toothiness

[jazzfish]

Bad teeth run in the family. Mom has five or six crowns, Dad's got two or three, and I'd be surprised if any grandparent had more than 60% original teeth. So it wasn't too surprising that towards the end of my coverage under my parents' insurance I went in for several fillings. One of them wasn't ever completed, since there was no way to get it scheduled before the coverage ran out. I then spent a couple of years without insurance. By the time I was insured again it didn't really matter: the cavity'd gotten bad enough that I had to have the tooth root-canalled and crowned.

That insurance lasted me about a year, and then I was off again. Awhile later I had a filling fall out, so I bummed money off my parents and went to get it replaced. The dentist discovered that the filling hadn't actually fixed the cavity; apparently the previous dentist had dumped gunk in on top of the cavity and hoped it would repair itself. No luck there, so say hello to crown number two.

I've been having a bit of trouble with the gap between two teeth for a couple years now, but I'd figured (hoped) (prayed) that was all it was. Being aware of the potential for problems I've been brushing my teeth regularly, and even managed to start flossing with the cool new flossers they sell next to the electric toothbrushes. I was hoping this would keep any problems at bay until I got settled in.

About half an hour ago a pointy bit of tooth snapped off, revealing a deep dark hole. Looks like this is another of those ex-cavities that's going to turn into a crown. Thanks a million, Doctor Olenyn. According to the Dental Insurance Booklet I'll only have to pay half of this crown. But, since dental here is through Those Pigfuckers, I expect that either I'm misreading it or I'll get nailed under a preexisting condition / waiting period.

Comments

[fishy1.livejournal.com]

yeh dental insurance usually sucks..

i have a few things that i'd like to have fixed, but i have to wait *counting* 7 more months before they are even worth briniging up under shawn's Plan. of couse i may get my own between now and then which will make it 12 months again or everything will be pre-existing. of course if i have a job we might actually be able to pay the 50% or whatever the Plan doesn't pay for.

if it makes you feel any better i am also at 2 crowns and a post (which will probably need crowning by the time i get around to it) oh and i had (completely _not_ covered) gum/jaw surgery last year from stuff leftover from the first two crowns not being done correcty, and the resulting infection eating away at my jawbone..

so nobody punch me, or my face will completely fall apart. :)

good luck with your new mouth fun, and be sure to ask for plenty of nitrous...

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you had a really unethical dentist. They're supposed to clean out the cavity thoroughly before filling it. Since, you know, they can turn into abscesses and kill you.

I have health insurance through work, but there's no dental coverage. My parents don't have dental coverage anymore either. It's just too expensive. Anyway, good luck.

[vilejynx.livejournal.com]

Hey, I went to Dr. Olenyn, too -- small world syndrome strikes again.

[heptadecagram.livejournal.com]

I had a similar problem (poorly-done fillings) with my childhood dentist. I've gone through three root canals in the past year to correct the fillings he's done, and had another filling redone. My current dentist is absolutely amazing, and was mightily unimpressed by the previous bout of work.

Given that my only medical expenses are dental ones, I insist on dental coverage.

[laughin.livejournal.com]

Are you looking for someone new in the area? Neil went to Dr. Harris to get a filling fixed. I have a new dentist who seems to try her best to get insurance to pay for things.

[laughin.livejournal.com]

Oh, and can you file a complaint with the ADA?