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Prepping for first appointment - potential dentures

S

sincitysoul

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
48
Location
Middle of Illinois, USA
Y'all have been privvy to my dental journey thus far (If not, I think you can go through my post history and watch me slowly descend into dentistry-induced insanity :grin:). I don't REALLY want to get dentures at 29 years old, but the more my teeth begin to decay in a hurry, the more likely this is looking as I don't have the time, money, or mental capacity (so to speak) to get through repeated trips into a dental chair.

I've found a mobile anesthesia service that travels through the state (I'm in IL) to various medical and dental offices, offering various types of sedation that an office might not typically have available. They're going to get a hold of the dental office I'd be getting work through to see if it's even an option - but since they don't accept medicaid, it would cost roughly $800 per hour for IV sedation. My Mom has offered to help, since I honestly don't know if I'd be able to have numerous extractions at once without the sedation and having seen my Dad go through it 20-ish years ago, she agrees (I guess if the dental office says no, I'll have to tough it out and just have 1-2 teeth removed at a time)

This office also allows for the use of valium - 1 pill the night before, 1 pill the day of. My GP gave me two 1mg pills. Does anyone have experience with Valium when used for dental anxiety/phobia? I've used both Xanax and Ativan for panic disorder before - but never valium. I'm okay with feeling sleeping afterwards, in terms of it being a potential side effect.

TL;DR:

  • Anyone have experience with Valium in this kind of setting?
  • Anyone have experience with a mobile anesthesia type of deal?
  • Anyone 30-ish years old or younger have dentures around here? (I've watched KalinJax's videos, but I'm always open to more blogs/videos)
 
Sincitysoul,

You are in a hard place , but sounds like you are really working on making things better and being brave to step forward . You never know what options they might give besides dentures that might work. That being said.. I had lower dentures when I was 30.. a partial 5 front teeth.. I was so extremely scared but desparate for something better than my awful teeth as they were,, and had just found my first kind dentist . I did it. it wasn't easy.. but.. the dentures. were better than what I had previous!

I have taken Lorazepam too... and I love that it just gives that chill feeling and not making you feel weird in any way.. not sure about valium, I"ve heard its simliar though.

Let us know how things progress. It is a bit sad sedation is so expensive in US.
 
Oh, I'm sure there'd be plenty of other options - root canals, crowns, bridges, implants (which financially aren't feasible). It's just a matter of "How much can I tolerate? How much work makes sense if my teeth are just going to keep crumbling out of my head anyway?". With my tooth clinching issue, GERD, and thyroid conditions, it just seems like a matter of time at this point. As bad as face shrinking can be, I'd almost rather get it done now while I'm young enough to adjust and heal quickly rather than waiting 5-10 years down the road when everything starts slowing down and my Mom might not be around to help with the financial aspects. Maybe down the road, if things change, I'd look more heavily in to bone grafts and implants - but I need to get my full body health under control before I focus too much on the dental side of things, if that makes sense.

That's the thing - Medicaid covers sedation, my additional dental insurance covers sedation, but this specific office doesn't offer it and the traveling anesthesia service doesn't accept medicaid (I'm fairly sure they bill under health insurance rather than the dental side of things, so my additional dental insurance doesn't factor in). Medicaid DID cover a local hospital that had a dental residency program, but that hospital just dropped coverage now too before I could get the ball rolling.



I'm still going to try and hold off until the first of the year, since December is chaotic month and the weather is iffy, at best - but at least now I have the anxiety meds in my possession if it becomes an emergency type of situation.
 

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