The last time I went to the dentist was October 2012. It was just a week or two before we traveled to Russia to bring Jacob home. I have had excellent dental care all my life and wanted to make sure I had a cleaning before bringing Jacob home and needing to cocoon for a time.
My dentist mentioned I had two fillings that needed to be redone. No big deal. I told the receptionist we were leaving for Russia and I was going to wait on the filling-redo until my next cleaning. I am always diligent about my 6 month appointments so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal.
Well, 6 months went by and Jacob was doing great. Time to schedule my cleaning and the 2 filling repairs. Got it on the calendar. The week of the appointment we got sick. Okay reschedule. Something came up. Reschedule again. We had been through our job change and had submitted our application for adoption from China. Brad mentioned we now had access to dental coverage and maybe we should consider using it. We have always paid cash to remain with my childhood dentist who we love.
Assuming this was the responsible route now that we had 4 almost 5 children and we needed to save for adoption #2, I cancelled our appointments at the dentist to allow time to investigate the insurance. I thought this would be a quick and easy process. Sign up and go see a new dentist. Four months later we still did not have insurance. Feeling antsy about not seeing the dentist in almost a year I called my old dentist back and scheduled cleanings for Amber, Drew and I. The week before the appointments our insurance application was finally accepted. That was November, coverage would begin January 1.
This seemed like a no-brainer. Just wait a few more weeks and go in for "free" (no out of pocket in the office). So I cancelled our appointments once again with my old dentist.
Then in the beginning of December one of my fillings (the one that needed to be redone) came out. Oh, come on! I can wait 3 more weeks. Two weeks later, just a few days before Christmas, that tooth broke. I tried to call my old dentist but his office was closed for the Holidays. Knowing I would likely need a crown (cha-ching) I held out for January 1.
Finally I made it into the new dentist. My fears about seeing a new dentist subsided. They were nice. The facility was nice. There was only one dentist so I didn't have to worry about being bounced around.
Apparently during the 15 months I did not see my dentist my entire mouth decided it was a good time to fall apart. The new dentist diagnosed 3 root canals, 3 crowns, and 5 new fillings! I have never had a root canal or crown in my life!
Worried that I was being scammed I went back to my old dentist for a second opinion. It was true. My teeth have decided now is a great time to drop a bomb. My dentist asked me what in the world I have been doing.
He suggested it would be a good idea to stop drinking soda.
I don't drink soda.
Well Gatorade or whatever it is I am drinking.
I drink water.
Am I eating chocolate and candy everyday?
Nope.
Do I eat a high-carb diet?
Well, I am an American, so yes. But I eat everything in moderation and consider my diet pretty balanced.
Well I guess you just have soft teeth.
Great. Soft teeth.
So, the total of my portion of the bill for all of this lovely work is going to exceed $2,000. While I am grateful to now have the insurance and not be paying full-price, I am struggling to get past that number.
I think I want to go eat some chocolate...
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