple root canals, crowns and bridges.  Forget what the quote was, but it was one of those "I paid less for my house!" things.

So she went to Mexico.  There's some town right across the border from Yuma, AZ that specializes in dental work.

She booked a hotel for a week and had allllll the work done in the course of 4 days.  Total cost for it all?  Around $10k, which includes getting out there, the hotel and food, and getting back home.
She said the dentists were super good, and way beyond professional - called her every evening to check in on her, recommended restaurants both before and after she started the work (after she started, she really couldn't eat most solid foods because she was in pain and sore)and made sure she was okay.

I think in the course of 4 days, she had 5 root canals, 8 crowns and several fillings.  I'm more amazed by her endurance than the price to be honest - that's a shit ton of work in a short time frame!

But how ridiculous is it that doing it this way, rather than spreading it out over the course of a few months is better because it costs less?  Even with that, she still wiped out what savings she had and maxed out every credit card she owned to do it.  However, none of it would have been done if she was stuck with only the US

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I go when something goes wrong and that's the plan for the time being. She is going to get some stuff looked at and decide what to do but it will assuredly add up to a newer used van, at which point she will have to set some priorities.

[minx]

You're not alone John.

We started going when Mr. Minx finally got dental insurance. And we had to take out a loan to finance the massive amount of work he needed, even with the insurance coverage. That's what years of neglect get you.

But at the same time, my last annual checkup (x-rays and cleanings) was $250 before insurance. And from that, I have a crown replacement and three fillings that need to be done.

Annual checkup wasn't too terrible - $70 out of pocket. But the crown was $567 out of pocket plus 1/2 day off work.

And this is with decent insurance. Ain't no way an average person can do this shit when they don't have coverage.

But then you end up losing your teeth because you can't afford the dental work needed to fix damage that would have been more affordable if caught earlier.

It sucks at every turn.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Her Medicaid has something like "up to" $500 in dental benefits included. I can't remember if that's over and above the one standard exam, cleaning, and x-rays but I think it is. So technically that would pay for like one or two fillings. They don't cover root canals and crowns not even in part IIRC.

Her trust will pay for everything that she wants to do but with her MS, and some new shit that's arising, she's going to have to weigh how much she wants to get done for it to make her 1)happy with the results and 2)decide how straight to line up the chairs on the Titanic. My advice to her is to get done what bothers her in terms of pain first, ability to chew food second, and aesthetics last.

[minx]

I think the tooth priorities are in the right order, but sad that you have to prioritize pain over the ability to eat.

So many studies have linked dental health to other medical problems, yet our country still thinks that dentistry shouldn't be covered by insurance plans, or if it is, the coverage is such that it can't be fully utilized.

I also seem to have remember seeing something a while back that noted people got better and higher paying jobs if they had good teeth. It makes sense, because we all associate good dental health with ability and intelligence for some stupid reason.

Friend who went to Mexico said dentist up here told her that she could take out a loan (of course), or look into something like a partial or full dentures.
Dentist in Mexico told her that she had some pretty significant bone loss, and partials would make it worse - if she needed to have teeth pulled, she should have them replaced with implants.

I don't think the dentist up here was looking to make a quick buck so much as being pragmatic. If you couldn't afford to pay to have the teeth fixed, then the alternative was to get dentures.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Dentistry has taken the national automotive centers' business model. think about it- you go in to have something looked at, get a price to have it fixed, they fix it, you pay for the fix, and go. Now the upselling starts in the waiting area and continues all the way up through the many weeks of calls you'll get to remind you about the other "problems" and how they'd love to work with you to get that taken care of.

[minx]

You are not wrong. But sadly, many doctors are also going to that model as well. Sit in the waiting room and watch videos on how you can improve your skin health, or lower your A1C.

Wonder how many patients ask for an A1C test after watching them...

[minx]

I will give my dentist one thing though. He does ask about stuff like teeth whitening, but only asks once.

He did say that I should think about braces, but not before next year at least. I grind my teeth, and also have a slight overbite - so my molars are wearing down unevenly, which is why I need crowns replaced.

But he did also take the time to show me exactly what he was talking about - they have 3-D cameras now that can show you your mouth and teeth from all different angles - they made a video of my mouth, and showed me my back teeth from all angles (and they showed me the video immediately, so no editing).

[k9krap]

I used a night guard for years but lost it in one of my moves. The front teeth in my lower jaw are loose from the teeth grinding and have been for a long time. But they haven’t fallen out yet!

I haven’t found a dentist I like since my high school friend died from breast cancer. Her father was our dentist since we moved to the area and she took over his practice when he retired.

[minx]

I've been going to Scott Shirk out by Central Park. Super nice guy and super nice staff.

And more to the point, super loyal staff. No turnover in the two years I've been seeing him, and everyone is super friendly. That says to me that he treats his employees well.

While I like Dr. Church himself, his staff turnover rate is outrageous. I've been looking for someone new, but haven't found someone yet. Because if you can't keep your staff happy, it makes me wonder about you as well.