April 7, 2010

Dentist # 1




Wild spring daisies abound mixed in with the coastal chaparral. Point Loma, 2010.



Himself: Swam, job hunted, and put up with me.

Herself: All of the above. Made all my thank you calls too. I can call our Favorite dentist at 0930. Last night struggled to get a new spring picture to fit the Postcards banner and it wouldn’t. Grrrr.

Reading: “The Only Way To Cross.” I’ve reached the Normandie.

Gratitude: Swimming, books, both NCIS.

The newest consumer reports came. The magazine touts lawn care products and mattresses. It’s good to know about mattresses as we need one, but what we really need is a dentist that takes my insurance who offers choices that don’t run about $5000.00 out of my pocket.

My Favorite dentist doesn’t take my Medicare dental plan.

The new dentist I was assigned to gave me three options. Pull the tooth, and remove the crowns next to the broken tooth, and install a bridge. Pulling the tooth would mean knocking me out which isn’t covered by my new insurance.

Next choice. A partial. Tooth out, crowns out. Plastic teeth and pot metal. Right now I have titanium and ceramic. She said they weren’t made any more.

Final choice would be an implant which isn’t covered by my insurance. “That’s really the best choice,” she kept saying.

Of course it is. Not in my budget tho. I confess I was in shock. I probably behaved as if I were in shock.

So I’ll call our old favorite dentist this morning after swimming.

8 comments:

  1. So sorry about the dental problems. They are the worst and we have not real insurance in this country that anyone can afford. My insurance only allows about 1/3 payment for this dentist and I also like him very much. Getting teeth cleaned at least twice a year now and I pay for the second one hoping to keep more dental work at bay.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love your spring picture. It's warm here, in the 80s, but April returns tomorrow, 58 or 59. I prefer it to the 80s.
    Sorry about the dental stuff. Dental hygiene is probably as important as not smoking, but no one tells us how to pay for it. I suppose you could say the same for all health insurance.
    Think spring!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't even know what medicare does for me--as far as I know nothing so far. Maybe I ought to check in better. We just pay the dentist and groan when we get home, and pray things don't get worse, especially for me after the chemo is finished up. Seems to mess up a lot of other things well enough. But I'll face it the only way we can these days--one day and one problem at a time. Lovely flowers. I love yellow wild flowers--would love to see sunflowers growing roadside soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am really hacked dental care was not not a part of healthcare reform. It should have been. It is a necessary area of health care and seems to be unregulated. I kept my dental insurance from my work plan when I retired. So far it pays for me to have my teeth cleaned twice a year, if I don't get anything else done, If I need other care it gets all screwy in how it pays. I feel like dentists have a good deal going for themselves and no one is watching.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so sorry about the dental issues! My daughter-in-law just found herself in a mess of dental challenges and found out that her personal purchased insurance (not provided by a corporation) pays less than that provided by a corporation. And her bill is overwhelming. Good Grief.

    What you saw at my house - my Grandson's WWII Birthday cake, and my Grandaughter's Peace Birthday cake. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Argh!!!!! I can't afford what I have to pay for my dental so I hear you loud and clear!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry to hear that the choices are not good ones. The problem with teeth is that you need them in as good as form as possible otherwise life is miserable. Do hope you come up with some sound solution.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm sorry to hear that. I had the same experience before. What I did was I looked for a dentist who's be able to give me a good deal for the services that I need and would accept my dental plan terms. Luckily, I found a dental practitioner near my brother's place who offered me discounts and accepted my dental plan.

    ReplyDelete

postcards

Celebration of Life