Clicking These Down, Here
3 hours ago
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Modern dental care
Nothing busts my budget like paying for dental care. My whole life I've only had dental insurance for about a year. During that year I saw a dentist every two weeks. Care was split between two different clinics that worked together to bring my teeth up to par. They didn't even look bad at the start of all this, yet I exhausted the lifetime allotment of that insurance plan. Considering my dad had dentures at age 14, I'm not doing too badly.
At her last dental visit my lovely wife discovered she was going to need more work than the local dentists could provide. She's scheduled to see two different specialists on the same day, 120 miles away. Since we no longer have insurance it's all going to be out of pocket.
It's expensive, but in long run it's worth it. Dental care has come a long way. Hopefully we can avoid having dental problems while traveling. Nothing ruins travel like a toothache. Two winters ago we had to take a break from sailing when my lovely wife broke a tooth while out on Cayo Costa Island in Florida. It's a long boat ride back to the mainland.
Good dental care is one of those things we'd really miss if it went away. I'm just happy when I can afford it. Taking care of your teeth means you have one less thing to worry about in a crisis situation. Imagine any sort of catastrophe and then imagine going through it with a killer toothache.
I did download a copy of “Where There is no Dentist.”
It's full of good information that might make your life easier. Keeping a few emergency dental supplies in stock can help a lot. It doesn't beat having a modern dental clinic, but it's a heck of a lot better than nothing.
I've talked to people who fly to Costa Rica to get major dental work done. The flight down, time in a hotel, and dental work, all cost much less than just the the dental work in the US. Maybe that's something to consider for the next time. As it is we are still waiting for our passports to come in.
-Sixbears
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We keep hoping for enough overtime for us to both see a dentist, but the rainy weather hasn't co-operated.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough sometimes. I once had a 15 year break between dentist visits. The bills are more painful than a long slow root canal.
DeleteMy brother goes to Costa Rica for work sometimes. Gonna ask him if he gets his dental work done there.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what he thinks about the place.
DeleteKnow nothing about the place but there's also a clinic in Mexico. Another blog I follow had a writeup on it - http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-birth-of-dental-empire-at-algodones.html He seems quite happy with their services.
ReplyDeleteIn the US we forget that the rest of the world has everything we have, and often at better prices.
DeleteThat's something many people who have lived in Costa Rica tell me. Health care in general is much less costly and often of a higher quality than we get here. I have full dental on the whole family. I pay a fortune for it, but it will only cover a maximum of $1,200 a year. That won't cover one root canal or crown.
ReplyDeleteI know. I'm paying for a root canal and an extraction Wednesday. $$$$
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ReplyDeleteWe had dental insurance for years, trying to find a dentist in our town was something else. One dentist we had got censured for a lot of crap, he treated us okay, but the costs were enormous and my husband complained and the dentist just wrote off the bills..His own faith the LDS got wind of the what he was doing & they did their investigating, we went with the young fellow who replaced him, a nice fellow who doesn't charge an arm and a leg. Now we are older than dirt and they have places that take seniors and don't stick it to you it is sad the USA the greatest country in the world doesn't have reasonable medical and dental and mental health care but it doesn't and a lot of people suffer needlessly, enjoy your boat trips, I read your blog daily and wistfully think of a time in our lives when we could sail away someplace and realize we only get to go to the shore and stay in a tiny cabin and get food from the sea and smell the air and listen to the rain when and if we ever get any anymore, big drought in Washington state, it is so hot it is sickening and the fires and what it has done to the farmers, ski places, vintners and human and wildlife I don't complain!
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