So, when I got my dental insurance for the first time since 2002, I got to go in and get my teeth checked. FOURTEEN YEARS of no dental care, just desperate brushing. At the time, they flagged a ridiculous number of problem areas but only focused on the badly cracked tooth and three large cavities I had, and that was STILL misery.
I went in this Wednesday and… now they want to address the things they passed over last year.
19 of them.
This is horrifying. Most of them are between two teeth so count as two – one on each tooth where they touch. But still, this is going to be three appointments at least and a ridiculous amount of money because I have NO IDEA how many my new dental insurance will cover.
So I’m cringing.
My appointment is in the second week of January, so there’s plenty of time for me to stress about it!
What’s the longest you were forced to go without dental care? How bad was the fall out? Inquiring minds want to know!
That’s awful! I’m so sorry you have to go through this! Dental problems are just the worst.
The longest I went without dental care was 23 years. I should re-phrase that! I didn’t go to the dentist for the first time in my life until I was 23 years old.
We grew up in poverty and even if we’d had dental insurance through the state, my mother could have never risked losing her job to take time off to take the three of us to dentist or doctors appointments. So we just didn’t go.
I was terrified and embarrassed the first time I finally went. The dentist asked how long it had been, and when I told him he said, “Okay! Let’s take a look!” like it was no big deal. No judgment at all. He’s still my dentist 20 years later because of how sweet he was to me that first visit.
At first glance, he said 6 cavities. After x-rays and further investigation, only 3! I had them filled over two appointments, cost me about $150 out of pocket (dental insurance coverage leaves much to be desired).
Ever since then, for the past 20 years I go at least once a year, and other than having the wisdom teeth out just in the last couple years, not a single cavity or problem. I’m so glad I finally went.
Best of luck to you with the work you’re having done. Hopefully it won’t be as extensive as they initially thought!
Thank you! I hope so too. They’ve already done the x-rays, but I’ll see how it turns out. The dentist there was so non-judgmental when I told her how long it had been, so I’ve been returning to them. And the dental hygienist is very sweet – I get to hear the story of her life while she’s cleaning. *smile*
Yikes. We were actually going through similar stuff at the same time but I probably didn’t see you much around the time of this post. Except in my case, switching dentists was the difference. One dentist said “watch areas” while the other said “cavities” so I had to get somewhere around 10 done around the holidays last year, plus a dental crown in the spring. Egads. Now I floss every day.
Ugh. It’s definitely motivation to brush well and brush often. I’m trying to train myself to use an electric brush, but the vibration sends chills up and down my spine. We’ll see.