Dentist Update.

On Tuesday, I finally had the dreaded dentist appointment. While I'm glad I went (no more bad breath or icky plaque on my teeth), I also now have a whole bunch of dental expenses I will need to foot the bill for. I outlined my lack of dental insurance in this post in case anyone needs a refresher.

I found out that I have eight cavities, and she also recommended I have my wisdom teeth out. Now--I was really disheartened because 1) I have never had ANY cavities in my entire life until now, and 2) well...all this is going to be mega bucks! I am sure that had I gone to the dentist at all during the 2 year lapse, I could have prevented some of this.

Anyways...I feel good because I paid for the exam and cleaning in cash. It was $139. They let me decline the x-rays for now--I just had to sign a waiver that I couldn't sue for malpractice if they missed anything in my mouth not visible without them. Next month, I am having one of the cavities filled, and getting one type of x-rays done. The total cost for both procedures will be $190. I will be able to pay cash, again, if I am very frugal.

So basically--the game plan is to cash flow one cavity filling each month until they're all filled. My dentist said that it would take 6 months or more to them to get to the point of needing root canals (which would be close to $1,000 instead of $140 for a filling) so in the meantime I'm going to be super meticulous about my oral hygiene. Plus, in the summer when I'm working I could probably cash flow 2 per month. After talking to several people about my wisdom teeth, I have decided to wait until they are bothering me. Right now, they aren't. They aren't impacting other teeth and I have room in my mouth for them. They're just a nuisance for decay and stuff. Hopefully, I can put it off until after January 2010 when I'll have dental (next year I'm definitely making sure all the paperwork is done correctly!).

A definite bonus to my working toward debt freedom is that I will have the money to deal with this a little at a time. If I still owed other bills it wouldn't be possible. I'm glad I can save my teeth and not be in debt forever to my dentist! I was panicked at first, but I'm over it now. It's going to be fine. =)