[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Rotted teeth (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 7/23/2016 4:13:11 PM EDT
More and more lately I've been seeing people with jacked-up, rotting teeth with cavities or huge parts of their teeth missing...and a lot of these people aren't poor...and some even have dental coverage  Do people not know how bad it is to have rotting teeth in their body? Is it a sign of a bad economy that people can't afford to get them fixed? But even then, letting a small cavity (inexpensive to fix) turn into a life-threatening abscess and future corrective work (endodontist, tooth pulled; bridges, implants, shifting occlusion, etc.) doesn't seem to be the smartest thing to do. Maybe it's a fear of going to the dentist. Who knows. |
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Dental work isn't cheap when you have crappy or no insurance. $300 on up means food on the table for a few weeks or a cavity repaired.
Even my dental insurance only cover one checkup and pretty much 50% for most any NEEDED proceedure. Cosmetic, BWA HAHAHAHAHA!~ ain't happinin. |
| I have a lot of patients that put off dental care because they just don't like going to the dentist. I've seen some rotten stuff and it is amazing what people put up with. My favorite patients are the big badass Marines with full tattoos who cry because they don't like getting shots. Give me a fucking break. |
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Quoted: most don't like going to the dentist. i dropped 3k getting a bunch of work done and i took care of my teeth very well at the time. ill NEVER spend that again. i brush and floss 3 times a day no matter what now. I'm wondering when they're going to start gene modifying , so that new adult teeth will grow after pulling a bad one. lol |
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I'm wondering when they're going to start gene modifying , so that new adult teeth will grow after pulling a bad one. lol Quoted:
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most don't like going to the dentist. i dropped 3k getting a bunch of work done and i took care of my teeth very well at the time. ill NEVER spend that again. i brush and floss 3 times a day no matter what now. I'm wondering when they're going to start gene modifying , so that new adult teeth will grow after pulling a bad one. lol That would make life easy. Every decade just go get your chipped or cavity filled teeth pulled, and wait for them to come back in. |
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Quoted: well my "great" insurance covers anly 1500 a year with a 500 deductable. All preventive is "free" with a 40 deductable. One root canal round here is 4000 bucks! i know alotof guys myself included that just get all the "bad" teeth pulled out. Its cheaper. Wouldn't it be alot cheaper to pull the tooth, and have a implant done? 4000 bucks? dayum. |
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Quoted:
Wouldn't it be alot cheaper to pull the tooth, and have a implant done? 4000 bucks? dayum. Quoted:
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well my "great" insurance covers anly 1500 a year with a 500 deductable. All preventive is "free" with a 40 deductable. One root canal round here is 4000 bucks! i know alotof guys myself included that just get all the "bad" teeth pulled out. Its cheaper. Wouldn't it be alot cheaper to pull the tooth, and have a implant done? 4000 bucks? dayum. Yup dental work here is horrible lots of ching, i used to go to the dental college for all my major work but they have stopped doing it now. |
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God knows I need dental work. I made sure my two children never had to suffer the pain of tooth decay like I did growing up. Spent thousands on their teeth. Now I need to get my daughters braces paid for
 . Then doctor Beer will pay for that summer house with my mouth.  |
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well my "great" insurance covers anly 1500 a year with a 500 deductable. All preventive is "free" with a 40 deductable. One root canal round here is 4000 bucks! i know alotof guys myself included that just get all the "bad" teeth pulled out. Its cheaper. If you're approaching $4k for root canal therapy then there are other things going on in that mouth... |
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I have dental coverage, but for all intents and purposes it doesn't cover anything major...
AS a result I waited until the last minute to have a tooth pulled last year...Currently debating whether or not I really want to pay the 2k after insurance for the implant or just live with not having that tooth |
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Much of the medical world right now is about as trustworthy and honest as your local prison trained car mechanic.
I get it and it from a financial perspective. Dentists only have so many hours they can work and have only so many patients.....with X number of teeth. Gotta maximize time and income. Boat payments and child support aren't going to pay themselves. It's been quite a while since I've been to a dentist that didn't try to "up sell" services or procedures every single time I'm in there to have my teeth cleaned or a cavity filled....or a root canal......or a crown....... I don't need or want to be sold something else now that I've just spent......$400.00. Dentists think that the most important thing in someone's life is their teeth.......like the local gun store thinks everyone needs 87 more AR's and the ammo to feed them and the Ford dealership just doesn't understand why you aren't in there every year buying the latest and greatest because that has to be more important than eating.....right? |
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Don't skip on having dental work done. Winding up in the hospital for a periapical abscess can cost you tens of thousands of dollars , close to 100 grand if you need ENT surgery and a trip to the SICU. You mean the taxpayer. That bill will never be paid by the individual. |
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There is still hope.
