Friday, August 22, 2008

Frustrating Financial Situation: Dentistry


So yesterday I had my much needed dental check-up. I knew the prognosis would be grim due to the pain I've been feeling on the right side of my mouth. Well... it was worse than expected. I've got a mouthful of very old silver fillings from my childhood years and about six of them need to be fully replaced because they're either loose or they've just deteriorated. I also need a crown put on one of these teeth. The joy of sitting in a dentist's chair is more than enough to make me giddy with excitement, but my true concern is the cost of all of this dental upkeep.
My friend Sara and I just discussed the frustrations of dental insurance. Our insurance pays for silver fillings but since most dentists (including mine) will no longer do silver fillings, that leaves me with a grand total of $136 per tooth, plus a nice sum of about $500 for the crown. Hello hello.
I'm very frustrated with this for several reasons. I posted awhile ago about our freedom from debt. After 11 years of marriage we finally paid off all of our creditors, with the exception of our car payment. In doing that we wiped out all savings. So now we're faced with this dental issue and very little savings to pay for it. Christmas is also coming quicker than we might expect and we are always faced with the expense of flying a family of four to Oklahoma/Texas at that time.
So... bleh on the whole thing. I'm praying for God's peace and for Him to work in this. And I definitely do feel better about the whole thing today than I did yesterday which helps me know He's at work. Still, I find the entire situation frustrating.
Anyone else struggling with some financial stress or anything else frustrating?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a hard one. Hope it all works out and that you'll get some peace soon.
**a.g.d.

Andrea said...

I almost want to take this post off because I just learned that my friend Robin has NEVER had a cavity! Yikes. I'm humbled by her supreme teeth.

Sara said...

Dealing with insurance rules/regs are frustrating for me!!! I have never understood why they won't pay for a white filling..crazy!!!

Cara said...

I'm sorry you're having to deal with all that. What a pain...literally! I'm praying that you won't have to go back into debt to fix your teeth. Or if you do, that you can pay it off quickly. And your friend who had never had a cavity....WOW, I'm jealous.

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