So I had a minor but annoying toothache (#14 for you MRF dentists) and called the doc last Wednesday. He said the earliest they can see me was on Monday (Haloween). It didn't get better, so on Friday I called again and they were able to see me on Friday morning. X-rays, knock-knock-knock and #13 and 15 were fine but #14 very sensitive to tapping; cold stuff, #13 and #15 were sensitive to cold but #14 felt nothing. Dentist sais nerve is dying and he can't do root canal, he referred me to an endodontic specialist. I went there yesterday, another X-ray, same tapping and cold tests, same conclusion. OK, let's do root canal. I had an idea this was expensive.

about $1800, luckily insurance covers about $1500 and I paid "only" $300. Stepped in at 12:30, walked out at 2 PM.

They told me to take Ibuprofen and / or acetaminophen for paid.

I get home, the anesthesia is starting to wear off and I get the worst head ache I had in a while. Probably skipping caffeine intake at 12 PM didn't help either. I am a coffee addict. Took Ibuprofen, wait 30 min, no relieve. Take Acetaminophen, another 30 min later it starts to get better, at 4 PM being along I decided to take a nap until kids and wife get home. I get in bet and I struggled to fall asleep, as I had another coffee and I never take naps during the day. I was about to fall asleep when someone rings the door. 4:30 PM. Could it be that wife and kids got home early? no, it was a tall guy: Trick or Treat. WTF? it's only 4:30, everyone here starts at 5:30 or 6. I think it was a high school student, really tall. Those guys are suppose to come later, at least that's how it was in all other years.

I decided it doesn't make sense to go back to bed, so I call wife, told her to pick up only one kid, I went to pick up the other kid to save time. We both got home at 5:30, had a quick dinner, and kids went trick-or-treat from 6 till about 7:30-8 PM.

I am still mad at the guy who came at 4:30.

Now I feel much better, no more pain.

next is a crown. I called the doc to make appointment and surprise surprise, since I already spent $1500 on the root canal and with a few filings I had earlier this year, I am very close to the $2000 maximum. I only have a few hundreds left on the insurance. Doc said I should wait ill Jan 2017, but no, my insurance resets in July1. So now I probably have to pay for a crown out of pocket (HSA pocket), $1500.

Couple that with the $6800 hospital bill (I pay only $4800, insurance pay the rest) and I had a every "good" October.

Just had a root canal and cap on #7. This was a crooked tooth, and now with the cap it is straight.

Cheaper on those teeth that only have one root.

Ouch. Yeah, we're headed for that sort of thing. One of mrs. cbelt3's crowns failed the other night. She's off to the dentist next week. Of course both her parents had full dentures by their 50's....

Root canals put the "hollow" in "Hollow-ween".

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It is what it is.

....have had 3 and 1/2 and they all happened on weekends.....and codeine and acetomenphen didn't work for the pain......



....one root canal just failed, so had to get it pulled last week......getting dental implant to replace it [ expensive ]....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2016 04:56PM by NewtonMP2100.

Oh, and one more thing...

DO NOT celebrate w/ Nutella!
==

Thank goodness I have never had issues with my teeth, sounds awful. never needed braces, only one cavity from 40 years ago, wisdom teeth 30 years ago and thats it. Just get them cleaned every few months and done.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

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jdc
Thank goodness I have never had issues with my teeth, sounds awful. never needed braces, only one cavity from 40 years ago, wisdom teeth 30 years ago and thats it. Just get them cleaned every few months and done.

Me, too! My Dad died ten days short of his 97th birthday and had all his teeth. No dentures, bridges, nothing. My Aunt (his sister) is 90 yo and has the same chompers. So far, so good with me...

I am still mad at the guy who came at 4:30.

Those are the ones that get the soy sauce packets...

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Something different...

Disclaimer: This post is checked for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Any attempts at humor are solely the responsibility of the author and bear no claim that any and all readers will approve or appreciate said attempt at humor.
My name is DP, and I approve this message.

"Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime."- Lavrentiy Beria

Jeez, space-time, you're having a tough time of it! Here's hoping November is better.

Dental coverage is pretty lousy, unless you have no dental problems. At least once you've met the maximum coverage, you still get a discounted rate if you still have the insurance.

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S. Pupp
Dental coverage is pretty lousy, unless you have no dental problems. At least once you've met the maximum coverage, you still get a discounted rate if you still have the insurance.

I've always gone HMO on my medical and PPO on my dental. While I've only had to see a doctor once in the last decade or so, I go to the dentist at least twice a year and want to have the best/most options at my disposal. I also find that the best dentists take PPO insurance but may not take HMO.

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It is what it is.

I have to get a crown at the end of this month. Then I need to have another crown replaced as soon after that as I can stand. I told the dentist that the first crown, which is for a tooth that has a large filling already and now had another tiny cavity, would need to wait till after we finished the sale of our house, purchase of our new house, and the move. I just could not take anything else during that time.

I think they said they would cost $1250 each. We don't have dental insurance, so I get to pay out a lot of money on my teeth, just before the holidays. Ho, ho, ho.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

yeah, told my kids I'm officially old now, since I had a root canal done on a premolar earlier this year.

it's amazing how quickly an experienced endodontist can do the procedure - after prep it felt like it took only a few minutes to open the crown, evacuate the pulp and then place the temporary filling.

...yes, but endodontist charge more but the specialize in that.....all mine were done by endodontist....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

The speed can be nice if your root canal is uncomplicated. But the one molar I had done 6 years ago took two sessions. One of the roots had a bad hook at the end, and the endodontist could not finish cleaning it out in one session. The other roots weren't quite as bad, but still had issues that slowed down the procedure.

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N-OS X-tasy!

I've always gone HMO on my medical and PPO on my dental. While I've only had to see a doctor once in the last decade or so, I go to the dentist at least twice a year and want to have the best/most options at my disposal. I also find that the best dentists take PPO insurance but may not take HMO.

Good advice. Thanks.