I need to find a dentist that accepts this insurance ASAP!

[ErinK625]

I couldn't fit everything in the title, but i'm basically looking for a dentist that has a section specifically to accommodate people with dental fear and anxiety. My boyfriend has Frank M. Vaccaro Dental Insurance but the list doesn't seem to have enough information on it as to if they use dental sedation or not. It also doesn't help that it's sunday and everywhere is closed to find out if these dentists do. However, I have looked them all up and majority do not have websites, which i do not really like that a dentist can't take the time and make a website to explain to potential clients about their practices and procedures. I have read the post on here about the dentist in Boothwyn (called Dental Care Associates) and I did take the liberty of calling and leaving a message (to find out if they take this insurance that i've never even heard of, grrrrr... ) on behalf of my boyfriend who's fears of the dentist are incredible. It's not his fault and i know this but he's embarrassed about it and has had a cracked tooth from grinding in his sleep for over a month now and has been dealing with the pain in order to not have to go. The pain has gotten so bad now that he has appointed me in the quest for finding him a great dentist that offers state of the art technologies including the anxiety ridden patients with the option of taking a pill, nitrous or full on sleepy-time sedation. So any information would be greatly appreciated as i have my own little anxieties about the dentist, but his are more from always being a grinder and his parents never telling the dentist, so he was always breaking, chipping or wearing down his teeth and at 5 y/o he was literally being dragged by his mom into the dentist and being held down for the Dr to do the work. On top of it he hated needles so he dealt with no novocaine on top of being scared to death just to have a filling done. I feel horrible for him, So you'd all be helping me as well. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, it's my first one ever on any site. So i appreciate any help you could offer me. Take care!

 

[brit]

I think your only option is to get a list of phone numbers from the insurance provider and then pick up the phone and ask what they offer anxious patients.

 

[ErinK625]

Yeah i have a list. Every single 1 I call the receptionist has laughed and asked what dentist would call in an anxiety pill for 1 appointment or no they don't believe in dental for anxiety and fear and at their practice their patients just suck it up and br adult about it. After speaking with 1 rude dentistry after another it's clear the employees that choose this provider "Vacaro & Associate" is clearly due to them being tax exempt because everything else sucks! They charge an arm & a leg per month for this insurance for locals unions & it only covers $1250, its not based on percentage fees, they base it on what the average is of a particular treatment. They told me that root canals depending on which tooth it is costs out of pocket between $500-$850, so the employee would have to pay $450. I don't know of 1 dentist that charges anything less than $950. It's a disgrace. No wonder only rude dentists accept that insurance, idiots all around. FYI this isn't my insurance. Thank god I have cugna. This is my bf's insurance who is laid off & is hardly making it by with other bills let alone an insurance company that robs peoples wallet for crappy coverage. It's a crime what theyre doing to the guys that work in the unions. It's evident even unions can't get thepeople who are suposed to be looking out for their vest interests continue to let them down. Shame on u.

 

[letsconnect]

Can he go out of network with this insurance (if he pays the difference), or not at all? Some policies allow you to see an Out-of-Network dentist, and even though the costs covered may be significantly lowered, it's better than nothing.

 

[brit]

He could also get an anxiety pill from his medical doctor rather than his dentist. This is very common in UK and you just tell the dentist what you have taken.

 

[ErinK625]

Hi Brit - thank you for your suggestion, it's really appreciated at this time of total chaos and fear in my boyfriends life as far as the dentist is concerned. I fortunately do not have any dental fears and recently (march 24th) had to have general anesthesia to have 2 badly infected teeth pulled, that had moved into my jaw bone and was making it's way into my blood making me horribly sick. It's embarrassing that I'm only 28y/o and am losing teeth due to bad dental care that I received when I was a child. Aside from ending up out of work, dealing with the crap from my bosses on a daily basis about anything and everything which causes tremendous stress that I don't need, now I'm having to deal with dry socket in one of the holes of the teeth that was pulled, but all in all I'm thankful I do not have the fears my boyfriend has. Thank God, from seeing his reaction(s) and reading about other people's fears and the symptoms they get it sounds horrible.

I will say that when I had my wisdom teeth pulled in 2001, I totally panicked when they were hooking up the IV and had a panic attack because I was scared I wouldn't wake up. But that was ended quickly when they gave me a huge dose of Valium in my IV that set in within seconds and I was asleep only a coupe minutes after that. But as far as him getting anxiety medicine from his doctor he already has 1 mg Xanax that he takes for current anxiety problems that he could take before he went, but his dental anxiety is so bad, he would have to take an excessive amount to get any relief. But at this time he no longer has a family Dr. to go to in order to get a higher mg to take just for the dentist. So the problem we face now is finding a Dr. that can put him at ease.

I actually found D3 dental out of Audubon, PA by King of Prussia, listed on his sheet as an in network dentist, I called on behalf of my boyfriend, left a message for someone to call me and briefly summed up what he was dealing with as far as the damage done to a few teeth from grinding in his sleep and shared with them his fear of dentists and dental work being done. A VERY nice woman called me back and spoke to me about them offering nitrous, but they didn't offer much else as far as sedation dentistry goes for people with anxiety. His insurance is really crappy for what he pays a month and so for any major procedure he will be paying between $400-$800 after the dental pays their portion. So since I was at work at the time, I gave her his number and told her to try giving him a call to schedule an appointment. She tried calling him 2 times then she called me back and I got annoyed because he was purposely ignoring her calls because he was scared and then made up excuses that the dentist was too far and blah blah blah. So I talked to her again and had to apologize to him, I was so embarrassed. End of story: He never called her back and after the 2nd time she called me she didn't call back a 3rd time.

