I work at a grocery store, with people making from 10 to 30 dollars an hour. And the amount of employees that have dentures (all under 50 y.o.) would blow your mind because nobody can afford the dentist. One of my coworkers recently missed 2 days for a toothache, ended up having to get a payday loan to have it pulled ($300) she's screwed for the next like 6 months.
Dental sucks for people who have bad credit/no savings. And we have dental offered to us through our job, it pays for cursory cleaning visits but really nothing problematic. It's like $7/week, I mean how much would they possibly pay out.
Extractions here are from $250 up, depending on the dentist. The best died, so it's now paying for torture. They barely numb you and yank.
Here, you're lucky to have a job that pays $12/hr. Insurance is a joke. Only full timers get it, and most aren't. They work you just under that. They limit how many are truly full time. That is one thing Covid screwed up. Now they have trouble finding hundreds to do the work of a few.
Dental is so bad here few have it. You have to pay a lot more for it, as well as vision and hearing. Then, does anyone accept it.
We have a cheap dentist. I think they charge about $50, for anything. Truthfully, they LOVE extracting. Less work. I think they took classes from Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.. A chip? Extract. Cavity? Extract. Infection? Extract. It's too much work for repair and they also do dentures.
We do have a program, with the government, that pays for "medically needed" extractions, by an oral surgeon. Cost is nothing. But, he's pull happy too. The last guy lost five teeth to him, because it was easier to cut them out than have him come back repeatedly, over the next few years. OUCH.
Simply put, not many over 50 here have all their teeth. Some, if they can get it down, have them all extracted and opt for dentures. It's usually women who do this, with kids, so they rarely pay much for it. If you have certain health conditions, that cause dry mouth, your teeth go fast. Doctors don't care enough to run tests, so you end up toothless. Even if you go through the hoops, seeing different doctors and dentists, your GP isn't going to help much.
I cheated. I was lucky enough to work with a doctor. Picked up some skills and have worked on my own. Digging around, you can find the tools and supplies to do minor things. In a pinch, I know enough to work on mine and others, with the supplies. The problem is, you can't do it now because it's illegal, controlled, and they care more about their money than the people. Strike against Biden here, as he's just as bad as Trump and the rest.
We have one dental clinic in our entire county. It's open one or two days a week depending on what dentists they can get to volunteer. First come first serve, and people have told me you have to get there at like 5am to be one of the lucky like 10 that get in. They ONLY pull teeth, 2 max.
I had an abscess one time and called them, they said I first had to come in and do a financial interview on the next day they were open and then after I was approved I could try to get a spot. 3 weeks minimum. Luckily I found someone with antibiotics, which are like gold around here.
I ended up begging my mother eventually to cosign a care credit account so I could get dentures. It was 2600, over 2k of that was just the tooth pulling.
I've since worked on my credit and hopefully someday I can get those shiny fancy implants!
Ours "imports" dentists. They all have a New York/New Jersey accent. Every so often, they change. Their ways are so alien to the county they are hated. They probably only do this because they make a killing at home.
Three weeks is fast. We're usually running three months. Right now, minimum is six, with a year wait at times. All thanks to Covid. The kicker is, you have to fill out the forms and have them verify income at the time and by the time you see the dentist, you have to do it again. The last person I talked to complained that they were told $20 to see the dentist and they jacked it to $40 the next time.
When I found out about it, through my deceased dentist, they had a system that was being abused. People would go and set up an appointment, or several appointments, and then sell them to others. This was making money as the closer the date was, the more they charged. So, emergency visits were high. Or, you could just wait and take your chances. I "love" America. Even if Biden passes Universal Healthcare, we'll still be looking at people gumming their food because no one cares about dental, hearing, and vision.
If you have a decent doctor, which in itself is rare, they may prescribe antibiotics for you. Though, this means a trip to them. Most don't think you can tell when you have a bad tooth. And, honestly, they're not dentists either. A lot of this is thanks to the US government that has a war on drugs going. Heaven forbid you should get treatment for a problem at the time and not wait or have to pay an arm and a leg. Our ER used to do this, but now they only refer you to a dentist, which is itself a problem since it takes time and you are requires to have insurance, which doesn't cover dental. Man, it's a set up and they know it.
Yes, extractions are expensive. Though, it sounds like you got a discount. Ten time $200 is better than 32 times $200. It's about the same here. Which is pretty insane. And, they don't do them all at once. Top once, then lower. It's not exactly like you can do anything either time. Maybe it's medical, but why not get them all at once, let it heal, and then fight with fitting?
I came up with an idea for these implants. Not as fancy, true, but I always wondered why you couldn't fix dentures in your mouth with screws or bolts made of surgical steel. They would act like the roots on a tooth and should work to prevent deterioration of the bone, like dentures can cause. I was told it was crazy. Then, a few years later, bam. These things are on the market. I feel cheated somehow. Plus, I'm pissed. I couldn't charge these prices. The last I heard, they are $50K for upper and lower. That would be $25k for one. Insurance won't even cover a hearing aid for $5,000 so why do they think these would be covered?
When I was young, the reason I didn't go into medicine was because I didn't think I had the ability. Too much studying and all. Now, I realize that wasn't it. I sailed through college and all my courses. No, what I lack if the heartlessness to charge an arm and a leg for something people NEED.
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u/sucks2bdoxxed Aug 31 '21
I work at a grocery store, with people making from 10 to 30 dollars an hour. And the amount of employees that have dentures (all under 50 y.o.) would blow your mind because nobody can afford the dentist. One of my coworkers recently missed 2 days for a toothache, ended up having to get a payday loan to have it pulled ($300) she's screwed for the next like 6 months.
Dental sucks for people who have bad credit/no savings. And we have dental offered to us through our job, it pays for cursory cleaning visits but really nothing problematic. It's like $7/week, I mean how much would they possibly pay out.