I did one of my favorite things in the world today – I went to the dentist. Does the sarcasm come across in that statement? Since I recently moved to Northern California, I did not have a dentist up here yet. One of my sister’s friends works in an office and my whole family uses this dentist so I thought I would give him a try. I had your basic “chisel your teeth until they hurt even though they did not hurt before you came in” appointment first thing this morning. Oh, I think the dentist call this a cleaning. I have become quite convinced that if I ever wanted to date a sadist, all I would need to do is date a dental hygienist. I have never understood why my teeth should hurt more after a cleaning than before. I am also sure all that chiseling and scraping can not be good for your teeth or your gums. But I let them do it anyway.
I love it when the dental hygienist says to me, after a 45 minute cleaning, that there is some bleeding in your gums. Really? They weren't bleeding when I came in. It might, I said might, have something to do with the fact that you just spent 45 minutes stabbing, scraping and poking my gums with all of those sharp instruments on that tray. Stop doing that and my gums will probably stop bleeding.
Afterward they took new x-rays and I got to meet with the dentist. I told him I had two things I wanted addressed. I broke a bridge and it needs to be replaced and I have a crown that does not seem right. Neither is terrible bothersome, but I would like them corrected. He examined me and told me overall everything looks OK, but I do have one small cavity which he showed me on the TV screen using a camera in my mouth. I am not sure us normal people are meant to get that close a look into our own mouths. He looked at the crown and agreed that it should be replaced. It is right next to the small cavity so they plan to do that in one appointment.
The bridge is another story. He and I want to emphasize that HE recommended that I not use a bridge but rather have implants installed. They actually drill the implant into your jaw and then cap them so it is more like reel teeth. He says these will be better for me in the long run as I have a tendency to grind my teeth and grinding would put a lot of pressure on my bridge over time and may damage the surrounding teeth, which is what broke it in the first place. This sounded logical to me. He said there are two issues with implants – they are “rather expensive” and they are not covered by insurance. Not covered by insurance? Really? Then why do I have insurance? It is not like this is cosmetic dentistry. I am not the one saying I want these implants. My dentist is saying they are what I need. So why wouldn’t my insurance cover them? Oh, I forgot to mention that each implant is $4000.00.
I think dental insurance has to be the biggest scam we have in this country. Let’s see, they cover cleanings, and usually a small percentage of any minor work you get done. Mine covers 50% of any cavities or crowns. Not much else. Oh, and I can’t spend more than $1000.00 annually. Now they gave me the estimate to fix the crown and cavity - $1250.00 – of which I have to pay half. They figure that this will take about 2 hours. So my dentist makes $625.00 bucks and hour? If the thought of constantly sticking my fingers into stranger’s mouths did not disgust me, I would think I chose the wrong profession.
He is also recommending I see an orthodontist. Braces? At my age? I really don’t see this happening. He says it will help me later on in life as my grinding will eventually cause them to have to cap some teeth in front in 10 to 15 years. I am not sure I want to wear braces for 3 years to avoid a problem I may not be around to experience. I have not even looked into what portion, if any, of orthodontia is covered by my insurance. I am sure it won’t be much.
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