Catching Up
I think this is the longest time between posts since I started blogging about a year ago. The cause of this lapse in posting is 50% due to my lack of motivation to write and 50% due to being busy.
Last week was Dental Nightmare week. I learned that waiting 4 years between dental visits is not a good call. I knew I needed to get in for a cleaning but kept putting that off, but when I started having really bad jaw pain I figured I should get that problem taken care of before I lost the capability to eat. A friend who has the same insurance as I do recommended her dentist, and I finally made my first appointment. After numerous x-rays and a lot of poking at my gums and calling out all the problems with each individual tooth, I was finally ready for a sit-down with the dentist. She showed me x-rays and talked to me about my problems, which seemed relatively minor considering how long it had been since I went to the dentist. Then, I met with Susan, the bad news lady. She prepared my "treatment plan" which is a list of everything that needs to be done and told me my cost share for all those services was $1500. Hmm, the exact amount that we could get if we sold our car. It sure sounds like $1500 would get a lot of dental work taken care of, but really it is just for two fillings and a nightguard. Did I mention that I have dental insurance.
Since my mom worked as a dental assistant for a number of years and is currently a hot-shot claims denier at Delta Dental, I immediately called her whining about the cost and the procedures. To make a very long story short, mom talked to me about options, empowered me with knowledge and confirmed my rights as a patient to actually decide what I wanted done to my teeth. Now I am looking at a bill around $5oo instead.
In a nutshell: Monday was my consult with the dentist followed by a Dr. appointment to try and get my medical insurance to cover part of the TMJ issue. Tuesday I nearly died as the hygienist scraped 4 years of junk off my teeth, sandblasted my face, and made me drool all over the place during the fluoride treatment. Later that day I had jaw x-rays. Wednesday I dropped my glasses by the mailbox and someone ran them over - not dental related but hey it's my blog. And finally, Thursday I confronted my dentist about how much money she was trying to steal from my babies' mouths. Whew. It was a rough week. Today, the dentist called to go over a revised treatment plan, let me know those TMJ x-rays that the Dr. took won't work, and set up an appointment to start sucking my savings account dry. Yeah.
On a lighter note, this past weekend our family headed down to Virginia beach to enjoy the last of the sunshine and warmth before Fall kicks in, and to spend some time as a family before Matt leaves for Rucker. We had a great weekend. I'll be posting the photos to my shutterfly page soon! It was so beautiful. We played in the sand and waves, watched dolphins swim by, and had a personal behind the scenes tour of the Virgina Aquarium. At the aquarium, we went to the shark tank and the giant sea turtle tank to learn about the animals and how the aquarium works. The sea turtles were so amazing. We were worried that the weather was going to keep us in our hotel room, but it was nice an warm when we arrived on Saturday and Sunday morning at 9am we were on the beach in swimsuits and playing in the water. That is fabulous for the end of September!
I recieved a very special gift this week. A friend of mine surprised me with a water color painting of my boys. She covertly retrieved a picture Matt took of the boys playing on the beach when we were in Spain last March, and has been working on this painting for me. I can't really put into words how special this painting is to me. First, it is so special that she painted something for me and second, the image that she chose is just perfect. We had such a great time in Spain, we love the beach, and this painting captures all of that. The last thing that was so cool about the gift is that it completely caught me off guard. I never would have guessed that she would paint something for me. Needless to say, I cried.
As Matt's bags are being packed (by me of course - he never packs for himself), I am hoping that this time we are apart goes by fast, but not too fast. Over the next two months Matt will have the chance to spend time with his buddy Tom who will be in Rucker with him, and I'm looking forward to enjoying some fall activities here with the boys.
Last week was Dental Nightmare week. I learned that waiting 4 years between dental visits is not a good call. I knew I needed to get in for a cleaning but kept putting that off, but when I started having really bad jaw pain I figured I should get that problem taken care of before I lost the capability to eat. A friend who has the same insurance as I do recommended her dentist, and I finally made my first appointment. After numerous x-rays and a lot of poking at my gums and calling out all the problems with each individual tooth, I was finally ready for a sit-down with the dentist. She showed me x-rays and talked to me about my problems, which seemed relatively minor considering how long it had been since I went to the dentist. Then, I met with Susan, the bad news lady. She prepared my "treatment plan" which is a list of everything that needs to be done and told me my cost share for all those services was $1500. Hmm, the exact amount that we could get if we sold our car. It sure sounds like $1500 would get a lot of dental work taken care of, but really it is just for two fillings and a nightguard. Did I mention that I have dental insurance.
Since my mom worked as a dental assistant for a number of years and is currently a hot-shot claims denier at Delta Dental, I immediately called her whining about the cost and the procedures. To make a very long story short, mom talked to me about options, empowered me with knowledge and confirmed my rights as a patient to actually decide what I wanted done to my teeth. Now I am looking at a bill around $5oo instead.
In a nutshell: Monday was my consult with the dentist followed by a Dr. appointment to try and get my medical insurance to cover part of the TMJ issue. Tuesday I nearly died as the hygienist scraped 4 years of junk off my teeth, sandblasted my face, and made me drool all over the place during the fluoride treatment. Later that day I had jaw x-rays. Wednesday I dropped my glasses by the mailbox and someone ran them over - not dental related but hey it's my blog. And finally, Thursday I confronted my dentist about how much money she was trying to steal from my babies' mouths. Whew. It was a rough week. Today, the dentist called to go over a revised treatment plan, let me know those TMJ x-rays that the Dr. took won't work, and set up an appointment to start sucking my savings account dry. Yeah.
On a lighter note, this past weekend our family headed down to Virginia beach to enjoy the last of the sunshine and warmth before Fall kicks in, and to spend some time as a family before Matt leaves for Rucker. We had a great weekend. I'll be posting the photos to my shutterfly page soon! It was so beautiful. We played in the sand and waves, watched dolphins swim by, and had a personal behind the scenes tour of the Virgina Aquarium. At the aquarium, we went to the shark tank and the giant sea turtle tank to learn about the animals and how the aquarium works. The sea turtles were so amazing. We were worried that the weather was going to keep us in our hotel room, but it was nice an warm when we arrived on Saturday and Sunday morning at 9am we were on the beach in swimsuits and playing in the water. That is fabulous for the end of September!
I recieved a very special gift this week. A friend of mine surprised me with a water color painting of my boys. She covertly retrieved a picture Matt took of the boys playing on the beach when we were in Spain last March, and has been working on this painting for me. I can't really put into words how special this painting is to me. First, it is so special that she painted something for me and second, the image that she chose is just perfect. We had such a great time in Spain, we love the beach, and this painting captures all of that. The last thing that was so cool about the gift is that it completely caught me off guard. I never would have guessed that she would paint something for me. Needless to say, I cried.
As Matt's bags are being packed (by me of course - he never packs for himself), I am hoping that this time we are apart goes by fast, but not too fast. Over the next two months Matt will have the chance to spend time with his buddy Tom who will be in Rucker with him, and I'm looking forward to enjoying some fall activities here with the boys.
Comments
After laughing so hard over your dental experience (sorry) I have to tell you that the nightguard has been the most amazing thing that has happened to me. I strongly recommend it. It has saved my teeth. Good luck.