I have a bad tooth that’s been bad for awhile.

Yesterday I couldn’t bite down on anything. The pain was so bad I thought my jaw was going to break. I don’t even know why I haven’t gone to get it fixed because I have dental insurance, I’ve had it for about three years now, maybe even longer.

I think it has a lot to do with a very bad experience I had years ago. I didn’t have health insurance then and was working as a waitress. I had been chewing gum one day that my kids had, Bubbalicious or something like that and a filling in my tooth that I had as a kid came out, after about a week my tooth hurt bad and the infection was so bad my face swelled. I could see my cheek, it was bad.

I didn’t have any money to spend I was working and going to college with three kids. I went to this place called Jefferson Dental. The dentist was so kind and wanted to drill my tooth that day to reduce the swelling then have me come back to fill it, the man helping with the financial side was not.

I told the lady at the front desk I couldn’t pay that day and asked if I could make payments. She was like ‘No,’ then she laughed really hard and said, ‘You have to pay for it, it’s not free.’ Then she handed me over to this man.

He gave me a form and said fill that out, I asked what it was for and he said it was dental credit. I gave the form back which was basically just my name and phone number, nothing else and he said I was denied. He then told me the cost for what they wanted to do was $1,300 and then spread his arms out and said, ‘So what are you going to do?’

I didn’t have that kind of money so I left.

I went to another dentist.

They were a little better. I knew that I was going to have a big check coming the next week which is what I told the previous dentist so they let me post date a check, but I couldn’t get the tooth filled I had to get it pulled. I remember one of the nurses saying, ‘I can’t believe the other dentist let you leave with all that swelling.’

The dentist was still kind of a dick, he talked down to me because I didn’t have health insurance. Then talked to me like he was talking to a child about how to brush your teeth and what candy and sodas do to your teeth. I think all just because I didn’t have health insurance so he didn’t think I was intelligent or something. I just couldn’t afford it for me at the time. The kids had it, I did not.

So it’s been a minute since I’ve been back to a dentist. One of my incisors cracked about three years ago, I went then, that dentist was alright but I thought it was weird that she said the lady at the front desk would schedule me for cleanings and those were covered by my insurance so I was all ready to make those appointments. The lady at the desk took what I owed for that appointment and said, ‘Ok have a good day.’ Then walked away from the desk.

The office was in the mall, it’s gone now. Maybe the front desk lady knew something that none of the rest of us did, who knows.

Any way, I’m going to get this one fixed tomorrow. Thank god.

That’s all for today. Everyone enjoy your Wednesday.