(Isabel & Anthony waiting in the waiting room to get called back)
I am such a slack Mom! We have been in the military with dental insurance for 2 years now, but have never gone to the dentist. I was always to lazy to just call and set up the appointments. Actually I was scared to go to any of the dentist around here. I mean come on we are in the arm pit of TX...Del Rio. But as I talked to Anthony's physical therapist there actually is a really good dentist here, Dr. Cadena. Anyways, I finally set up an appointment for me and the kids. I had went a couple weeks ago for the first time in like 5 years. I knew I had some serious problems. One of my fillings had fallen out of my mollar and then the tooth chipped. The dentist said I needed to get a root canal done on that tooth. He also wants to pull my wisdom teeth out since they all have cavaties on them. He figured it would just be best to go ahead and pull them instead of filling the cavaties. Thats not all, I still have 3 cavaties on other teeth too. I'm pretty sure there is probably more that they didn't catch, because they couldn't take x-rays since I am pregnant. This is just what they saw off hand.
So on to the kids. I took them yesterday for their appointments. They have a pediatric dentist who comes in the office a couple days out of the month from San Antonio to see the kids around here. He was really awesome. I loved him. He was so goofy and kid friendly. He had Isabel laughing the whole time. It is sad that we are leaving so soon. All of this work that needs to be done will have to be by another dentist somewhere else. Well, Isabel was really excited about going to the dentist. For a month she has been going around the house bugging me on her famous question...when are we going to the dentist to get my teeth fixed? Isabel has serious problems like me. Her 2 front teeth has a bad cavaity and then finally the tooth just decayed away. Now there is a big gap between her 2 front teeth. Its gross. Well, as Isabel went back and sat in the dentist's special chair she was grining from ear to ear. She just loved the dentist. She was such a trooper. They took x-rays of her teeth, examined her, and cleaned them. Afterwards she got a bag full of goodies and a sticker. The dentist said that she needs to get 2 baby crowns put on her 2 front teeth, and then has 3 more cavaties to be filled on top of that. She also has a huge over bite from her sucking her finger so much. If she doesn't stop by when she is 5 they recomend getting this thing to go in her mouth that stops her from sucking it. Hopefully I can break her from this nasty habbit before then.
As for Anthony he absolutely hated the dentist. Dad took him back as I waited with Isabel in the waiting room. Even though I wasn't back there I could still hear him screaming his head off. I felt bad. When I asked Dad what all the dentist did. He said nothing...he just looked inside of his mouth and that was it. No cleaning, No x-rays, No nothing. Anthony didn't like being in the new surroundings I guess. The dentist had a hard time even to get Anthony to open his mouth. But Anthony is the only one who is in the clear. No problems for him. He is right on target. He also got a bag of goodies and sticker as well.By the way....for you military people...since I have never delt with military dental insurance before, what all do they cover? I know they cover 100% of fillings(the silver ones), x-rays & cleanings. But what about the root canal, wisdom teeth being pulled and the baby crowns? What kind of percentage do they cover for those? I know these procedures can be quite pricey. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of $ I'm going to have to be dealing with her in the next couple of months.
5 comments:
Just to give you another heads up, silver (Amalgam) fillings are good, but they eventually make your breath stink and have been proven to cause back problems from the metal in them. Composite (white) fillings are the best way to go, and they're not that much more expensive. I think it would be worth it. Natalie
Hey Liz Ann! Natalie is right. But when it comes to baby teeth, I would go ahead and just get the amalgam (silver). The baby teeth will fall out anyway. But with composite, they don't have to drill as much on the actual tooth. But of course, go with whatever your Dr. says. I use to be a dental assistant, and then I was an office manager, so I love giving my opinion on these kinds of things! When it comes to the cost...what you need to do is call United Concordia, and speak to a representative...it will take you through this automated system, but if you just say "representative" out loud, you will be transferred to speak to someone real! Then they will ask for your rank, and they will tell you what is covered. It will probably be something like 50/50 on root canals, or 80/20...you pay 20% of the cost, and the ins. pays 80%. If you want to call me, don't hesitate to do so!! It's easier to explain it that way. :)
I went to Dr. Cadena too when I was there and I really liked him. I had to get a crown which sucked but it wasn't too bad. I trust him. For the crown I had to pay about $250-300 out of pocket, I can't remember the price for sure. If you get the white fillings you pay I think 20%, but I think its worth it on adults because it looks nicer. Poor little Isabel! That is great she is such a trooper though! Good luck with it all!
I'm glad you got some answers bc i don't know. But, hey, super glad you finally went. I take all my kids to the dentist, but I haven't went in a year and a half. I know I need some work, but keep procrastinating. I guess that sounds pretty pathetic coming from someone who is going to school to be a dental hygienist, huh?! One day. One day.
I LOVED Dr. Cadena. If I could have moved him with me, I would have. He even took care of my girls while we were there - the Ped. dentist was just starting there when we left. Anyway, I agree with what everyone has said. The white fillings look better and I think last a tiny bit longer. Also, you will have to have all of your fillings replaced at some point, at least once in your life. They are not good forever. That it soo bad about Isabel - they will probably have to sedate her and that's no fun. They can do dental work at different points during pregnancy, but you're too close to the end. Sorry about that! I "think" for non-amalgum (sp?) fillings you have to pay 40% of the cost, if I remember right. I didn't kow that the amalgum ones are 100% covered. That is definitely the way to go with baby teeth that will fall out anyway - except those front two. You may want them to be natural looking. Anyway, good luck with all of that!!
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