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A chance?

S

sincitysoul

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
48
Location
Middle of Illinois, USA
Making a new post since it’s been over a year and BOY have things taken a turn.

Last year (2020), I was convinced that I was done for and doomed to ill fitting dentures forever. The situation with my teeth has deteriorated even further - a few new ones have lost fillings or broken off, including one of my top front teeth (and I swore that when my front/visible teeth started to go, I’d “man up” so to speak and force myself to get them fixed or removed).

Well, on a whim, I contacted the local hospital where I know they have a dental residency program and asked about potentially getting the work done in a hospital setting or all done/fixed at once under sedation, as I know I’d chicken out half way through if I had to go back for numerous individual appointments.

The head of the program wrote back and said that they could help me! As she says in the screenshot located below, their OR times are booked out through October as they’re the only facility like this for several hours, but we can schedule a consultation to get the ball rolling.

I darn near burst out crying. There’s hope, and after the mess of the last year (pandemic included), I needed and was delivered a win. Theres still a long road ahead of us, but all journeys begin with one step.
 

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Great news when do you start?
 
Great news when do you start?
Not sure yet, I’m still waiting on a callback to set up the initial consultation.
 
Not sure yet, I’m still waiting on a callback to set up the initial consultation.
Well good news either way,I also got to my long awaited appointment today (after 3 failed attempts) so also hoping to get things rolling.
 
My "consultation" is tomorrow and ya girl is NERVOUS™. I'm like 95% sure that all we'd be doing tomorrow is discussing options and maybe x-rays, but that's really all she'd be able to do anyway as in the last two month period, I've had a horrid increase in Vertigo (will be seeing a neurologist who specializes in balance disorders for that next week) which essentially makes laying back next to impossible. I know most of what I'm feeling is just nerves, but I'm hoping that she'll be chill and willing to work with me since she tends to specialize in special needs patients.

The O.R. at the hospital is booked for dental procedures through like October/November, but at least we'd be getting the ball rolling in the right direction.
 
Hey, well done on getting the ball rolling and best of luck for the consultation tomorrow! The vertigo sounds super scary, no surprise that you don‘t feel excited about any dental treatment. Thinking about October, it doesn‘t seem to be that far, if it brings you a complete treatment. Looking forward to read your updates! :)
 
Forgot to update

The dentist I saw was actually the head of the dental residency program at the hospital, so she definitely knows her stuff. She was SO kind and everyone was very understanding of my nerves. The nurse stopped me mid-nervous babble apologizing about the state of my teeth by saying “You’re here taking care of it now, that’s what matters”, which made all of the difference.

She thinks I need between 7-9 teeth pulled, but that she can potentially save the rest and keep me from needing full dentures for a few more years. It will be done under general anesthesia at the hospital in mid-December which stinks purely because its just a few days before Christmas so I’ll likely still be in a fair amount of pain/not feeling very jolly, but it’s gotta be done as the next availability wasn’t until January. The only downside is that the waiting list for partial dentures through this program is LONG and I was warned that it could be 6-8 weeks with a bunch of missing teeth, should I just wait and get partials that way. I’m looking into a local Affordable Dentures to see if I can get them sooner that way, even though I’ll have to pay entirely out of pocket.

Now it’s just a waiting game to see what insurance will cover, if the anesthesiologist will take my Medicaid, etc. (The dentist herself said that they don’t charge for the dental work, but that the anesthesiologist and use of the hospital suite will be charged separately)
 
Hey, well done on getting the ball rolling and best of luck for the consultation tomorrow! The vertigo sounds super scary, no surprise that you don‘t feel excited about any dental treatment. Thinking about October, it doesn‘t seem to be that far, if it brings you a complete treatment. Looking forward to read your updates! :)

Ive had sporadic episodes of vertigo for years, but just can’t seem to shake it this time. My GP thought it might be linked to sinus issues, but kicked me over to neurology first to see what they think, as the local neurology clinic is just one of three in the state that specializes in vertigo and balance disorders.
 
The dentist I saw was actually the head of the dental residency program at the hospital, so she definitely knows her stuff. She was SO kind and everyone was very understanding of my nerves. The nurse stopped me mid-nervous babble apologizing about the state of my teeth by saying “You’re here taking care of it now, that’s what matters”, which made all of the difference.

Congratulations ? ?! Great to hear that everyone was so understanding and kind. It's a pity about the long wait, but at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel now ?.

The only downside is that the waiting list for partial dentures through this program is LONG and I was warned that it could be 6-8 weeks with a bunch of missing teeth, should I just wait and get partials that way. I’m looking into a local Affordable Dentures to see if I can get them sooner that way, even though I’ll have to pay entirely out of pocket.

Now it’s just a waiting game to see what insurance will cover, if the anesthesiologist will take my Medicaid, etc. (The dentist herself said that they don’t charge for the dental work, but that the anesthesiologist and use of the hospital suite will be charged separately)

With regards to getting the partials, it might be worth checking out reviews for potential providers, as there can be huge differences in terms of fit and looks. Wishing you the very best of luck with the finance side of things - I hope Medicaid will cover the anesthesiologist and the hospital suite ?
 
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