Very Depressed! Can't Afford What I Need!

[Guest]

I'm so depressed and tired of trying!

I'm separated and do have $600.00 worth of dental insurance from my husband, and I took out a small personal loan to help ... but I STILL can't find 2 dentists that I can afford to do what has to be done.

I need 7 remaining upper teeth removed and top immediate full dentures put in. My dream would be to have implants, but NO way I can afford them!

Anyway, I have health issues that would require me to have I.V. sedation, a heart monitor and my blood pressure monitored. 2 teeth will be surgical procedures, and I've been told that they may have to shave the bone so the dentures would fit properly!

UGH!!

I don't mind the I.V. sedation, I've had it before ... except they couldn't get my b/p down, not sure why.

It's just that I can't find 2 dentists (nobody here does both procedures) that I can afford with both the loan and insurance!

What's somebody suppose to do? They say my teeth are probably making my health conditions worse, I can hardly eat, and I look like a bum!

I'm very depressed all ready .. and this is making it worse. I suffer from fibromyalgia, CFIDS and deteriation of the spine .. so if I'm not sedated enough, I have HORRIBLE pain in my neck and shoulders for weeks after dental work.

I need to be pre-medicated also .. because of MVPS.

I feel so hopeless! I'm not unwilling to go through all this, I want a nice smile ... but the dentists are so expensive ($150.00 per extraction and $300 for I.V.) that it keeps it out of my reach even though I have a total of $3,000 to pay for it!!! Isn't that ridiculous!??

To add to all of this: I'm very concerned about my health issues causing some dangerous problems while I'm under the sedation ... or sleeping if that's what I end up doing.

What precautions could the dentists here on board, give me ... to assure my safety while under?

Any suggestions at all?



Dee

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I am in no way a dental professional (just someone who's recently went back to the dentist after a long...hiatus), so I am not really sure why you have to go to 2 dentists. Is one dentist taking out some of the teeth and another taking out the rest surgically? I'm only asking because I am wondering if it something that you have to do all at one time. Would it be easier financially to do the procedures in small steps?

If you are in the US, have you looked into CareCredit? I only just heard about it from my dental office yesterday, so I don't have too much information on it. But, it is basically a credit card for medical/dental services. You tell them how much your services are and they work out a monthly payment amount based on that. If you pay within 12 months, there is no interest. After that, there is some interest. Here is their website if you want to nose around: www.carecredit.com The one problem seems to be that not all dentists accept it, so you have to run their name through the search engine to see if they participate.

Hope it helps.

-James

 

[Guest]

Hi James,

What I meant by 2 dentists, is one to extract them and the other to do the dentures.

No, I can't do them in small steps, I need them all out to put in the dentures ... and because there may be poison going into my system from them.

I know I won't be able to use the Care Credit, as I barely got approved for the loan from my credit union even with my husand co-signing. My credit is bad and I've not been well enough to work and straighten it out yet.

The extractions with I.V. sedation will be: $1,300 and the dentures will be: $1,200 for a total of: $2,500.

I still owe the oral surgeon $625.00 which I have to pay up before he'll even consider removing more teeth.

That means I have to have $3,125.00

I have $2,000 from the loan and $600 insurance. As you can see ... I don't have enough to cover it, and I have nobody to borrow the rest from.

Thank you for replying.

Dee

 

[Guest]

Your concerns about the cost of the treatment you need are certainly understandable. May I suggest that you look into an alternative source?

Is there a college or university in your area that has a dental school?

Dental schools and their students are always in need of patients requiring the treatment you describe. The fees at most dental schools are a fraction of the "outside" fees.

D2THDOC

 

[Guest]

Gosh you are soooo close with the money. Won't any dentist let you pay the amount you need and then owe the few hundred, paying it back on a payment plan? Also, are teh extractions complicated? Have you checked around for pricing at different dentists? I'm from Canada so it might be different, but I had a wisdom tooth extracted and it was only $35 dollars. A filling here, if you aren't covered by insurance, is up to $80, and extractions are only a fraction of that. I know general anesthetic is moe expensive, but the actual extractions being 150 each sounds outrageous to me. Is it normal?

 

[Guest]

Gosh you are soooo close with the money. Won't any dentist let you pay the amount you need and then owe the few hundred, paying it back on a payment plan? Also, are teh extractions complicated? Have you checked around for pricing at different dentists? I'm from Canada so it might be different, but I had a wisdom tooth extracted and it was only $35 dollars. A filling here, if you aren't covered by insurance, is up to $80, and extractions are only a fraction of that. I know general anesthetic is moe expensive, but the actual extractions being 150 each sounds outrageous to me. Is it normal?

 

[Guest]

I'm from the US, and when I got my wisdom teeth extracted, one was $80, two were $135 and the fourth was $146. So, to me, $150 doesn't really sound unreasonable. But I could be wrong.

Any other thoughts/opinions?

 

[Guest]

You may be able to go to www.dentalschools.com and find a school close to where you live. They would have the ability to do all in the same place. You may need a little more planning but the extractions for me at OSU Dental school were 60.00 a piece. The alveoloplasty was 110.00 for two quadrants. And it was done extremely gently and with IV Sedation.
Hope this helps

Nicole