9.11.2006

Rotten Tooth Fairy


Rotten Tooth Fairy
Originally uploaded by I'm Fantastic.
The other day I found an abscess above a tooth I had had a really deep filling put in. Really, kinda gross I know. But, it was "kinda" expected. Crap. I thought, "Man, I am supposed to go on vacation in two weeks....how the hell am I going to afford a procedure like this?" My mother, bless her heart, had already paid for a large chunk of the cavities I needed filled. Before the past couple of months I hadn't been to the dentist in something like 6 years due to college and then health insurance. I have lousy teeth. I've had cavities all my life (and it's not all due to the fact I eat ice cream) as I ate very little sugar as a child. Damn having health care professionals as parents. So, I called into work today and went for an emergency vist with my most wonderful dentist Dr. Michelle over at Floss Dental Studio. I was right... the filling and the medicine hadn't taken and it was a root canal for me. Right then and there. Thankfully my dentist is uber talented and I felt nothing at all plus I got to watch Sex in the City while she was drilling away. Then came the worst part... the bill. Oh my god! I can't afford to be alive. And I'll pay for her services because normally I hate going to the dentist and anyone who can make me feel that calm when I'm in their chair deserves all the money this little girl can muster and I know that medical care in general is not a cheap thing. I am just so screwed. Between the root canal itself and post and crown... well, I won't give actual numbers but if anyone needs an egg or two I might just consider selling bits of myself for profit. Then came the worst ,because I can always pay in installments and my dentist can be flexible and tolerate her poorer customers, the prescriptions. I don't have insurance so I have to pay everything out of pocket and boy, if I ever get really sick I am screwed. I dropped $150 just for antibiotics and pain pills. I am so screwed. That's nearly my rent for the month to put it in some kind of perspective for all you going "that's not that much." Even though I am soon to be twenty-five years old I am still a baby in the world with a ways to go before I figure this whole "being a human" thing out. On the plus side, the pain pills she gave me knock me out like nothing else. I have never felt this whoozey in my entire life. It's like being aware that you're going to faint without actually fainting. Happy Birthday to me. This sucks.

1 comment:

Theresa said...

Man, that sucks. I can attest to not being able to afford dentist bills. Even with insurance, I've run out of money and still have more cavities to work on. I'll be paying monthly installments for the next two years. Feck!