Often times with job changes come changes in insurance plans. We've been blessed for our family to be fully covered with Jaret's current job which is coming to a close at the end of this week. Naturally, I wanted to be able to utilize our dental insurance before it expired. I thought it would be easy to hop into a chair and check it off the list of things to do. Instead, I found out that the newer and unpopular dentists are easy to get into and the recommended ones are very hard to get into.
I had actually already seen a dentist for a cleaning I bought off of Seize the Deal but wasn't sure how I felt about this unknown baby face. I was treated phenomenally and I've never had a more thorough teeth cleaning. The hygienist even offered to smooth out some of my chipped teeth to prevent further breakage. What I was not thrilled about was to hear their diagnosis. Three cavities with the possibility of another as well as a crown for the one with the cracked filling. That's $2000 worth of work! I was all about just gettin' 'er done but thank goodness for a good husband who cares about our finances and isn't afraid to do his homework and challenge prices. He told me to wait.
So, with no work done I headed off to Texas. While there I looked at reviews of the Bozeman Dental offices. I got on some waiting lists for the highly recommended offices hoping for a second opinion and to accomplish my goal before the deadline. I've been home from Texas for a week now and as of this morning had not found any openings. I had three days until the chop and I was without a second opinion. So, after making more attempts to get into recommended offices I decided to make an appointment with someone I knew I could get into. "We've got all day tomorrow open. What time would you like?" I used to think that hearing words like that would be music to my ears but here is the lesson I've come to know - if it's of good quality and affordable it will have a line. I booked it. I would rather pay 20% now then 100% later. I told the man, Jaret, that it was booked and we would have the honor of paying everything up front then being reimbursed by insurance and he wasn't so happy about that all of the money talk. His resistance actually annoyed me. I already hated the idea that I had to have work done and he was bringing up the money issue not realizing it was making me feel worse. I already had cavities and now I was costing us money. So, I got off the phone and with a little resentment started calling some offices I hadn't tried yet. This ones out of the country, that ones booked. I asked for recommendations and it kept coming back to a dentist I knew and I was just not digging that. I don't want to be known for having cavities. What choice did I have at this point? I made the call and come to find out there was an opening in the afternoon. I compared prices and this dentist was considerably cheaper then the other. Fine. I booked it and called and cancelled my other appointment. Just after hanging up I received a call from the top rated dentist telling me they could fit me in. After comparing prices I found that they were also on the more pricey side and I sadly declined and kept my appointment with the ONE I KNOW. For some reason I hate that. I brush my teeth. I guess I need to brush them more but I hate having cavities. It's embarrassing. Anyway, things actually fell into place. A friend was kind enough to watch the kids and I headed off to the dungeon.
The dentist was actually very friendly. More so then I'm used to. He talked to me and I learned a lot about him that I didn't know. Most dentists I've been to are in and out and hardly say hi. I felt very welcome and during my wait I was actually really getting into the magazine I was reading and that is very uncommon. (There were a bunch of cute ideas of things I could do with Holland. I'm always on the lookout for activities that involve maintaining sanity). The best news was that he felt that I only needed two fillings. I didn't need any caps or extra work done and it was only going to cost me a total of $131.80 after insurance which they would submit for me. Yes please! That's a big difference from what I was expecting.
So, I have to admit that Jaret was right and I was wrong. I'm glad that he challenged the other dentists costs and my sister Holly was actually the one to open my eyes to the fact that a lot of dentists get away with doing unneeded work. Yes, I feel naive when I admit that I never even thought of that. Here's what I take pride in. 1. I listened to my husband and was glad I did. 2. I had my fillings done without any anesthetic. I can't tell you how much I hate the feeling of having my mouth numb. The drool, the tingling, and I don't even think it works anyway. I remember having to go to high school basketball practice after coming from getting a filling at the dentists and I was super embarrassed to have my mouth numbed. I'm pretty sure it was a turning point for me. So today, no anesthetic. My trick is to try and just relax and shut the "reaction to pain" button off. I'll do this sometimes when my kids are screaming at me and crawling all over me and I used to do it during conditioning workouts for basketball and track. Sometimes when I feel pain I'll think of how the Savior suffered so much more then this and that will help a lot. Today that went through my mind but I actually I found myself thinking about the pain and analyzing it. It didn't start off so bad but then in the middle of drilling the second tooth I decided I didn't care for it much at all and I would be glad when it was over.
When Jaret got home this evening he gave me a hard time for getting dressed up for the dentist but not him. I told him if I was going to feel so cruddy about the dentist I wanted to at least feel good about myself in one way...plus, I did think of him. It was a double bonus.
So there it is. I'm sure the dentist is not this interesting to anyone else but I felt like it was my big hurdle for the day. I am grateful for people who are honest and don't rip me off.
