Really Stressing Out

[carole]

Hi I make no wonder you are confused. When you see the dentist on Thursday have a word with him/her and explain about your financial situation. See if he would allow you to pay in instalments to have the crown you need and any other work.

Which tooth is it ?

 

[JJones86]

Hi I make no wonder you are confused. When you see the dentist on Thursday have a word with him/her and explain about your financial situation. See if he would allow you to pay in installments to have the crown you need and any other work.

Which tooth is it ?

Hi Carole.

Thanks for your reply.

They do offer a payment plan called Care Credit, but they want me to pay for all of my treatment up front. My entire treatment costs around $7,000. That's for 4 crowns, a filling, the deep cleaning (already done) and I think that's everything. The problem is that this makes my monthly payment around $350 a month, which I can't afford right now.

Even if I have them just charge me for the one crown now, my monthly payment is going to be $92 a month which I also can't afford right now.

I'm calling around to private offices and clinics in the area. I have found some cheaper places. The problem is the cheaper places don't have the nitrous oxide, so I'll be a nervous wreck during the appointments. The cheapest clinic I found is about an hour's drive away in a larger town. It's government funded, so I'm considering going there. That clinic will charge $20 for the first visit as an emergency. Then $649 for the crown.

It's just a lot to think about. I really need this tooth fixed before it breaks more.

Thanks.

JJ

 

[carole]

Would it be possible for your dentist to just do one tooth at a time as you can afford to pay it back. Starting with the tooth that needs urgent treatment.

If not I hope you can find somewhere soon and get things sorted out. Have you tried a dental hospital I know they sometimes take patients on and they are usually very good.

I am in the UK and I know it is very hard outside of the uk for people to be able to afford treatment and I feel for you.

I know you are nervous and terrified by all of this as well as being worried about the finance. I was extremely nervous/phobic but with the help of a very nice dentist and a dentist at the local dentist hospital I started to feel a bit more relaxed. I then had to find a new dentist and she is wonderful I no longer stress about getting treatment I need. I still feel a bit anxious sometimes when I need treatment but I know she will make sure I don't feel anything and will allow me a break when I need it.

If you have to find someone new explain how nervous and afraid you are and they should be able to put your mind at rest and help you get the treatment done without feeling totally stressed out. It is a lovely feeling to be able to go and see a dentist without that feeling of doom coming over you. It has taken me a lot of years to get to this point, but it just goes to show it is possible. If I had to change dentists then I would be a nervous wreck again until I could get to know that they understood how I felt and would treat me with patience and understanding.

Good luck I hope you find a solution soon. Give the dentist on Thursday a try and see if anything can be done.

 

[JJones86]

Thank you. No, I haven't looked into a dental hospital. I'm not sure if we have those here. I'll look into it though. I'll talk to my dentist on Thursday and make a decision then. This tooth is causing me a lot of pain. It can't wait much longer.

Thanks for your support.

JJ

 

[FearfulInMA]

We don't have dental hospitals in the U.S., but is there a dental school near you? The treatment there can take a bit longer, but it is often much less expensive.

 

[Tink]

Urgh, sorry to hear that ssocea!

I hope you manage to find a solution - remember, you were able to find this good dentist and start to get comfortable with them, so you will be able to do the same with another one if you need to. You've proved that you have it in you!

 

[Angeldove]

Hi Carole.

Thanks for your reply.

They do offer a payment plan called Care Credit, but they want me to pay for all of my treatment up front. My entire treatment costs around $7,000. That's for 4 crowns, a filling, the deep cleaning (already done) and I think that's everything. The problem is that this makes my monthly payment around $350 a month, which I can't afford right now.

WHAT!?! That is crazy - it sounds like they're trying to force you to do all of your treatments there and that's really unfair. I've never had to pay like that - it's as you get a treatment done, so I paid 4 times for 1 crown (one payment for each visit/step).

 

[JJones86]

We don't have dental hospitals in the U.S., but is there a dental school near you? The treatment there can take a bit longer, but it is often much less expensive.

Hi.

Thanks for your reply. I did look up dental hospitals last night and found out we don't have them here.

I already looked into the dental schools nearby. There's one in my town and another in a larger town about an hour away. Both of them only have reduced fees for preventative stuff like cleanings and exams. Regular and restorative work, like crowns, is the same cost as a private office. Not much help there.

