An open letter to Paul Allen

Dear Mr. Allen --

I have a funny feeling you have dental phobia. There's no other explanation why such a brilliant and wealthy man should have such a dismal smile.


I'll be happy to go with you to the dentist. All you have to do is pay my dental bills for the next three years!

I'm not kidding.

Oy

You won't believe what's happening now...the perio specialist I talked to yesterday called me today. She looked at my x-rays (they're digital so can be emailed quickly) and said "yes, you have severe bone loss, but you have a lot of bone left, and we can probably work with you." We had set up an appt for Monday but she had to change it because of the holiday.

Here's the funny part: she's giving a presentation on her methods on Wednesday afternoon, and who is on her list to be in the audience? Dr B, my dentist! We laughed about this, and she said she would like to see me BEFORE her presentation, and she would like to take a couple of pictures of me (my teeth I guess) to SHOW at the presentation! is she going to humiliate Dr B? Should I cancel all my future appointments with him?? Can she really save my teeth? This is such an interesting turn of event...no answers yet but now it looks as though there's a chance I won't have to have everything pulled...and I'm jazzed about that! There are still a lot of issues -- a couple of lower teeth that are going to have to be pulled and replaced for sure, but maybe, just maybe, I can keep most of my uppers....stay tuned! The appt is for Wednesday morning July 5. I'll tell you more about her methods tomorrow.

Oops I did it again!

In my desperation, I was on the internet again today...it can be a dangerous thing, folks. I bet doctors and dentists hate people who self-diagnose using the web! But I do it all the time, and so far I'm still alive.

Anyway, so I found this website for a "Periodontal Therapist" who uses a Dental Endoscope, which is "an extremely tiny fiber optic camera that can go up to 14 mm beneath the gum line--a place where no dental professional has been able to see before." Now, I don't know if this can help me, given the advanced bone loss and so forth that I have, but her website gave me hope. I gave her a call, and she is going to see me on Monday! I told her I had an appt tomorrow for my first scaling and planing, and after discussing with her, I decided to postpone that appointment til after Monday. I also had my x-rays sent up to her.

I don't have a lot of hope, but she does mention Emdogain on her site, so maybe, just maybe, she's the person I'm looking for. She's not a dentist, so I would still need to retain Dr B, I guess, although he's actually a prosthodontist. The whole thing confuses me, all the different specialties. I remember when I first contacted Dr B's office, I asked if I needed a "regular" dentist as well, and the office said, "No, Dr. B would love to be your full care dentist." Hmm.

Thursday's appt

Well, my first actual "treatment" appointment is coming up on Thursday. I am already starting to panic. The dentist gave me a prescription for Valium - just two pills - and I need to get that filled. I'm supposed to take one the night before, and the other one hour before the appointment. This worries me becuase I don't have a ride home from the dentist and I'm afraid I'll be terribly high or something....can I take the bus home in that condition? Does anyone know? I never take drugs and have never had a Valium....

Anti-Dentite T-shirt

So I was reading about this guy who's trying to save his house by selling t-shirts and I thought, well, everyone else is making t-shirts, so why not me? Here's what I came up with . (It says Anti-Dentite.) It's based on that Seinfeld episode where Kramer accuses Jerry of being an anti-dentite.

If you can think of something better for a t-shirt, let me know!!! I was thinking along the lines of "I got all my teeth pulled and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" but who's gonna wear something like that???

Anyway, if you don't wanna buy it, at least click the link and then go to the CafePress marketplace and see if there's anything else you want. They have zillions of t-shirts and bumper stickers, and if you go there through my link, I'll still get a little tiny commission, and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped me out a little! And of course for that I would be eternally grateful.

the big question

So I'm still trying to find the answer to my question: if my upper teeth are sound (no new cavities, just a couple of existing fillings, which would need to be replaced), and I have extensive bone loss, and implants need bone, and there are bone graft or regeneration procedures, then why wouldn't I be a candidate for bone regeneration without removal of the natural teeth?

I know I'm missing something here. Anyway, I found this ask-a-dentist site, and posed my question there. I've bookmarked it and we'll see if there's any answer. The site is kinda interesting in any case - go to the FAQs section to see all the kinds of questions people are asking.

