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Finding Good Dental Care
Muse Among Men
Suburban Bunny Princess?Its time for a new shtick Registered User regular
Suburban Bunny Princess?Its time for a new shtick Registered User regular
Currently my dental and orthodontic care is covered by the state of California. While I can apply for Medi-Cal soon (which may or maynot cover dental) I'm more concerned with how to go about finding a good dentist. And maybe orthodontist. Perhaps you remember when I made a thread about getting braces put in two years ago? Well, I am nearing the end of treatment and well . . . my teeth are straight but my bite is messed up now, I've a large gap in my molars that I highly doubt will be corrected by the end of treatment this year (ortho decided to pull a molar a few months before the end of treatment), and my gums are in terrible shape. They just reacted very badly to the pressure exerted by the braces since my jaw is so small and I've been battling myriad ailments. Sometimes my gums are sore and puffy, sometimes they are receding, sometimes they are trying to absorb my braces (it is as horrifying as it sounds). There hasn't been much my dentist can do to 'permanently' fix the problem, my gums just dont respond to the pressure well and it wont stop until the braces are removed. I like my dentist but should I be looking into a specialist? I don't know what shape my gums will be in after the braces are removed, my dentist's assurances that they will improve don't assuage my fears very much. I'm particularly worried about my gums possibly receding.
And then: I'm going to need more braces. The few months I have left of state-funded treatment are not going to fix my bite or the gap. My ortho has said as much so now we will have to pay to get it fixed. I'm willing to stay long enough to get the gap closed but I don't think I want to stay with this orthodontist for anything else. As good a job he did with straightening my teeth I'm not at all happy about developing a crossbite during treatment. Fixing the crossbite means moving my teeth more so they can align properly. I'm tired of braces, I've had more health troubles from then than should have occurred, and I'm on 20 now. If I have to pay to get my teeth the way I like them I'd rather pay good money for a better experience. Invisalign preferably. And if that isn't an option I'll just settle for a crooked smile because I don't want to pay (a lot of) money for a painful, lengthy, and publicly visible cosmetic procedure when it should have worked out the first time.
How do you find dental/orthodontic providers that you like? We've never had much choice because the state covered us, so we went wherever the state said I could go, even when it meant a bad experience.
And then: I'm going to need more braces. The few months I have left of state-funded treatment are not going to fix my bite or the gap. My ortho has said as much so now we will have to pay to get it fixed. I'm willing to stay long enough to get the gap closed but I don't think I want to stay with this orthodontist for anything else. As good a job he did with straightening my teeth I'm not at all happy about developing a crossbite during treatment. Fixing the crossbite means moving my teeth more so they can align properly. I'm tired of braces, I've had more health troubles from then than should have occurred, and I'm on 20 now. If I have to pay to get my teeth the way I like them I'd rather pay good money for a better experience. Invisalign preferably. And if that isn't an option I'll just settle for a crooked smile because I don't want to pay (a lot of) money for a painful, lengthy, and publicly visible cosmetic procedure when it should have worked out the first time.
How do you find dental/orthodontic providers that you like? We've never had much choice because the state covered us, so we went wherever the state said I could go, even when it meant a bad experience.
Muse Among Men on
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Or save some money up.
Ask questions, a good one to ask is about their billing policies - do they charge up front and expect you to get reimbursed, or will they bill you an estimated ammount, or will they bill you after the insurance is processed? Do they file the claim for you to your insurance or do you have to file it yourself?
I'll look into Angie's list and gear up to really find someone new as we see how my treatment with my current ortho will end. I will probably have to pay out of pocket, and while 5k is quite a chunk of change I'm hoping I can whittle down the price since most of the heavy lifting has been done, I'd hope I wouldn't need another 2 years of orthodontics.
This really depends. I signed up for AL specifically to try to find a dentist and it was utterly useless. I live in the SF Bay Area, which is not small.