Go to the dentist

Aside from the appointment last month at the old dentist, I’ve been to the new dentist twice, and have a third appointment on Monday.

They’re a little more pricey than the other guy, but they sound like they know what they’re doing more, and they’re friendlier. Plus the previous guy gave me an estimate for work on 12 teeth (that’s nearly half my mouth!!!)

And most worrisome – He didn’t sound like he knew where I had cavities, so he was prepared to drill through everything “just in case”. Pfft!

The new dentist said I only needed work on 5 (3 done, 2 to go)! _{The only thing I don’t like about the new dentist is that when she uses the needle to freeze my mouth it really hurts, and despite the 8 or so other dentists I have gone to, I’ve never had that problem before.}

I really can’t afford any of this, but I know it’s not going to get any cheaper later.

But I’m going to keep this dentist, and they can remind me to get my regular check-ups, so hopefully this won’t happen again.

Looks like I’ll need to go again and again and again…

However, I’m not too thrilled with this dental office. I am by no means picky about dentists, I generally just pick one when I move to a new city and keep going back. But this place was.. hmm, I don’t know exactly… very flashy, very slick.

Don’t get me wrong, I have gotten bad news from dentists before and unaffordable estimates for future work, but never this expensive.

Lovely office, new and clean, with the latest technology. They really did make sure I understood which teeth had problems, what the problems were, and even what the secret codes on the estimate meant.

I just went in for a check up and cleaning. But I kinda felt like they were trying to sell me stuff. Like the products and glossy fliers they have strategically placed near the patient’s chair. The denstist kept asking if certain parts of my mouth were painful (no, I just came in for a check up not because i have any symptoms), but he kept prodding around, and if it didn’t hurt, he’d just poke harder. Then came the hygienist – first casually mentioning “are you considering having your teeth realigned?” and when that didn’t work, shifting to “it appears you grind your teeth, perhaps a might guard would help”. When I finally explained I was a student and didn’t have much money, the dentist came up with a whole bunch of “basic” work that needed to be done, like some cavities and “suspected cavities”.

So although they managed to (what’s the term?) upsell me in the beginning by getting me to pay for full xrays, by the end of it I felt like I had just walked out of a personalized infomercial.

Too phony baloney.

Now, my next problem is – having paid for these x rays, etc. My dental plan won’t cover more x rays if I go to a different dentist to get my cavities fixed… so what should I do?

I really don’t feel like giving the current dental office any more money.

It’s in 2 weeks. Yay for me.

pretty much says it all.

I’ll try to make an appointment sometime before the new year (or if they are closed for the holidays, before January 5th).