Today's Insult

Hmm...I'm thinking of renaming my blog "The Daily Insult"! (I'm just kidding!) Today the periodontist's office called and said there was no reason for me to even come in and see them, as they looked at my x-rays and concur with dentist #1, that there's too much bone loss, Emdogain wouldn't help me, there's no bone regeneration in my future. Sigh. Then I got the mail, and there was a bill from dentist #1 that said the insurance, in fact, did not pay for the photo shoot or the plaster cast, both items designed primarily to scare and freak out a patient. So insult number two, I will have to pay $170 for those two items. I'll itemize the bill for you later tonight or tomorrow.

Perio

Well, I screwed up my courage and called the periodontist. The person who answered the phone was discouraging - he said that Emdogain is "not for everyone" and "if you have extensive bone loss, it may not be for you."

Excuse my French, but this so pisses me off. Because when you look at their website, and at other websites that tout the miracle that is supposed to be Emdogain, they ALL imply that it's a viable alternative for anyone with any kind of bone loss. In fact, there are x-rays on a number of sites that show miraculous bone regeneration.

Really, the dishonesty and greed in the dental industry is a serious, serious problem.

So I persisted, and he finally set up an appointment. Late July was the earliest he could "fit me in". And what was the next thing out of his mouth? "Initial exams cost $170, and we ask that you take care of that at the beginning of the appointment." (He also said that Emdogain is very expensive, and can run $4000 for the treatment. I laughed and laughed, because that's pennies compared with what Dr Bryant is proposing.)

It's all about money, folks.

You'll recall I'm phobic.

I've been telling myself all last week that THIS week, I'll call that fab periodontist I found, and make an appointment. It'd be a sort of second-opinion-am-I-a-candidate-for-emdogain appointment. And here it is Monday evening and I haven't done it yet. You'll recall that I have a phobia. I hate dentists. BUT quite possibly I hate the idea of losing all my uppers even more. So damn it I'm going to call tomorrow!!!! I'll post how it goes. It's just a phone call, after all.....

Insurance

Well, I got a notice from the insurance company yesterday, and I'm trying to decipher it. It seems that the Oral/Facial Imaging charge of $25 is not covered, nor is the Diagnostic Cast at $185.00. This is at odds with what the dental office told me, and in fact they sent me a bill that included these two items listed as "paid by insurance". So I don't know if I now owe this $210 or not.

And I still haven't had a lick of treatment yet.

This bill is interesting, though, because it lists these things:

PLAN MAXIMUM: $1500
ORTHO MAXIMUM: 750
ORTHOGNATHIC MAXIMUM: 5000
TMJ MAXIMUM 500

Does anyone know what those things are? I mean, I know the plan max is the annual max for regular treatment of things like cleanings, fillings, etc. And the ortho I assume is braces? bridges? But what is orthognathic? Dictionary.com defines it as having a jaw that does not project forward. What in God's name does that mean? I'm sure I don't qualify, but maybe I could get my dentist to lie and say some of the work he's doing is orthognathic. Any chance???

Joke

i went looking for dentist jokes. A LOT of them center on dentists as greedy people who want your money. Here's an example:

Patient: "It must be tough spending all day with your hands in someone's mouth."
Dentist: "I just think of it as having my hands in their wallet."

You know what I say? If there's a stereotype of dentists, there has to be a germ of truth in it somewhere. If you're a dentist and you're reading this, I'd like to hear from you how you justify your prices. I don't want to hear the crap about how expensive the equipment is - we all have student loans we're trying to pay back.

the bill

Remember how I was complaining about how hard it is to get good information about dental costs? Well, my first bill came, and I'm going to give it to you straight - or as straight as the bill will allow me to.

Here's what I have so far (and remember, I have not had any actual treatment yet):

Examination (Initial) $ 85.00
FMX (Intraoral-complete series) 95.00 (that's X-rays)
Oral/Facial Photographic Images 25.00 (that's the dentist and his digital camera)
Casts-Diagnostic 185.00 (the molds he made to accompany his Power
Point slide show)
Face Bow 0.00 (I don't know what that is, but no charge)

TOTAL SO FAR $390.00

------------
I think the charge that chaps my hide is the $185.00 for the casts. He calls them diagnostic, but I think they're really mostly to scare you. I don't know if the insurance will cover them, but even if they do, that just means $185 it won't be able to pay for anything else (ie I'll have to pay). Remember, I have a $1500 per year max on my insurance plan.

Comments welcome, or heck, share YOUR outrageous dental bill.