Tonight was extremely upsetting because he has a tendency to let his dental fear become very mean verbally because he immediately starts panicking just talking about it and gets very snippy and on edge. So most of our conversations about having to make an appointment have to be very quick or pretty much not brought up at all. So when it got brought up tonight, he snapped on me because I mentioned him just having the teeth removed because they could simply put him to sleep and he'd wake up and it'd be done and he made a comment about not wanting to be a toothless wonder which hurt my feelings because I just had a couple teeth pulled and it upset me enough to make me not want to talk to him anymore about his dental problem and I told him I was leaving. So I did text him later on tonight to tell him that we'd figure it out but to please think before he spoke in regards to teeth being pulled and names he associates with teeth pulling. I at this point do not know how to help him anymore when I've looked up the dentists, signed up for the forum and got suggestions and dentists for him to go to, had a receptionist call to talk to him and schedule an appointment and he wouldn't call them back. I'm frustrated and out of options.

So that is where it pretty much stands right now. Any suggestions at this point on how to get him out of the house and to a dentist or how to make an appointment and then get him there would be great. I tried telling him it's not going to just go away and at this point he has 3 cracked teeth with holes in them and that by the time he does finally get into the dentist he's going to have to get them pulled. He said tonight that he's going to let it rot out of his mouth before he will do anything on his own about it. So I'm stuck, I don't know how to help him anymore then how I did. Honestly the only thing I could do for him is go in and have the work done for him, because there is nothing left that I can physically or verbally do for him. I've found the dentists, called the dentists, tried to make the appointment for the dentists, etc. He won't even call them back to schedule an appointment. What else can I do for him?!

 

[ErinK625]

Can he go out of network with this insurance (if he pays the difference), or not at all? Some policies allow you to see an Out-of-Network dentist, and even though the costs covered may be significantly lowered, it's better than nothing.

Hey letsconnect - yes he can go to an out of network dentist. Aside from everything else I have done in trying to get him into see a dentist, I also called his provider and got all of the information he needed. How much is max allowance is, copays, how much they cover for the procedures I figured he's going to have to have done, can he see an out of network dentist, etc. I am almost positive his insurance covers $1,250 regardless of it's in network or out of network. I'm pretty sure it's $1250 for in network as well as $1250 out of network which is good, but that wouldn't make sense due to them sending out a provider list. So I'm going to assume that that was wrong information given and say it's probably about $1000 for out of network. I found a dentist in Aston, PA that is the 1st all green dental office that has a laser drill that doesn't make the drill noise, doesn't cause the chill you get down your back from the friction on your teeth. It's actually a pleasant way to go about having dental work done. So I'm going to try calling them to find out how much of a difference the pricing is and hopefully get him in to see a dentist while I'm out of work on a leave of absence for my surgical extractions so I can be there with him, for him. Any more suggestions you have will help me tremendously because I'm at the end of my rope in dealing with him and his fear because I don't know what else I can do to help him. I really really appreciate all your help.

 

[brit]

Most ex-phobics on here (I have never avoided care so don't class myself as one) will say that you can't make a dental phobic go to the dentist until they are ready.
However I tend to think you can make it easier for them to get ready by doing exactly what you have done on his behalf and I commend you for that and thank you on his behalf.

Say you found a really phobic-friendly practice....maybe the one you mentioned is one....would he be willing to go along if you went to provide moral support? Does he currently think he has to do this all alone...it's a very scary place to be...promise you will stay at his side, ask questions on his behalf if he doesn't feel able to speak up and just generally be there all round to support him.

Many people would find it hard to phone the dentist back....this is a pretty normal reaction and it often helps if someone else does that bit.

I would say chat to him some more about how you can help...maybe find the ideal practice first....and arrange for him to just go and chat to a sympathetic dentist...no more...no x-rays, no exam etc etc

You could also encourage him to read the common fears section on here, to identify what his real fears are...it helps if you know whether its pain (can be avoided), loss of control, embarrassment or whatever...asking him to explain what was so awful about his dental visits in the past will give you lots of clues as to what could help.
If it is more a product of generalised anxiety, being sedated might be the easiest approach...if it is as a result of bad experiences then it could be the worst approach...everyone is different....but finding a kind dentist is the main ingredient you need to be successful, plus he then needs to be willing to go and see for himself....even if you identify the dentist and leave it for many more months that is still progress since when pain really does strike he will have somewhere lined up to go for relief.
Best of luck...you are an awesome individual to try to help him in this way.

 

[brit]

Don't know where you are in PA but if you are anywhere near Jerry Gordon in Bensalem, he would be a good safe choice : [link removed as Jerry has sadly passed away ]

 

[coolbreezing]

I know they wouldn't take his insurance and it would be very expensive
but if a portable/mobile dentistry service came inside your home would
he be a little more at ease to say the least?

I also grind my teeth and have 4 of them with partial enamel loss, I am
hoping that they can be saved, no pain or sensitivity but not even using
Pronamel toothpaste can stop the erosion. I do think it's more of not
flossing and not seeing a dentist in about 8 years, I finally made an appointment for next week but I am prepared for the worst just in case.

 

[letsconnect]

Do you know what exactly he is afraid of? There are lots of different fears, such as fear of the dentist telling you off, fear of not being in control, fear of the drill, fear of injections, to name just a few, so it might help to figure out what he fears, and search for a dentist who can offer him what he needs.