Well, I got a new phone late last week after dropping mine in the goldfish container pond. What a hassle! None of my contacts (or photos, which hurts) were recoverable from the drowned phone, no matter what the nice young guy at the Verizon store tried. On the bright side, I was still able to trade it in for a good discount on the new phone. Gregg went ahead and traded his in for a new model, too. He'd been having charging issues for a while, so when I killed mine off it seemed like the logical time to replace them both. It seems like a luxury to have the very latest model of our phones. We're not given to buying stuff for ourselves just purely for enjoyment.
I had a dental appointment yesterday. I need a crown (and possibly a root canal) asap. I knew it was coming, but I still hate it. I had to put down a hefty deposit to book the initial appointment, which will be November 3 (if the tooth doesn't fall apart before then). It had a huge filling from long ago that got decay underneath, and while it doesn't hurt, apparently it's pretty fragile. Sigh. I've had so much dental work, and it never seems to last long term, no matter what. The woman cleaning my teeth made me feel so much worse when she informed me that even zero sugar sodas (the only kind I drink) have citric acid that wears away tooth enamel and contributes to cavities and decay. Sugar, of course, is a non-starter. And then it was with the high-fluoride toothpastes...and mouth rinses...and always rinsing/brushing after every soda or coffee... and on and on and on. It was so discouraging when I'm already upset about the uncomfortable work to come plus an $800 out of pocket expense after my dental insurance pays. I hate the dentist and I hate their bills even more.
Work has been super busy. Our annual fall festival and costume parade is coming up next week, and that means loads of money coming in for tickets, requisitions to pay for all the supplies and vendors, contacting payroll to arrange for overtime for custodians, arranging for transportation for the high school bands and cheerleaders that lead the parade, plus all my other regular duties. This first week back from fall break has been hectic and I'm already tired.
Thankfully, today's Friday and I have the weekend to look forward to.
16 comments:
There are so few hygienists who can walk the line between letting you know in an encouraging way how to best take care of your teeth and totally humiliating you with a scolding when you're already feeling bad. I've had one great one so I know it can be done, and let's just say I'm training my current hygienist to treat me with the dignity I deserve as an adult human being. Hold on, get the work done, it'll get better!
Oh Jennifer, so sorry about the cost of your dental work. I abhor going to the dentist. I have a lot of crowns myself. My brother has none, and he was the one who never brushed his teeth. Your fall festival reminds me of when I taught at an elementary school and of all the money collected. I always felt sorry for the bookkeeper.
I once had a horrible dentist and I stopped going. In Camden we found a new one and I needed a wisdom tooth removed and he was so great that I started back regularly.
I have no problem with dentists. Google will let you save a ton of pictures before they start charging you for storage. Microsoft does the same thing. Everything is safe in the cloud.
And this is why so many people go to Mexico to get dental work done. There are entire towns dedicated to dental-work tourism. I doubt that's the correct phrase. But often, even with the cost of flights, rooms, and meals, the dental work comes out to be cheaper if there is a lot that needs doing. And it is not second rate work, either.
Of course this is not the answer to your current situation but it does make one wonder how Mexico can provide such lower cost, quality dental work when we here in the US can't.
Mainly I just wish you weren't facing this.
Oh dear! Everything "dental" is so time- and money-consuming, as well as being unpleasant if not painful. Sorry to hear that you have to go through all this on top of a super-busy time at work.
What Ms. Moon says about Mexico is similar here in Europe with Turkey and other Eastern countries; many people go there for anything to do with their teeth or eyes. Especially of Turkey it is said that they have a very high medical standard and are organised much more efficiently than what has been the norm in Germany for the last 20 years or so.
Well done on the new phones! They are not just luxury or "fun" items anymore; nowadays there is so much we need a smartphone for. I would find it very hard to do all my train trips without!
I meant to ask a while ago: Have you heard of not-so-little P. and his Mum recently?
When it rains, it pours! Sorry to hear that you have the new phones and now dental work costs all at the same time. Hope the Fall festival goes well and is over soon so things in your office can calm down a bit.
I just sent his Mum a text the other day! She said that they're doing well and she'll call me soon to catch up. P. continues to do very well in school and he's very busy with sports and other after-school activities.
She was actually pretty nice, but overloading me with information about caring for my teeth which I'd never heard before. I brush twice a day, and floss at night, and even rinse with a fluoride rinse after flossing, but apparently that's not enough to make all this extensive dental work last. I just felt like giving up.☹️
I've had lots of crowns and root canals and no matter how hard I try to take care of my teeth, it never seems to be good enough. When I went in to work (late) after this dental visit, I walked in to my office and found a huge pile of payments and field trip forms and work order requests and I nearly cried. I was already feeling overwhelmed!
I also had a flu shot and Covid vaccine early in the week and it's all contributed to feeling "off" for the last few days.
Spending money on dental work is expensive, yes, but you'll be glad to have actual teeth and not dentures in old age. I have one friend in her 70s right now going through hell with dentures. All she can eat is soup.
My grandfather was my first dentist and because of that, I can be quite assertive (in a nice way) with my hygienist and my dentist. You are doing everything you should and their suggestions are ridiculous! Teeth get older and fall apart, fillings fail, stuff happens to our teeth--and not all of it is preventable. My 2 cents!
Hello Jennifer,
We can definitely sympathise with you over dental treatment but, at least here our dentist [and friend] is charmingly professional and efficient. It makes all the difference how they give you the bad news rather than just listing a catalogue of disasters.
Dental tourism is big business in Budapest these days and, on our infrequent visits to England, we can see why. The prices are much reduced and the quality of the work very much superior. So, if you fancy a dental holiday [do these two words even go together?] then Budapest should be your destination! Good luck.
So sorry for the dental news. For some people it doesn’t even matter if they do everything right for their teeth, they still have problems. I’m glad you’re at least not in any pain.
That's a drag about your tooth. I have a similar relationship with my hygienist. She's always pointing out things I'm doing wrong or could do better and now I have a chip on my shoulder before I even get in to see her! I know it's her job but I've never felt like this about a hygienist before. LOL
I also have some old fillings that are teetering on the brink of failure. Ugh!
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