The Dentist
I'm one of those idiots that actually believes that if you don't check to find something wrong with you, do don't have anything wrong with you. Then you don't have to deal with the stress of that problem, or the bills associated with fixing that problem.
But as a birthday present, Sarah asked me to make a dentist appointment. And so I did. And it was for today. And I went. And I just got home. So here's what's up.
After finding the place and going in and filling out some paperwork, a young lady named Lori came and took me back and had me sit on the dental chair thingy. She was to be my hygienist for the day. She was kind, bubbly, understanding of my (mostly financial) anxiety, had a large forehead, and was quite personable. We talked for a good while about lots of things while she did stuff to my teeth and gums. We even watched part of the Manchester City/South Hampton match on their tiny tv.
After concluding 18 x-rays, a cleaning, and that professional football is extremely boring, especially live, she went to grab the doc and to check what my insurance would cover.
Enter Dr. Giggles. He took out this machine that essentially seemed to blast puffs of air into my mouth while he dug around in there with a sharp hook, all the time asking me questions about what it might be like to bathe in champagne, and wondering how John and Jean and Saturn were doing (I knew that John went there at least once in the past, indeed, it was by his recommendation that I made my appointment there. What I didn't know is that John, Jean, and Saturn are quite popular with every single person who works in that office. I am not, however, surprised.)
The final result: Both Dr. Giggles and Lori were amazed that I don't brush my teeth, floss, and that this was my first dentist visit in about 15 years.
I am still cavity free. I blamed it on not eating any sugar.
There are some other things that they want me to come back for though, and this is where I need to do some research to see if I should get them done or not.
First, he said that I have chips in two of my molars, and that he wants to seal/cap them.
Second, he said that I have some deep grooves in two of my molars, and that he wants to seal/cap them as well, because bacteria could hang out there and start causing some cavities pretty easily.
Third, I've apparently got a lot of plaque below my gum line, which could cause gum disease in the future. They want to numb me up and scrape all that away in 2 visits.
So he's the insurance breakdown:
-2 of those caps would be mostly covered.
-2 of those caps would be partly covered.
-None of the gum stuff would be covered.
The total for having all these done would be $327 dollars. That's a pretty big expense for me, but I could save up for a few months and not have to worry about being able to pay my other bills, if need be.
But here's the need-be bit. Do I really need this stuff done, or are these guys simply good businessmen/women? It's a big financial hit to take care of now, but will it be an even bigger hit down the road if I don't get this taken care of now? Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, what's the deal with resin-based composite filling? Is it similar to amalgam in that it's at least partially mercury based? If so, there's no way I'm putting anything with mercury in my mouth. There's already plenty of evidence that I'm going to age into "Mental Hilarity", I don't want to take any chances of increasing that possibility (along with all the other possible problems associated with toxic mercury exposure).
So I need to do some research, and probably call them at least once to ask them about what they use and how they use it.
I've never been deliriously happy to work at a grocery store, but I am thankful for my so-so dental insurance. Without it, today's visit would have been 127 bucks. If I didn't have it, the $327 for all this other work would be $1,040.
But as a birthday present, Sarah asked me to make a dentist appointment. And so I did. And it was for today. And I went. And I just got home. So here's what's up.
After finding the place and going in and filling out some paperwork, a young lady named Lori came and took me back and had me sit on the dental chair thingy. She was to be my hygienist for the day. She was kind, bubbly, understanding of my (mostly financial) anxiety, had a large forehead, and was quite personable. We talked for a good while about lots of things while she did stuff to my teeth and gums. We even watched part of the Manchester City/South Hampton match on their tiny tv.
After concluding 18 x-rays, a cleaning, and that professional football is extremely boring, especially live, she went to grab the doc and to check what my insurance would cover.
Enter Dr. Giggles. He took out this machine that essentially seemed to blast puffs of air into my mouth while he dug around in there with a sharp hook, all the time asking me questions about what it might be like to bathe in champagne, and wondering how John and Jean and Saturn were doing (I knew that John went there at least once in the past, indeed, it was by his recommendation that I made my appointment there. What I didn't know is that John, Jean, and Saturn are quite popular with every single person who works in that office. I am not, however, surprised.)
The final result: Both Dr. Giggles and Lori were amazed that I don't brush my teeth, floss, and that this was my first dentist visit in about 15 years.
I am still cavity free. I blamed it on not eating any sugar.
There are some other things that they want me to come back for though, and this is where I need to do some research to see if I should get them done or not.
First, he said that I have chips in two of my molars, and that he wants to seal/cap them.
Second, he said that I have some deep grooves in two of my molars, and that he wants to seal/cap them as well, because bacteria could hang out there and start causing some cavities pretty easily.
Third, I've apparently got a lot of plaque below my gum line, which could cause gum disease in the future. They want to numb me up and scrape all that away in 2 visits.
So he's the insurance breakdown:
-2 of those caps would be mostly covered.
-2 of those caps would be partly covered.
-None of the gum stuff would be covered.
The total for having all these done would be $327 dollars. That's a pretty big expense for me, but I could save up for a few months and not have to worry about being able to pay my other bills, if need be.
But here's the need-be bit. Do I really need this stuff done, or are these guys simply good businessmen/women? It's a big financial hit to take care of now, but will it be an even bigger hit down the road if I don't get this taken care of now? Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, what's the deal with resin-based composite filling? Is it similar to amalgam in that it's at least partially mercury based? If so, there's no way I'm putting anything with mercury in my mouth. There's already plenty of evidence that I'm going to age into "Mental Hilarity", I don't want to take any chances of increasing that possibility (along with all the other possible problems associated with toxic mercury exposure).
So I need to do some research, and probably call them at least once to ask them about what they use and how they use it.
I've never been deliriously happy to work at a grocery store, but I am thankful for my so-so dental insurance. Without it, today's visit would have been 127 bucks. If I didn't have it, the $327 for all this other work would be $1,040.