I'm going to whine for a minute
So. April of 2008, I got a panoramic x-ray of my mouth because I was worried about my wisdom teeth, and the dentist suggested that they would need to come out soon. He said that in a couple of years they might start hurting.
It took me two months before I could convince my parents that getting a *consult* with an oral surgeon was a good idea, and another month before I actually got the consult.
Through all of this, and the root canal I had in January of 2007, I attempted to convince my parents multiple times, maybe once a month or so, that I should have dental insurance.
Also, due to some screw ups on my mother's part when I was younger, I am relatively unable to hold or secure a job (she never allowed me to have a job until I got my second set of working papers and no longer needed her permission. No job, no experience. No experience, no job, not to mention I'm not used to having to work and do academia at the same time), so I can't exactly pay for insurance on my own.
Fast forward to yesterday morning. I woke up with my jaw in intense pain. I do have a history of clenching my teeth at night, figured that might be what it is. However, I wound up taking the day off because the pain was severe enough to affect my stomach and my mental capacities. I wound up going to UMass Health Services (uy, gotta love college/university doctors), where I was diagnosed with, well, clenching my teeth. The doctor prescribed cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant to take at bedtime. Kinda reminds me of the Hampshire doctors trying to prescribe me Valium for an upset stomach about six times.
I didn't actually take the cyclobenzaprine because I harbor a severe dislike for even slightly unnecessary medications, and I had a sneaking suspicion that that particular medication was more than slightly unnecessary. This theory was only furthered by the fact that the pain increased throughout the day. I began to believe that this pain had something to do with my wisdom teeth shifting, or with an infection, as the bottom of my jaw was swollen.
This morning, I wasn't in quite as much pain when I woke up. I actually went in to work today for about five hours, during the course of which I took six tabs of Ibuprofen (I usually take no more than two in four hours), and still wasn't feeling well enough to work.
After I went home, I got my dad to call the dentist's office (I could barely open my mouth to talk on the phone to him, let alone try to get them to understand me), and I got an appointment there. After waiting over half an hour after the scheduled time to actually get seen (typical, I know), I find out that yes, it is my wisdom teeth, and yes, it is an infection. Congrats, mom and dad, your refusal to let me get my wisdom teeth out because it costs a lot of money just cost you guys $70 extra ($60 for the emergency consult, $10 for the antibiotics, since I am allergic to penicillin and thus cannot get the Stop & Shop free antibiotics deal...not that I don't have my issues with the big "free antibiotics" sign and all that).
Just to add insult to injury, the clindamycin which I was prescribed absolutely must be taken every 6 hours. I need my 8 hours of sleep. I'm going to be even more grumpy than I am right now for the next couple weeks.
I called my dad to tell him that the dentist said that as long as I don't get my bottom wisdom teeth out, they will keep getting infected. He seemed pretty happy that the clindamycin would take care of the problem "for now."
So, still no dental insurance. My dad also wants me to go back to New York to get my wisdom teeth pulled, because apparently oral surgeons there are less expensive. I have no idea, but I really don't want to take more time off from work and lose more money.
So.
Does anybody know of any good oral surgeons in the area that aren't ludicrously expensive where I could get my wisdom teeth pulled?
Thanks.
It took me two months before I could convince my parents that getting a *consult* with an oral surgeon was a good idea, and another month before I actually got the consult.
Through all of this, and the root canal I had in January of 2007, I attempted to convince my parents multiple times, maybe once a month or so, that I should have dental insurance.
Also, due to some screw ups on my mother's part when I was younger, I am relatively unable to hold or secure a job (she never allowed me to have a job until I got my second set of working papers and no longer needed her permission. No job, no experience. No experience, no job, not to mention I'm not used to having to work and do academia at the same time), so I can't exactly pay for insurance on my own.
Fast forward to yesterday morning. I woke up with my jaw in intense pain. I do have a history of clenching my teeth at night, figured that might be what it is. However, I wound up taking the day off because the pain was severe enough to affect my stomach and my mental capacities. I wound up going to UMass Health Services (uy, gotta love college/university doctors), where I was diagnosed with, well, clenching my teeth. The doctor prescribed cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant to take at bedtime. Kinda reminds me of the Hampshire doctors trying to prescribe me Valium for an upset stomach about six times.
I didn't actually take the cyclobenzaprine because I harbor a severe dislike for even slightly unnecessary medications, and I had a sneaking suspicion that that particular medication was more than slightly unnecessary. This theory was only furthered by the fact that the pain increased throughout the day. I began to believe that this pain had something to do with my wisdom teeth shifting, or with an infection, as the bottom of my jaw was swollen.
This morning, I wasn't in quite as much pain when I woke up. I actually went in to work today for about five hours, during the course of which I took six tabs of Ibuprofen (I usually take no more than two in four hours), and still wasn't feeling well enough to work.
After I went home, I got my dad to call the dentist's office (I could barely open my mouth to talk on the phone to him, let alone try to get them to understand me), and I got an appointment there. After waiting over half an hour after the scheduled time to actually get seen (typical, I know), I find out that yes, it is my wisdom teeth, and yes, it is an infection. Congrats, mom and dad, your refusal to let me get my wisdom teeth out because it costs a lot of money just cost you guys $70 extra ($60 for the emergency consult, $10 for the antibiotics, since I am allergic to penicillin and thus cannot get the Stop & Shop free antibiotics deal...not that I don't have my issues with the big "free antibiotics" sign and all that).
Just to add insult to injury, the clindamycin which I was prescribed absolutely must be taken every 6 hours. I need my 8 hours of sleep. I'm going to be even more grumpy than I am right now for the next couple weeks.
I called my dad to tell him that the dentist said that as long as I don't get my bottom wisdom teeth out, they will keep getting infected. He seemed pretty happy that the clindamycin would take care of the problem "for now."
So, still no dental insurance. My dad also wants me to go back to New York to get my wisdom teeth pulled, because apparently oral surgeons there are less expensive. I have no idea, but I really don't want to take more time off from work and lose more money.
So.
Does anybody know of any good oral surgeons in the area that aren't ludicrously expensive where I could get my wisdom teeth pulled?
Thanks.