i have not been to a dentist in probably 10 years

2 extractions & a filling = I look like I've been in a bar brawl but it was painless and I got it on the NHS so it's all good mostly. Would like mouth to thaw so I can have a kebab tho.

i am going to the dentist tomorrow, for the first time in 10+ years

http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/images/2007/05/29/cmi695.jpg

i am afraid to even read this thread because i have not been to dentist in like 3-4 years

well i hadn't been in almost 10 yrs and now i need a bunnnnch of stuff done. but it's the way of the world. it'll get doine. my benefits are oK.

you know, we don't realize that these scary dentist ppl, they see a LOT of really bad teeth

i have a $600 dentist bill -- anyone have any hints for negotiating it down

can anyone recommend a dr in ny in the cigna network? i gotta go through my hmo...

i dunno i'm about to be on Empire in NY... meeting with the Benefits woman today.

Dr. Michael Herman is really great, 128 Central Park South I think. not sure if he's on cigna but maybe worth cheking

whoa Guardian is like really good, my new dental plan

i don't nkow why i said Empire before, what the hell is that

bell labs, ask these people:

http://www.docnet.org/physicians/phys_bios.asp?phys_id=1635

they are pretty pricey as far as dentists go, but they are GREAT. I TRUST them. I broke a tooth after not going to the dentist for 5 years. Went to some mcdentist who said I'd need a root canal when the dr was in next week and untill then there was nothing they could do and that I should just avoid eating with that tooth. BREATHING hurt. I went to the linked dentist the next day, nice little office in brooklyn heights. She said I might not need a root canal, I didn't get one, got a crown instead, and she put some temp ceramics on it to cover up the exposed parts prior to the crown.

And as i've said many many times. The tooth breaking SUCKED. It hurst and cost LOTS of money. Get cleanings and check-ups every 6 months people and don't let that happen.

And that dentists other device was to get a Phillips Sonicaire Toothbrush. I did and it was great. I stopped using it after a while and hadn't been there for 3 years. Went back and recently, had major cleaning and now am using the Philips again. It's expensive, but it's worth it. It's like getting your teeth cleaned every day. It's not one of those 20 buck ones that just spin around.

who's your dentist in brooklyn heights?

see the link.

i'll try them - lauren told me about a dentist who sounds great, but they don't take my insurance, and i'm afraid i will need stuff done.

I can't recommend her enough. You can go cheaper, hell, there's about a dozen dentists in queens right outside of the 7 train that offer real bargains AND free electric toothbrushes, but dental care isn't something I'm looking to get a bargain in. And if you have good coverage...when I had all that work done (the crown, etc) I had Met Life and it covered most of it.

I now have some shitty plan care of Freelancer's Union, and have yet to see how that'll pan out.

and I got it on the NHS

how do you do that? last time i needed any dental work done (all wisdom teeth out, 2000 - eek, 7 years...), i filled in all the forms and sent off all the proof cos i was so sure i would qualify - i was making like £200 a week gross (so, what, £168 net?) and living in london - i remember reading in the metro about average wages and discovering i was below the poverty line - and they told me i did not qualify for any help whatsoever.

We managed to register with an NHS dentist. We still have to pay charges, but my check-up and the subsequent treatment I had today are charged at NHS rate which is less than 50 quid for everything. I think if you have below a certain income you have to pay less, maybe right down to nothing. But the standard NHS charges aren't means tested and they're still a lot lower than private charges.

ok thanks. i am so confused! i didn't go private, i specifically asked about nhs dentists... ohwell. maybe next time.

The charges might've been a lot different in the past tho. The poster on the NHS site here says "since April 2006".

I'm so squeamish about bodies, teeth & especially gums that I didn't go for twelve years, and when I did I had to have nine fillings and three pure-black wisdom teeth chopped out of my gob. It was a good job I was on the dole at the time - it all came free and I got some sedation for the squeams thrown in.

That was three years ago, though, and recently, while eating a fucking ciabatta that I didn't even want, one of those big fillings came out, or a quarter of a tooth did -- I swallowed it and I'm no expert anyway -- and I have to begin again I reckon, this time paying, I suppose.

All four of my wisdom teeth have impacted...it wld cost $1200 to get them removed. I am kind of nervous abt spending this; I can fit it in my budget but it will hurt my 'oh shit my dog ate a tractor' emergency savings. Will my mouth be like 'eh, don't worry bout taking out those 4 weird choppers, we've grpwn used to them," or will it be like, "When will you please fucking mutiny these supposedly wise teeth, we are getting twisted into uselessness." ???

impacted meaning 'grown out,' I am 98% sure I am using it correctly but wanted to clarify in case I hadn't

I've got decent medical insurance, but the dental plan kinda blows. I always feel like I've been gipped every time I get a standard cleaning, so I end up going maybe once every couple of years. I'm a 2/3 times a day brusher and fairly regular floss-a. I'm probably tempting fate, but goddam I really hate going to the dentist.

i haven't been to the dentist since i was 15, and i only have one filling. i'm thinking i should get a check-up before i leave the country but i'm too scared about what might be secretly wrong with my teeth.

