finally found a dentist but...

[nc0402]

Long time forum lurker, but newbie poster! Wanted to get some other people's opinions about this.

So I'm a 26 y/o female who hasn't been to the dentist since 2012. My oral hygiene was mediocre growing up (had a couple fillings). I've gotten a lot better, but without regular dental work, it all seems like a losing battle. I'm mostly concerned with my bottom front four teeth (a lot of build up behind them) and my bottom gums (the recession is freaking me out).

Anyway, after years of putting it off because of anxiety and then being a broke college student, I'm finally ready to get my mouth taken care of. After a lot of researching, I finally found a dentist near me (with sedation option, though idk if I'll need it) that I feel comfortable with. The problem is my dental insurance through my job is super crappy and has limited options and I don't think this practice takes my insurance

It's really important to me that I go to a dentist I feel comfortable with, and I didn't see any in my limited pool of options that my insurance company listed.

So my question is: do I go to one of the insurance covered dentists that I don't really trust or do I go to the one that I like and use payment plan to pay out of pocket? I have been saving up a little bit of money and I my job pays well enough that I think I could manage with a payment plan. If anyone has any suggestions, that'd be appreciated!

 

[Islandersgirl74]

I guess I.T depends on how much I.T will cost you and how much you have saved. I know for all the work I need it’s running me close to $9,000 and that’s with insurance. But that’s also with a lot of work. You could always go to who you are comfortable with and see what I.T will cost you.

 

[Tryingtoovercome]

For me, a dentist that you feel comfortable with and that you trust is worth the money. I would go with the dentist that you trust even if they do not accept your insurance.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Personally, and I know as a single mom its really hard to come up with money for dental issues. but.. its been very much worth it to even pay out of pocket for someone you trust and like to work with. It is fully worth it for me I can say, otherwise even if insurance pays for someone you don't trust you don't like to go and maybe will avoid anyways...

 

[Enarete]

Assuming you could somehow afford paying it out of pocket - and it seems you could, otherwise you wouldn't considering it..

For me this is a question of planning ahead and thinking not only of the treatment you need right now but of your dental health and dental fear in generall - for the rest of your life. Because once your acute problems are sorted out, you hopefully arrive at a place where you will be able to go for check-ups regularly,till the end of your life.

Now your dental fear probably was caused (also) by negative experiences with a dentist. A good approach to beat it would be to have a good experience with a dental visit several times. Trust and feeling good at a practice are a very important part to this.

So if you go to the practice you feel well at and get a dentist you trust, even if it means huge costs, there is a very good chance of being able to integrate dental health into your life, being able to enjoy routine check ups, to ask your dentist everything you need to know and to see him or her immediatelly in case of an emergency.

If you decide to go to a place you do not trust fully, you will maybe be able to get the immediate treatment but will it ease your dental fear and motivate you to stay on track?

My dentist is abroad, I have to book a flight, a hotel and take 2-3 days off to see him and I currently do this every 2-3 weeks to go slowly and tackle the anxiety. It's a lot of stretching but he is just brilliant and I would do anything to bring up the money.

 

[nc0402]

Thank you so much for all your input!

So I ended up calling the dentist I liked and the office there was able to offer me a promotion where I could get a free cleaning and consultation despite them not taking my insurance. So I scheduled that for February 5th, and then from there at least I can see what work that needs to be done and go from there!

I'm both excited to be finally dealing with this, but also nervous! I know my bottom gums are bad and my biggest fear is if I need extractions....but I'm trying not to get myself worked up, and just focus on the relief I'll feel when they clean my teeth and get rid of all that build up behind the bottom front teeth