Going to the Dentist
 

A friend of mine said she needs a root canal and upfront it will cost her 900 but insurence will pay her back. So, I decided to finally after six years get my teeth checked on wednesday. My teeth hurt every once in a while (been hurting all day) mainly the upper part of my mouth where my wisdom teeth are coming in. I know that I have a couple cavities, three wisdom teeth coming in, and a molar that has a big cavity on it that is making that tooth rot (back of the tooth is a blueish color).

I have a huge phobia about dentists. I am all sorts of worried about what hes going to say and want to do.

Has anyone ever had problems with the removal of their wisdom teeth?
What do you think hes going to want to do about that bad tooth?
What kind of price range do you think it'll be? I have good dental insurance but I know it won't pay it all.

If he says I need all that work, which problem would you take care of first? I'm sure he's going to fix the small cavities on wednesday. I'd rather get the most painful out of the way first.

Thanks, Dunit35

6 years and you have dental insurance. Damn man save yourself some pain, money in the future and some teeth by going in at least once a year. Good luck.

Be sure to get nitrous oxide. It takes away the pain.

Most dentists will actually have you schedule an appointment for another day if you need more than the standard cleaning, so I wouldn't get all worked up about Wednesday. Chances are, you'll go in and do all the x-rays and stuff, then he'll talk to you about all the things he thinks you need to do. You'll probably schedule an appointment for some of it on the spot, but you can always change those appointments if you decide you need to wait on one thing or another.

A few specific answers:

Different people respond to wisdom teeth removal differently. You could be in a little pain for a few days, or you may be back up and running the same day.

About the bad tooth, I have no idea. That's what dentists are for. If he's any good at what he does, he'll tell you what the situation is and what he recommends. Regardless, better to go now than later when your tooth is unsalvageable.

They may look at you funny, but you can always request that the dentist tell you exactly how much it's going to cost you before they do the work. If you're worried about it, that might be a good idea. They can submit the work to your insurance to check and see how much they'll pay so that you don't get yourself in financial trouble. Generally, though, you probably don't want to wait too long on rotting teeth.

I am scared of dentists big time. I am about to turn 23 and will lose my fathers insurance. I won't be getting insurance until I graduate college in 2010. So I knew I needed to get it done before then. I am going to be extremely nervous going in there.

If you're really that nervous, you could ask your dentist about conscious sedation. I don't know much about it, but I know that a dentist that was my client (back when I was doing IT consulting) offered it as a service for people who are really fearful of dental work.

They do have to have special types of certification to do it, though, so your dentist may not be able to.

Here's an article about it:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5446489/

The cost of paying for emergency dental work on your own dime should take care of any fear. You're doing the right thing, get it all taken care of while you're covered by insurance.

Mention your fears to the Dentist, a lot of times they'll take this into account when deciding how to work with you and when determining the amount of anesthetic to use.

I figured I'd be making a couple appointments to fix the problems. The tooth has been looking like this for well over a year now. It doesn't look like it has been getting worse but who knows what its doing inside the tooth.

I do know that my insurance covers 100% of x-rays and the basic cleaning.

I know I'm doing the right thing but man I cant stop thinking about the drilling and that stupid metal toothpick thing digging into my teeth. Im also thinking he's going to say "wow, those teeth are horrible"....even though I feel they look just fine.

I plan on telling him he's my biggest fear. My friend told me she told them that and they took care of her big time. I want to be knocked out completely before he does any major work.

If you're only 23, chances are you're not even in the bottom 25% of the teeth he's seen. He may lecture you a bit about dental hygiene, but no way will he think "wow...those teeth are horrible."

Just tell him you drilled his wife last night.

Most dental insurance is bad, like 60-40.
Correct, they will only take X-rays and provide more appointments on this visit.

I had great luck with my wisdom teeth (even with an Army dentist-the worst I have ever dealt with) and I use to hate the dentist but have had great results recently.

Dental care is expensive but well worth it now, especially at your age. Dental procedures have improved alot in the last 7 years.

I did not even notice anything on my last 3 visits.

Get it all taken care of and ask any questions or concerns that you have while there.
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Man up! Seriously-take care of it now.

:LOL:

If that will make him knock me out I'm all for it.

I am a 1/2-3/4 can a day tobacco user for four years now so I'm sure he's going to tell me to quit that. I did quit smoking a year ago so I hope that helped my teeth a little.

Frankly, if you continue to use tobacco, it's probably worth your money to keep paying for the checkups/cleanings at least once a year - even if you're paying for it out of pocket. It'll be kind of expensive, but your teeth aren't going to grow back and a lot of damage could be done in even a couple years.

That stuff rocks. They could cut my arm off and I wouldn't care.