Feeling lonely and vaguely unhappy. Cheer me up?

[Left Is Write]

I just had a rather unsatisfactory consultation with the dentist who is supposed to be fixing up my son's teeth (he has several cavities in his upper teeth as well as a broken tooth that needs to be extracted, and he's only three). We were referred there by our regular pediatric dentist because Julian will need to be sedated for this work.

There were two options:

1. Take him to the hospital for sedation and have the work done by our regular pediatric dentist, whom we like and trust and feel comfortable with. Cost for the OR and sedation is $2500, not covered by insurance. This is in addition to the fee for the fillings and extraction.

2. Take him to this dentist we saw today, who can do sedation in his office. He is not a pediatric dentist. He wasn't particularly warm or friendly, and in fact almost seemed to be discouraging me from having the procedure done there. He kept mentioning that he's not a pediatric dentist like we're used to, though he did do his own children's teeth under sedation. I don't know. He wasn't unfriendly , I just didn't get the greatest vibe from him. The motivation for going was the price difference: in-office sedation is only $650-$700, compared to the $2500 to have it done at the hospital.

Getting the work done without sedation is not an option.

I made the appointment to have the work done, but now I'm reconsidering the idea of having our own dentist do the work at the hospital. It really needs to be done as soon as possible, and I hate being indecisive. I'm trying to decide if the $1800 difference is worth paying for my peace of mind or if I'm just being stupid. (If I'm being stupid, please don't put it in those words - I've berated myself enough today.)

My husband is in a meeting all afternoon, so I can't call him to talk about it right now, and I'm feeling a little lonely. Thanks for listening.

[Rainbowreflect]

1. Sorry to hear your feeling lonely & sad

How about a :hug:

[Left Is Write]

12. Thank you. I appreciate that.

[Redstone]

2. If this doesn't cheeer you up, nothing will:

Redstone

[Left Is Write]

13. That did make me laugh.

Thanks.

[bertha katzenengel]

3. Hey, Left.

I'm sorry. Sometimes stuff just sucks. I wish you comfort, and best wishes in making the decision. :hug: for you and :hug: for Julian.

As for cheering you up, I'm afraid don't have much to offer. How about this picture of Cocoa, photoshopped by DUer GregW? Maybe it'll be good for a smile.

[Left Is Write]

14. And that picture made me laugh too.

Thanks for the hugs.

[Bouncy Ball]

4. Well, how much of a hardship will the $2500 be?

You can't put a price on peace of mind, but will they let you pay it in installments?

My gut says your pediatric dentist at the hospital, but what does your gut say?

I know you'll be so happy when you have this behind you!

:hug:

[Left Is Write]

16. We could take it out of savings, but

yes, they would let us pay installments.

I'm not sure yet what my gut says. I think I need to sleep on it and talk it over with D.

[WI_DEM]

5. Are you able to work out a payment plan or do they want the $ upfront

If they can work out a payment plan which works for you, then go with the dentist your son knows and trust, imo.

[Left Is Write]

17. Yes, we could set up payments.

I've done that before both with the hospital and with our regular dentist.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. Is there anyway you could look for a different dentist to do the sedation

and dental work? Is this one man your only options due to insurance or geographical reasons? If not, you may want to look into a few others. It sounds to me like you didn't click with the man. Nothing wrong with that, I've felt the same way before but you won't be comfortable with him doing the work.

[Left Is Write]

18. It's possible. I'd have to call around and see if anyone else

does sedation in-office, but I do trust our regular dentist and her recommendation. I really didn't click with this guy. I've been thinking about it ever since I got home, and I think part of it was that I felt (how ever slightly or vaguely) that he thought I was to blame for the condition of my son's teeth. Maybe my perception is wrong, but I can't seem to shake it now.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

24. It won't hurt to check around.

If you don't find someone you click with you're just back where you started. :shrug:

[jswordy]

7. Here ya go...

I just cracked up a sales meeting with this joke!

The owner of a drugstore arrives at work to find a customer leaning heavily against a wall.

The owner goes inside and asks his clerk what's up.

"He wanted something for his cough, but I couldn't find the
cough syrup," she explains. "So I gave him a laxative and told him to take it all at once."

"Laxatives won't cure a cough, you idiot," the owner shouts
angrily.

"Sure it will," the clerk says, pointing at the man leaning on the wall. "Look at him. He's AFRAID to cough."

[Left Is Write]

19. Yeah, that's a pretty good one.

Thanks.

[Merlot]

8. From reading your post...

Option #2: If the dentist is resistant to doing the work, don't ask him to do it just to save money. He's discouraging you from having the proceedure done by him, but still taking the appointment from you. No wonder you're confused!

As for peace of mind...it may be worth it. I recently spent $2400 on ONE tooth. But the dentist that did it is topnotch and I trusted him. And BTW, I don't have insurance, so it all came out of my pocket. For me, it was worth it. At your sons age, messing up his mouth will affect his whole life. Do what feels best for you.

Follow your "vibe" and best of luck to you.

[Left Is Write]

20. I'm leaning that way.

I'll have to see what my husband says also, and maybe I'll feel differently after I sleep on it. I don't know.

[bigwillq]

9. First off, I think you need this

:hug:


Then I think you need to ask your son (even though he's three) as to which doctor he felt most comfortable with. I think he's old enough to make that decision.
Along with his decision as well as your own and your hubby's I think you will come to a decision that is best for all involved.

Please don't put the money situation as the major issue here. You will always make more money. You need to think about what is best for your son and if that means paying a little extra then that's what you need to do.


I am not a parent so don't take my advice as stone. I'm just trying to help.
Best of luck with this situation.

I'm sure you're a wonderful parent. Don't beat yourself up.:hug: :hi:

[Left Is Write]

21. Thanks, Will.

That helped.

[GardeningGal]

10. You might want to check with the pediatric dentist

and get his opinion. I'm not really sure what the difference is between a dentist and pediatric dentist as far as training is concerned. But since you sound like you have more confidence in the pediatric dentist, I'd ask for him to call you so you can discuss the pros and cons from his point of view.

[Left Is Write]

22. I think that's a good idea.

I was considering that earlier, that maybe I should call and talk it over with her.

[KitchenWitch]

11. Is there another sedation dentist in the area you can get a referral to?

I would ask your pediatric dentist for another referral, you need to be comfortable with the guy doing that kind of work.

I just switched my son's orthodontist because I did not like the whole practice. The office staff were rude, the orthodontist (who spent only 5 minutes per visit with my son) was not very personable, and the area where they actually put the braces on was like an assembly line. This asshole orthodontist is making money hand over fist and can't even spend more than 5 minutes with each patient on each visit.

[Left Is Write]

25. There's no other referral, but I could call around

to some other practices and see if they do sedation. I don't know if there are any.

[LiberalEsto]

15. Is there a dental school near you?

Sometimes they offer lower prices.

Another point -- if your son has never had sedation before, it might be better to do it at a hospital in case he has a reaction to the anesthesia.

[Left Is Write]

26. That's a good point, and one I hadn't thought of.

He has never been sedated before, no. Thank you for bringing that up.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. I'd go with peace of mind

But first, why don't you check with your regular dentist, and explain that the financial burden is a strain. Ask her/him if they can suggest any lower-cost options, and interview the prospective dentists.

Listen to your gut...It isn't stupid.

[Left Is Write]

27. Thank you.

I think I will give her a call and talk it over again.