I had actually already seen a dentist for a cleaning I bought off of Seize the Deal but wasn't sure how I felt about this unknown baby face. I was treated phenomenally and I've never had a more thorough teeth cleaning. The hygienist even offered to smooth out some of my chipped teeth to prevent further breakage. What I was not thrilled about was to hear their diagnosis. Three cavities with the possibility of another as well as a crown for the one with the cracked filling. That's $2000 worth of work! I was all about just gettin' 'er done but thank goodness for a good husband who cares about our finances and isn't afraid to do his homework and challenge prices. He told me to wait.
So, with no work done I headed off to Texas. While there I looked at reviews of the Bozeman Dental offices. I got on some waiting lists for the highly recommended offices hoping for a second opinion and to accomplish my goal before the deadline. I've been home from Texas for a week now and as of this morning had not found any openings. I had three days until the chop and I was without a second opinion. So, after making more attempts to get into recommended offices I decided to make an appointment with someone I knew I could get into. "We've got all day tomorrow open. What time would you like?" I used to think that hearing words like that would be music to my ears but here is the lesson I've come to know - if it's of good quality and affordable it will have a line. I booked it. I would rather pay 20% now then 100% later. I told the man, Jaret, that it was booked and we would have the honor of paying everything up front then being reimbursed by insurance and he wasn't so happy about that all of the money talk. His resistance actually annoyed me. I already hated the idea that I had to have work done and he was bringing up the money issue not realizing it was making me feel worse. I already had cavities and now I was costing us money. So, I got off the phone and with a little resentment started calling some offices I hadn't tried yet. This ones out of the country, that ones booked. I asked for recommendations and it kept coming back to a dentist I knew and I was just not digging that. I don't want to be known for having cavities. What choice did I have at this point? I made the call and come to find out there was an opening in the afternoon. I compared prices and this dentist was considerably cheaper then the other. Fine. I booked it and called and cancelled my other appointment. Just after hanging up I received a call from the top rated dentist telling me they could fit me in. After comparing prices I found that they were also on the more pricey side and I sadly declined and kept my appointment with the ONE I KNOW. For some reason I hate that. I brush my teeth. I guess I need to brush them more but I hate having cavities. It's embarrassing. Anyway, things actually fell into place. A friend was kind enough to watch the kids and I headed off to the dungeon.
The dentist was actually very friendly. More so then I'm used to. He talked to me and I learned a lot about him that I didn't know. Most dentists I've been to are in and out and hardly say hi. I felt very welcome and during my wait I was actually really getting into the magazine I was reading and that is very uncommon. (There were a bunch of cute ideas of things I could do with Holland. I'm always on the lookout for activities that involve maintaining sanity). The best news was that he felt that I only needed two fillings. I didn't need any caps or extra work done and it was only going to cost me a total of $131.80 after insurance which they would submit for me. Yes please! That's a big difference from what I was expecting.
So, I have to admit that Jaret was right and I was wrong. I'm glad that he challenged the other dentists costs and my sister Holly was actually the one to open my eyes to the fact that a lot of dentists get away with doing unneeded work. Yes, I feel naive when I admit that I never even thought of that. Here's what I take pride in. 1. I listened to my husband and was glad I did. 2. I had my fillings done without any anesthetic. I can't tell you how much I hate the feeling of having my mouth numb. The drool, the tingling, and I don't even think it works anyway. I remember having to go to high school basketball practice after coming from getting a filling at the dentists and I was super embarrassed to have my mouth numbed. I'm pretty sure it was a turning point for me. So today, no anesthetic. My trick is to try and just relax and shut the "reaction to pain" button off. I'll do this sometimes when my kids are screaming at me and crawling all over me and I used to do it during conditioning workouts for basketball and track. Sometimes when I feel pain I'll think of how the Savior suffered so much more then this and that will help a lot. Today that went through my mind but I actually I found myself thinking about the pain and analyzing it. It didn't start off so bad but then in the middle of drilling the second tooth I decided I didn't care for it much at all and I would be glad when it was over.
When Jaret got home this evening he gave me a hard time for getting dressed up for the dentist but not him. I told him if I was going to feel so cruddy about the dentist I wanted to at least feel good about myself in one way...plus, I did think of him. It was a double bonus.
So there it is. I'm sure the dentist is not this interesting to anyone else but I felt like it was my big hurdle for the day. I am grateful for people who are honest and don't rip me off.
1 comment:
I love and hate the Dentist! I hate pain and all my dental problems. I feel like white trash when I have any problems with my mouth. I do take care of my teeth... I just can't prevent all the problems I have with them.
I'm glad it didn't end up costing you so much. I never know who to believe. The Dentist that tells me I don't have many problems (are they competent enough to find all the problems?) or the Dentist that tells me I have a lot of problems? I hate the Dentist!
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