Since losing my job in November 2009 Melinda, me and the kids haven’t had health or dental insurance and have been pretty lucky so far. Recently we were able to get the kids dental and medical insurance but Melinda and I are still without. Being a contractor is good in some ways but bad in others like no heath insurance benefits.
One day last week one of my teeth started bothering me to the point where every time I ate or drank hot or cold liquids a shooting pain went from my tooth to my head. It became so bad a few times I almost blacked out from the pain so finally yesterday I had all I could take and went to the dentist. I was hoping all it would be was a cavity and need a filling but in the back of my head something told me this was going to be a major deal and I was right. After an x-ray and exam my worst fear came true. I need a root canal. Part of my fear is the root canal itself and the other is the financial damage this root canal is going to cause. The total cost of this root canal is $1,050 and I was in total shock when he told me that. This is the first time in my life that I have been without insurance so I have never seen numbers that large when going to the dentist. The crappy thing is I am sort of in a real pickle because I need to get the tooth fixed but on the other hand I don’t have the $1,025.
I am considering having the tooth pulled because it is 3 from the back and not visible but I am reading horror stories about the pain and nasty after effects a pulled tooth causes. It also would only cost about $300 to have it pulled which is huge price difference from a root canal.
So I am not sure what to do. I did have the dentist alleviate the pain by drilling a hole in the tooth and digging out the nerve so now I can drink with no pain and can eat using the right side of my mouth. I am scheduled to go back this Monday to either have the root canal finished or have the tooth pulled. I really don’t know what to do but I need to figure it out over the next 5 days. Having no health or dental insurance sucks!
