I have a friend at work who, although only in her mid-40s, has terrible, terrible teeth. They are all broken off, many of them down into the gums, and she has frequent infections. (It sounds like a genetic issue as her mom got dentures in her mid-20s and my friends problems started in her 20s as well.) She and her husband don’t have the money to pay upfront but also make too much to qualify for the programs that would help them pay for it. She is uninsured and with no children at home, doesn’t qualify for much help with health care. The one dentist in the area that provides a payment program asked for $3000 down and around 5000 total. She will need surgery to remove the broken teeth.
She’s horribly embarrassed and has asked if I have any ideas. I made some suggestions about who she might call…local agencies, churches, volunteers in medicine, nearby dental schools, etc.
But…then what? I don’t think she will find the help she needs from the agencies I can think of. I could try to set up a crowdfunding thing but I really don’t know how that works so would need to do some research.
Any ideas?
A dental school in the area may help her out with the procedures. They can probably get her the denture itself for a reasonable price.
A friend’s husband is in this very same position due in large part to a car accident years ago where his face was smashed up and he lost or broke many teeth. We just talked about it today. Apparently the dental school in Ann Arbor MI has several programs providing very low-cost dental care, including tooth removal and dentures and they’re pursuing this option.
There aren’t that many dental schools in the US, possibly only one in her state. But it’s certainly worth further investigation. My BIL is a dentist and he was begging family members to come be patients so he could practice on them.
I’d also suggest checking out Obamacare. She sounds like she may be in one of those income brackets who might benefit from insurance.
I checked the local dental school online info…it looks like they offer only very limited services, but she will call them anyway. If nothing else maybe they can offer more ideas.
PunditLisa, does he still need patients? Because she would probably make the drive! She does need surgical extraction, though…I think that’s what is driving the cost up so much.
No, it’s been lots of years since he was a patient.
Even if she has to travel out of state to a dental school it’s worth investigating, the cost of travel may not be as much as the costs she is currently facing. It can all be done in one day, though it’s easier if a dentist works out the measurements for the denture and it is constructed ahead of time. She’ll need it when the extractions are done.
As mentioned, check out dental schools. In some states, there are dental charities that do work for free. For example, in our community, the free medical clinic also does free dental work for the uninsured. Other dental charities, like Mission of Mercy, have a number of practitioners gathered at a large venue (like the state fairgrounds) to give free dental care to people who show up and wait in line.
I’ve contributed to other people’s “help me pay for the extensive dentistry I need” campaigns on GoFundMe. Does she, or you have enough of a social network to make that viable? Or do you think she’d find it too embarrassing?
For whatever it’s worth, I’d kick in $10.
Oh, I will have her call the local Public Health Nursing clinic–good thought. I will look at out-of-state dental schools too…we live in mid/southern Indiana so there are a few states that are within reasonable driving distance.
If discounted care doesn’t work out, consider financing separate from the dentist. Many dentists don’t offer payment plans themselves, but do take credit cards. Maybe look into one with a temporary promotional interest rate? I do recall signing up for CareCredit a few years back when I couldn’t afford a huge dentist bill all at once. I didn’t pay interest – just checked, and up to 24 months are interest-free (you do have to pay a significant minimum amount).
Dental insurance basically covers nothing so it’s not an uncommon problem to secure credit to pay for it.
That is so kind! I’ve brought it up and right now she is too embarrassed to ask for help. I think if she runs out of options she may consider it though…we could definitely make a dent in the proposed bill with our various networks of friends and family, I think.
We talked about Care Credit but her credit rating is very poor and she apparently was not approved for a line of credit. They don’t have much so borrowing with collateral isn’t an option either. 