I was lousy at taking care of my teeth (sugar, mainly). My best friend in dental school called me a dental cripple. Luckily, it was dental school and I was saved. In the 40+ years after dental school, I've only had to replace fillings and get my incisors capped after a major car accident. Gums are light pink, sharp edges, stippled...healthy. My gums are in excellent health, despite my stroke and having to relearn how to clean my teeth interproximally with one hand (I use a Reach Flosser). Slowly, I'm relearning to floss with two hands, but that's still a little away. The dentifrices are really good nowadays. I like the one with fluoride and triclosan. The mouthrinse is something I've added to my regimen after the stroke includes a quaternary amine. I also now use an interproximal brush in one area. |
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I have insurance. It still cost me about $800 every time I need a filling.
Dentists are more into the up sell than stealership service writers. My insurance pays for silver amalgam fillings and metal crowns. My last several dentists either refused to do those or you got at the back of the waiting list behind people willing to pay for ceramic coated gold crowns and white fillings. Six month cleaning? No you need a deep cleaning for $280 and an special $90 rinse (listerine). Every time I go it ends u costing me as much as a rifle |
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Much of the medical world right now is about as trustworthy and honest as your local prison trained car mechanic. I get it and it from a financial perspective. Dentists only have so many hours they can work and have only so many patients.....with X number of teeth. Gotta maximize time and income. Boat payments and child support aren't going to pay themselves. It's been quite a while since I've been to a dentist that didn't try to "up sell" services or procedures every single time I'm in there to have my teeth cleaned or a cavity filled....or a root canal......or a crown....... I don't need or want to be sold something else now that I've just spent......$400.00. Dentists think that the most important thing in someone's life is their teeth.......like the local gun store thinks everyone needs 87 more AR's and the ammo to feed them and the Ford dealership just doesn't understand why you aren't in there every year buying the latest and greatest because that has to be more important than eating.....right? True. You gotta get that clear coat. |
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When I see a patient for the first time, I ask them what they want, do they want a "movie star" smile, or just want to be in good dental health. I ask because some people are embarrassed and some people really don't care. I will educate them if they have periodontal disease, and need a "deep cleaning"
I am booked out for weeks. I want to do your filling as much as you want to clean your toilet. It needs to be done, but it ain't no joy. |
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I have insurance. It still cost me about $800 every time I need a filling. Dentists are more into the up sell than stealership service writers. My insurance pays for silver amalgam fillings and metal crowns. My last several dentists either refused to do those or you got at the back of the waiting list behind people willing to pay for ceramic coated gold crowns and white fillings. Six month cleaning? No you need a deep cleaning for $280 and an special $90 rinse (listerine). Every time I go it ends u costing me as much as a rifle Find another dentist if you don't feel comfortable with their recommendations. Not all of us are like that. Ask friends and family who they go to and start there. |
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When I see a patient for the first time, I ask them what they want, do they want a "movie star" smile, or just want to be in good dental health. I ask because some people are embarrassed and some people really don't care. I will educate them if they have periodontal disease, and need a "deep cleaning" I am booked out for weeks. I want to do your filling as much as you want to clean your toilet. It needs to be done, but it ain't no joy. I forget what those white fillings are called. But my dentist will do those the same day as the cavity is diagnosed. But if I want standard silver amalgam fillings I have to make an appointment on the way out and she will see me in 8 weeks or so. Well one of her expensive fancy white fillings broke a couple days ago. She can see me on August 22nd. 
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About ten years ago I had to have root canal work done on two teeth. $2500 each. About two years ago both got infected again. Root canal work again on the same two teeth. $2500 each again. No insurance coverage. That makes $10,000 I paid to fix two teeth.
I don't wonder why people won't go to a dentist. |
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Quoted:
When I see a patient for the first time, I ask them what they want, do they want a "movie star" smile, or just want to be in good dental health. I ask because some people are embarrassed and some people really don't care. I will educate them if they have periodontal disease, and need a "deep cleaning" I am booked out for weeks. I want to do your filling as much as you want to clean your toilet. It needs to be done, but it ain't no joy. Ha, Ain't that the truth. |