Dr. Hall,
I have severe severe dental pain for at least seven months. Every tooth in my mouth is infected. All the roots are rotten. My insurance won’t cover it because it’s HMO unless I pay $50 a month for PPO. I have to find a good dentist that will be honest, do a good job and I want to be able to get a snap in because I don’t want to have to take them out to sleep or eat. I’ve lost 30 pounds in the last six months due to this problem, I can’t eat anything except for mashed potatoes, applesauce all kinds of soft food sometimes I can’t even do that and I have one tooth in the front that is severely sensitive.
– Florence (not her real name)
(See Dr. Hall’s answer below.)
We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.
Florence,
You’re in a tough spot. And if you’re not willing to pay the extra $50 a month for better insurance, I’m guessing you won’t want to pay thousands of dollars for a snap-on implant-supported denture.
So I don’t have a good answer for you. I’m guessing you’ll end up with having all your teeth extracted and a set of removable dentures. I’m not going to communicate directly with you for not wanting to hurt your feelings, and I’m not using your real name to keep you fully anonymous. But this is what you get when you aren’t willing to put money into quality dental care and you let things go for years. Basic dental maintenance isn’t that expensive. All cavities start small, and if they’re caught and fixed while they’re small they aren’t very expensive. Left to grow, they become big cavities, then infected teeth that require root canals and crowns, and finally, implant rehabilitation which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
I admit that I may not be accurate in this assessment because I don’t know about your history and personal circumstances. But in many cases extreme dental problems come after years of neglect and I thought your situation could be a helpful warning to people trying to cut corners on basic dental care.
– Dr. Hall
Do you have a comment or anything else to add? We’d love to hear from you. Enter your comment below. Or click here to ask Dr. Hall a question.
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
Leave a Reply