Thanks.

JJ

 

[JJones86]

Urgh, sorry to hear that ssocea!

I hope you manage to find a solution - remember, you were able to find this good dentist and start to get comfortable with them, so you will be able to do the same with another one if you need to. You've proved that you have it in you!

Thank you Tink.

I'm starting to feel like this may be my only option. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do.

JJ

 

[JJones86]

WHAT!?! That is crazy - it sounds like they're trying to force you to do all of your treatments there and that's really unfair. I've never had to pay like that - it's as you get a treatment done, so I paid 4 times for 1 crown (one payment for each visit/step).

Hi.

Yeah I know what you mean. It's very confusing, because they tell me I have to pay up front, but the two times I've had to pay, I've only paid for the work I'm having done that day. Maybe I misunderstood something. It may be the way my old insurance was. Even for covered services, I had to pay at the visit and the insurance would send me a reimbursement check in the mail.

But, even financing with Care Credit... I'm not sure if I can do that right now. I think the lowest monthly payment for one crown was $92.

Right now I just want this tooth fixed. But if they tell me on Thursday that I need other work on it like the re-treatment or that it might not be ok with just a crown, then that's it. I can barely afford trying to get one crown right now, let alone other work. If it needs more I'll be forced to get an extraction. This poor tooth is already so fragile.

They say it's fractured now and more has broken off than had originally. I think that's why my pain got worse.

Thanks again.

JJ

 

[JJones86]

Hi.

I'm absolutely exhausted. Between stress, anxiety and hormones I have no energy left right now. Worrying about my appointment tomorrow. I'm really wondering what the dentist is going to say. Maybe all that's happening is just a way of me finding out that this isn't the office for me after all. I felt like I was gaining a tiny bit of trust, but I've lost that now. I'm angry and scared. I'm in pain and I'm near tears again. I don't know how many times I've felt like this in the last few days. Too many to count. I just want this to all be over now. I hate the idea of looking for another office. Especially now that I'm already in crisis mode.

JJ

 

[JJones86]

Hi everyone.

Here's an update.

I have mixed feelings right now. I'm not really sure how I'm doing.

I just got back from my dentist's appointment. It was just a consultation to talk with my dentist and go over my treatment plan in more detail and for me to ask a bunch of questions that I had.

I got all of my questions answered, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. I feel mostly bad right now. I think part of it is just the shock from the appointment and my nervousness, phobia and anxiety. My treatment plan hasn't really changed, but the order of it has. I don't know if that's good or bad.

I'm still trying to let myself settle down. I started shaking once I got in the waiting room at the office and haven't been able to stop yet. I couldn't steady my hands at all during the appointment and was visibly shaking really bad the entire time.

He wants to do my filling for my cavity first, because it's an active problem. The tooth will continue decaying until it's filled, so this is rather urgent. He wants me to get that done as soon as possible.

Then I'll get the crown on my chipped tooth done, followed by the other crowns later on. Those are my two most urgent problems right now. I guess we did a bit of triage today. Just had to figure what can wait and what can't.

I'm going to talk with my mom. I think we can manage the filling cost right away, $200 plus another $100 for the nitrous oxide. I do want that fixed before it gets worse.

As for my chipped tooth, he wants to put the crown on soon. He still thinks the tooth can be saved, but it's very fragile. He said we're going to do a temporary crown on it first for 3-4 months and see if the temporary helps to settle the tooth down. He's going to use what he called 'removable cement' that way if we do need to take off the temporary and do a re-treatment then he can do it and still re-use the crown. It's possible the tooth may need a re-treatment before it gets a permanent crown, but he thinks that my pain is from the fracture in the tooth and that the crown will help the pain to go away. After the crown is placed it can take 3-4 months to see if the crown helped or not. Then we'll know if I need additional treatment. Right now the priority is getting the tooth to stabilize and stop cracking further and a crown will hopefully help with this.

I've made a decision though. Despite everything, cost and no insurance (temporarily) and everything else, I'm staying with this dentist and this office. I know I said on Tuesday that I felt like I'd lost the little trust I'd gained in him, but I spoke prematurely. I was really just upset and angry, because I expected to see him that day and when I just saw the assistant that threw me off. I felt like he didn't want to see me and after the fact I realized that isn't true. I'm sure he was just busy.

