I know I need to go to the Dentist, but I am a poor college student, so I need to figure out what to do now. It has actually bothered me a couple times the last couple days, and after I eat some things the last few weeks. This morning I woke up and it felt, well, different. Not so much blindingly painful, but electric and hollow.
I put in for a loan for a root canal but don’t know if I will qualify or not. So I wonder if I should put off the procedure as much as possible (eventually the pain will go away), and hope the dentist can still do a root canal this summer or at the very latest, next year when I graduate and get a full time job with benefits.
I hope this thread isn’t against the rules. I sort of want advice, but it is more of a financial advice. But if it crosses the line, I apologize to the mods.
Medically (dentally?), I don’t have any idea how long I can put something like this off. