Teeth belong in the mouth.
On Monday at lunch at work, I crunched down on something hard. Since I was eating a chicken and potatoes frozen entree, with no crunchy items in it, I had a bad feeling. "Everything out!" I thought. I spat into a napkin. Inspection revealed that it was my dental crown, and pieces of the tooth underneath it. It would need to be re-cemented, so I put it in a baggie.
I didn't want to go to the dentist because I'm in a dental HMO until next year. I'm not pleased with my dentist. In March, he dropped the suction tube on the floor, picked it up and disinfected it with DisCide, a hard surface disinfectant. I planned to transfer, but then decided to hold out, avoiding him by seeing one of his associates.
The funny thing is that I told Damian at work, showing him the crown. He said that his crown had vanished. I was incredulous; he just had it installed a few months ago.
"What do you mean? Open your mouth," I said.
He did and sure enough, there was only the filed-down tooth. "I don't know when it came off. I must have swallowed it in my sleep."
I couldn't believe this. "That's a big tooth. A molar! And it's metal, sharp! How could you swallow it and not even know it?" Hot-damn. That's like eating a piece of a pine cone.
I don't know. Oh well."
"Oh well? That will cost you another $400!"
I took off today, tired. But hopefully I could get an appointment. I kept the tooth in my purse, checking on it from time to time. Last night, more of the tooth broke off. At that point, I had reservations about a simple re-cementing.
Well, I was able to get a dental visit today. Although I specifically asked for Dr. Radovich (the woman) guess who came sauntering into the treatment room once I was in the chair. I heard his voice behind me and mentally groaned. Good ol' Dr. Khan, the one who put that "external use only" disinfectant into my mouth back in March. I was trying to avoid him until my insurance changed next year. But alas, I was three weeks short - thanks to this tooth!!!
The x-ray showed that the remainder of the tooth was in bad condition. Dr. Khan said he could insert a new post and put the crown back on, but it might not last long. He suggested an implant or bridge for the long term. I thought it over and decided that I just wanted the crown back on. He had me sign a statement saying that the options had been explained and that there was a "poor prognosis" for the crown lasting long. I said to myself, "I only have to ride this baby until 1/5/09, then I can transfer out of this place!" I'll avoid peanut brittle and the unpopped kernels of popcorn (you know, the ones where it's just barely open, only a little bit of white showing. I like those).
So that's what he did. It cost me $177. An implant is $2500 and a bridge is $1300. So we'll have to see which way to go. I'll have to research on Angie's List to find a good dentist, or else return to the expensive (but good) clinic, First Family Dental. Problem there is that their fees are higher and I only get $1200 worth of insurance benefits per year. In the past, I ran out of benefits sometimes, leading me to try this HMO, with set prices and no limits. But there are not enough dentists in it, and I wasn't pleased with this one or the previous one. I think that dentists don't care to be in this plan, as it limits their fees.
First Family is also home of limited parking: It's so bad that once the receptionist was on the phone to someone, asking, "Do you want me to come out and park your car, so you can come in for your appointment?" No joke - you can look and look, round and round, and still come up dry.
So I'll have to figure out what to do. But right now, this tooth feels perfect!
I didn't want to go to the dentist because I'm in a dental HMO until next year. I'm not pleased with my dentist. In March, he dropped the suction tube on the floor, picked it up and disinfected it with DisCide, a hard surface disinfectant. I planned to transfer, but then decided to hold out, avoiding him by seeing one of his associates.
The funny thing is that I told Damian at work, showing him the crown. He said that his crown had vanished. I was incredulous; he just had it installed a few months ago.
"What do you mean? Open your mouth," I said.
He did and sure enough, there was only the filed-down tooth. "I don't know when it came off. I must have swallowed it in my sleep."
I couldn't believe this. "That's a big tooth. A molar! And it's metal, sharp! How could you swallow it and not even know it?" Hot-damn. That's like eating a piece of a pine cone.
I don't know. Oh well."
"Oh well? That will cost you another $400!"
I took off today, tired. But hopefully I could get an appointment. I kept the tooth in my purse, checking on it from time to time. Last night, more of the tooth broke off. At that point, I had reservations about a simple re-cementing.
Well, I was able to get a dental visit today. Although I specifically asked for Dr. Radovich (the woman) guess who came sauntering into the treatment room once I was in the chair. I heard his voice behind me and mentally groaned. Good ol' Dr. Khan, the one who put that "external use only" disinfectant into my mouth back in March. I was trying to avoid him until my insurance changed next year. But alas, I was three weeks short - thanks to this tooth!!!
The x-ray showed that the remainder of the tooth was in bad condition. Dr. Khan said he could insert a new post and put the crown back on, but it might not last long. He suggested an implant or bridge for the long term. I thought it over and decided that I just wanted the crown back on. He had me sign a statement saying that the options had been explained and that there was a "poor prognosis" for the crown lasting long. I said to myself, "I only have to ride this baby until 1/5/09, then I can transfer out of this place!" I'll avoid peanut brittle and the unpopped kernels of popcorn (you know, the ones where it's just barely open, only a little bit of white showing. I like those).
So that's what he did. It cost me $177. An implant is $2500 and a bridge is $1300. So we'll have to see which way to go. I'll have to research on Angie's List to find a good dentist, or else return to the expensive (but good) clinic, First Family Dental. Problem there is that their fees are higher and I only get $1200 worth of insurance benefits per year. In the past, I ran out of benefits sometimes, leading me to try this HMO, with set prices and no limits. But there are not enough dentists in it, and I wasn't pleased with this one or the previous one. I think that dentists don't care to be in this plan, as it limits their fees.
First Family is also home of limited parking: It's so bad that once the receptionist was on the phone to someone, asking, "Do you want me to come out and park your car, so you can come in for your appointment?" No joke - you can look and look, round and round, and still come up dry.
So I'll have to figure out what to do. But right now, this tooth feels perfect!