Nurse with Dental Problems

[nurseangel78]

I feel so bad....about my teeth that is. As a child, I did not visit the dentist regularly for cleanings, filings, etc... Now as an older adult I have been to the dentist much more often but not for the preventative things, but for the problems like abscessed teeth, cavities galore, cracked teeth, etc. I don't laugh or smile as much as I would like because my teeth look terrible, not to mention I am a nurse, and that makes me feel 10 times as worse. I am only 26 and have had 3 teeth pulled, I don't want to have dentures by the age of 30. I don't have medical insurance right now, so I have to pay for everything I get done and then I can barely afford it. I don't know what to do. Any Advice??

[rjflyn, ASN, RN]

I'd find someway to get some dental insurance. Either where you work- which may cost more as you state you only work part time. If not an option- look in to what your college offers its students. Most colleges offer some type of group insurance to their students. Beyond that maybe look into working someplace else that does offer better insurance. I know alot of hospitals are starting to offer better benefits to compete with all the hospitals trying to hire nurses. Had a root canal and a crown done several years ago the bill was $1200 and i paid $129 out of my pocket.

Have to agree with the dental school option as well. Only down side of that is its a first come first serve clinic, Most of them you have to be there at 7AM in line or else forget it for that day.

rj

[medicrnohio, RN]

I sympathize with you as I have awful teeth too. My problem...no one wants to pull them. Instead they would rather I pay $1900 to have ONE tooth fixed. If I say no they tell me to find someone else because they won't pull it. Grrr. I would like to know more about the dental plan someone was talking about that was $50 a month. Is there a website to find out more info?

[LilRedRN1973]

I think this website has a lot of information on it:

http://www.insurancecompany.com/dentcov-mf2.html

There are three different plans you can choose and they bill it automatically, taken out of your account, I think.

Here is another website that be of help depending on what state you are in:

http://www.quotit.net/mfdmaster/state.asp?securityID=98A71CD352

And if that website doesn't help, here is the number:

888-538-9333 Merchants Benefit Administration, Inc. Multiflex Dental Plan

Depending on what state you live in, the rates will vary. I noticed on that second website that the rates for Ohio were around $30 a month for single under 65. I pay $48.94 plus a 6.00 administration fee each month. But it's worth it to me, especially when I combine it with my husband's benefits for a total of $3500 per year of dental work. Once I'm through with all the god awful stuff, I can drop my private insurance.

Melanie

[fotografe]

Make sure you have a Graduate Fellow working on you and not a lower level student fro the complex work. Make them put in composite fillings wherever they can as the mercury amalgam ones can make your teeth weaker. This info is from my dentist who is on the faculty of Tufts University in Boston.

Go to the nearest University with a School of Dentistry. They usually provide dental care services at a reduced price, in exchange for you letting dental student do the work. They usually do a good job considering that their instructors are watching them. Take care of your teeth. Also, many dentists take VISA & credit cards.

Sis

[Monica RN,BSN]

I too thought I would not want dentures early. I am 38 and have full upper and lowers. I am glad I got them because they do look so much better. No regrets here.

[medicrnohio, RN]

I think this website has a lot of information on it:

http://www.insurancecompany.com/dentcov-mf2.html

There are three different plans you can choose and they bill it automatically, taken out of your account, I think.

Here is another website that be of help depending on what state you are in:

http://www.quotit.net/mfdmaster/state.asp?securityID=98A71CD352

And if that website doesn't help, here is the number:

888-538-9333 Merchants Benefit Administration, Inc. Multiflex Dental Plan

Depending on what state you live in, the rates will vary. I noticed on that second website that the rates for Ohio were around $30 a month for single under 65. I pay $48.94 plus a 6.00 administration fee each month. But it's worth it to me, especially when I combine it with my husband's benefits for a total of $3500 per year of dental work. Once I'm through with all the god awful stuff, I can drop my private insurance.

Melanie

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check this out.

[WickedRedRN, BSN, RN]

Hey, good info, the private insurance plans don't look too bad! I

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

Just FYI about the Swan -

It ain't real. I know a girl that was on it the first season, and they didn't have a huge budget, so they had just a couple of actual "ugly" people and the rest were aspiring models and actresses from LA. They made them look unattractive with makeup, prosthetics and lighting because it was cheaper than doing plastic surgery on all those girls.

That show makes me so damn mad. :angryfire

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I would be afraid if i had dentures, they wouldn't look natural.

[Fun2, BSN, RN]

I too thought I would not want dentures early. I am 38 and have full upper and lowers. I am glad I got them because they do look so much better. No regrets here.

I was born with a cleft lip and palate, my father's side of the family all has bad teeth, which I seem to have been unlucky enough to follow that route, I had a problem with calcium when I was pregnant with my second child, I also had braces for 5 years, and a permanent retainer for many years that I had to use a key to turn each day to stretch my mouth out.

All of these put together has ruined my teeth. I plan on getting upper and lowers soon (probably before Jan '06), and I really don't care what people think. I am only 31, and up until now, no one would pull them. I finally am to the age where they will. Even my dentist even told me NOT to get pregnant again for dental reasons. (Didn't plan on it anyway.lol)

As for looking natural, if you have a good dentist which uses a GREAT lab for making them, the denture sets do look natural. I have a small underbite from my clefts, and I hope my dentures can correct that as well.

I'll worry about bone degeneration later on in life, right now I want the perfect looking smile I've always dreamed of. After 18 surgeries, my smile is the only thing I have left to work on really.

I actually tried Baylor's Dental school. Everytime I got, "sorry, you are not a candidate for what we need." So much for that route. I'd have saved my teeth given the chance, but even when I did have insurance or discount plans, I still couldn't afford all the work I needed.

So.......Yank those suckers out, give me falsies, and make 'em perty!

[ShellyRN07]

I feel for you too, I have been undergoing major dental work for the last 6 months. I was not taken to the denist when I was a child or taught about proper dental care. I also drank alot of pop which didn't help the situation. I am 33 and last year my dentist told me I needed dentures. But me being the stubborn one I am, I said no way, not at 33yrs old. SO I went looking for a new dentist, one that would accept my insurance in full, my previous dentist wasn't in network. I found a great guy would has been working with me to put crowns on my teeth. It is expensive so we are going slow, we use up my insurance and then I try to pay for one on my own. As all of you know, us college kids are poor so needlees to say I don't have much money to add to the pot. But I don't care if it takes 3 years I am going to keep on fixing my mouth. I wish I had some good advice for you, I agree that if you can finance you mouth do it.