Do it before you have to pay for it w/insurance! You will seriously, seriously not regret it and it's probably nowhere near as bad as you think (went to the dentist for the first time in seven years to find "look ma, no cavities!").

Oops, I mean before you move to U.S., the country where you will get no decent insurance, if any at all.

I don't think impacted means anything until they start getting cavities or somehow going wrong on you? I think the reason dentists take out most people's wisdom teeth is that a) sometimes they're pressuring other teeth, b) they're harder to reach behind and tend to get cavities, and c) dentistry is a business. But if you have nice hard resistant enamel to begin with, maybe you'll NEVER get cavities in them! Just brush, mouth wash, whatever, be good to yr teefs.

If, sometime in yr adult life with a job & insurance, they show signs of problems and have to come out while your body still heals pretty well/quickly, then fine. I suppose one wouldn't want to be like sixty-something and then have to have major oral surgery with older-person healing times. But that's a long ways off.

That seems sensible & accurate. It's what I suspected, that it wasn't a danger will robinson thing & could be tended to when I have a Real Job.

i'm kinda scared my wisdoms are finally coming through. i'm getting a really aching jaw, but i always getting an acutely tense jaw when i'm stressed, so i'm not sure if it's just that. and i've been clenching my teeth practically non-stop lately.

dentists really scare the shit out of me :/

I have to have a tooth removed, she put two injections in me last night and one was in the roof of my mouth - absolute fucking agony.

Ugh I had this happen when I had my wisdoms out. I'm not that afraid of needles, but when even your dentist says "I'm sorry but this is really going to hurt" you know its gonna be bad. Holy crap.

this is really enabling my capacity for procrastination when it comes to health check-ups

Have you ever had a tooth rot from the inside, the nerve shriveling up and dying while still encased in yr tooth, from raging infection? If you have, it looks much, much less tempting to putt off dentist visits. Any root canal, in fact, any TWO OR MORE root canals, are worth avoiding nerve death.

I actually fell ASLEEP during my last root canal, and I've been deathly afraid of needles for about twenty years. I promise you it can be done.

Please spare yourself and go in. You don't want to have a slight twinge on a Friday afternoon that you shrug off, but which by the midnight hours of Saturday has turned into a monster that rules your head until the inflammation swells your eye(s) shut and makes your face feel on fire, so that you can stagger around Brooklyn looking for a hospital at sunrise because there is no fucking way you can stay in the house any longer.

It was my pre-bike days and I had no internet at home, and no money for a car service or similar, not that I was even thinking that clearly, and I left the house without really knowing where the nearest hospital WAS, and had to ask a policeman for directions and walk and walk. Then I was in the ER for four or five hours begging for antibiotics before anyone would even see me. I apologize for the drama, but srsly really please don't do this. Go to the dentist.

Not you, Abbs -- but people who HAVE insurance and avoid the dr because it's scary and there are needles and sometimes mildly bad news involved. Because even once I HAD a Real Job I still tried to avoid the dentist but it ends badly, it always ends badly.

i don't have insurance (practically no one does in NZ). so i'm looking at pretty hefty financial damages if i need any work done. i think that's scaring me more than the needles and pain.

also: thanks laurel. i know you're right and i need to suck it up and just make an appointment.

You will seriously be very fucking grateful and if you have it done (say if you have to have wisdom teeth pulled or root canals) maybe up to $35, at least $250 just for a cleaning & x-ray. Do it there, plz, you will be so glad. ONe, two days of your least favorite for overwhelming security & relief...half the reason I was afraid to go is I was afraid things wld be beyond help. But I was pleasantly surprised they weren't!

oops I meant $3k not $35...maybe with the exchange rates it wld be cheaper here. Also, maybe there's a discount clinic in yr area?

i think it's maybe cheaper here. my best friend is getting her wisdoms pulled this week, and it's costing $2000 (NZD), but half of that is the cost of a general anaesthetic, because hers have to be cut out from deep in her gums.

In dental terminology an "impacted" tooth refers to a tooth that has failed to emerge fully into its expected position. This failure to erupt properly might occur because there is not enough room in the person's jaw to accommodate the tooth, or because the angulation of the tooth is improper.

So Abbott, your teeth are the opposite of impacted.

exchange rates would fuck me - NZ$1 buys US$0.72

Aw thx mh! I knew something was wrong there. What is the proper word?

Erupted, I think.

that is it. hhoray!