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but now that I have this dentist who knows my history and all, I'm getting a lot of mixed feelings. I wasn't nearly as nervous at my deep cleaning appointment with the hygenist as I was when I saw my doctor today. Something about appointments when I know I'm going to see the dentist and he's either going to look in my mouth or actually work in my mouth, that sends my anxiety levels through the roof.

He didn't work in my mouth at all today. We went based on x-rays and notes from previous visits. He actually used my finger to show me certain teeth that I was asking about to help me understand better. That helped me. I'm very visual that way.

It just seems so weird to me how my anxiety levels change at the dentist based on who I'm seeing (dentist or hygenist) and what is going to be done that day. I didn't think I'd be so nervous when I knew it was just a consultation. Just talking. I was shaking a lot during that appointment today and I know he could tell. It was visible shaking. I was also stuttering and struggling to get my words and thoughts out.

We'd talked about something before that I'd forgotten. I'm still not used to it, because this is my first doctor who's ever known my history with this phobia and anxiety and how bad it is. He mentioned that he wants to do the filling first to see how I tolerate him being in/working on my mouth and teeth.

He really hasn't done any work on me yet. The only appointments I've had with him were for my new patient exam and x-rays and then once for him to check my chipped tooth that's been hurting. Neither of those had him working in/on my mouth for longer than 5 minutes at a time. The filling appointment I think is like 20-30 minutes, it may be more though because I'll need the nitrous and extra time for breaks.

I'm just so thankful how patient and gentle he's being with me. It helps me to feel more at ease.

This filling appointment is making me so nervous though. I don't know which is worse, the drill or the needle. They both really freak me out and both will be used at that appointment. I think this is partly why he wants me to do this first, to see my reactions and he'll be able to know how we can proceed with my other work.

From what I know of crown preparation I don't think it involves the drill, but I think he said they use an ultrasonic instrument for that appointment. It's supposed to have a vibrating feeling, I think. Both the sound and the vibration are going to be hard for me to deal with.

I was thinking of trying to have the filling done without the nitrous, but I honestly don't think I can cope with that. That drill instills so much fear in me that I'm going to need all the help I can get. That appointment is really going to be a trust excercise for both of us.

So, when I left the exam room today I spoke to the assistant alone a little bit. She was reassuring me to give her a call if I had any questions for her or the doctor and if I needed to come in for anything else. Any other problems or so forth. I told her I'm sorry I'm so nervous every time I come to the office. I feel bad about that.

We had also discussed on Tuesday, the possibility of me transferring to the other clinic they work with, because of my financial issues. I told her today that I want to stay here, despite the cost. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my doctor. I'm building trust, little by little.

Thanks again for all of your support.

JJ

 

[carole]

I am so glad it went so well for you. I think your dentist is a keeper and he sounds lovely. He understands your fear and is working with you to help. He can do the injections so that you don't feel them other than a bit of pressure. I am sure he will move slowly and stop if you need a break when you have the filling.

It is a big leap forward to hear you say you are feeling a trust in this dentist. Shaking or not you saw him today and managed to ask everything you wanted to know. Well done for that, loads of us get in there and forget everything.

I think you are going to be fine from now on, I think he has taken everything into consideration with the way you feel and your financial situation and is trying to do his best for you. How nice of the assistant to have a word with you too and invite you to contact them as and when you need. You will have ups and downs as you go through your treatment but everything can and will be sorted out now.

Give yourself a big pat on the back, you did good, now smile

 

[JJones86]

I am so glad it went so well for you. I think your dentist is a keeper and he sounds lovely. He understands your fear and is working with you to help. He can do the injections so that you don't feel them other than a bit of pressure. I am sure he will move slowly and stop if you need a break when you have the filling.

It is a big leap forward to hear you say you are feeling a trust in this dentist. Shaking or not you saw him today and managed to ask everything you wanted to know. Well done for that, loads of us get in there and forget everything.

I think you are going to be fine from now on, I think he has taken everything into consideration with the way you feel and your financial situation and is trying to do his best for you. How nice of the assistant to have a word with you too and invite you to contact them as and when you need. You will have ups and downs as you go through your treatment but everything can and will be sorted out now.

Give yourself a big pat on the back, you did good, now smile

Hi.

Thanks for your reply and encouragement.

I really appreciate you being here for me.

JJ

 

[JJones86]

Hi all.

I'm getting very emotional right now. The stress of my dentist appointment today really got to me and now I just want to cry.

Am I ever going to get over this?

 

[The1701]

I was the same after my second appointment which went really well, I started crying on my home and couldn't understand why. I think it's just the roller coaster of emotions we go through. The best thing to do is ride it out and take good care of yourself as it will pass. It's good that you are starting to trust the dentist, this will mean your anxiety eases a little bit every time. You are progressing really well so far and I'm pleased for you that your dentist is working round you, that's really positive.

 

[Angeldove]

Hi all.

I'm getting very emotional right now. The stress of my dentist appointment today really got to me and now I just want to cry.

Am I ever going to get over this?

You took a huge big step towards taking care of these mouth problems - it's a big deal and you have a lot of emotions over the last few weeks and the last few days. No wonder you feel the way that you do.

I'm so happy to read that you seem to be settling on some stressful issues - that's really wonderful to read.

I was pretty emotional a few weeks after my first visit when the treatment plan was written up. It does get better though - I'm so less stressed out about my mouth compared to March. (I'm actually kind of sad that I have to wait until 2016 to get more of my teeth worked on - I just wanted them fixed. And that's amazing to hear me thinking like that! )

 

[JJones86]

I was the same after my second appointment which went really well, I started crying on my home and couldn't understand why. I think it's just the roller coaster of emotions we go through. The best thing to do is ride it out and take good care of yourself as it will pass. It's good that you are starting to trust the dentist, this will mean your anxiety eases a little bit every time. You are progressing really well so far and I'm pleased for you that your dentist is working round you, that's really positive.

Hi.

Thank you for your reply. I think you're right and it's the roller coaster of emotions that we're on at appointments. I've just been resting and trying to relax. I'm glad I'm starting to trust him. It's been 5 appointments with this office, but I've only seen the doctor 3 of those times so far. He also hasn't done any procedures on me yet, so once we have a successful procedure together, I'm sure that will boost my trust a lot.

I'm just so terrified about this upcoming filling appointment. I wish I could just not get the filling. I don't know how I'm going to get through that.

Thanks.

JJ

 

[JJones86]

You took a huge big step towards taking care of these mouth problems - it's a big deal and you have a lot of emotions over the last few weeks and the last few days. No wonder you feel the way that you do.

I'm so happy to read that you seem to be settling on some stressful issues - that's really wonderful to read.

I was pretty emotional a few weeks after my first visit when the treatment plan was written up. It does get better though - I'm so less stressed out about my mouth compared to March. (I'm actually kind of sad that I have to wait until 2016 to get more of my teeth worked on - I just wanted them fixed. And that's amazing to hear me thinking like that! )

Hi.

Thank you for your reply and support.

You're right. My emotions have been all over recently. My anxiety has been really high the last few weeks and it always peaks around the time of an appointment.

Yeah, the first visit with the treatment plan really threw me off. Yesterday was especially hard to, because I got a lot more information about my treatment plan. The order has changed some too.

I have to be careful though, because I'm not out of the woods yet with my Gingivitis. I go for another deep cleaning and periodontal check on September 15, 2015. It's a maintainence and re-check kind of appointment. The doctor says I'll need to come in every 3-4 months for awhile to make sure this doesn't progress into periodontal disease.

Thanks again.

JJ

 

[Tink]

Hi JJ -

Catching up here…this thread moves fast!

I'm genuinely glad to hear that you're able to stay with this dentist - that's great news, he sounds like just what you need!

Can't comment much on the treatments (I haven't much of a clue about that sort of stuff TBH), but I totally understand what you were saying about feeling different depending on who you are going to see. I'm fine with seeing the hygienist - actually went in just to chat to mine quite recently, it really helped - but when it comes to the actual dentist I'm all over the place. What it boils down to for me, is that, I'm not really afraid of the treatments as such…I'm afraid of the dentist. Which means it can get weird sometimes.

Don't be too hard on yourself about all the emotions you are experiencing, it will be like this - it's not anything you're doing wrong, it's just that for people like us, it can be a very intense emotional process and it can feel like you are on a roller coaster. For what it's worth, over time the roller coaster should start to calm down a bit and the highs & lows will be a little less dramatic. In the meantime, you're doing really well - hang in there, and look after yourself as you ride it out x

Tink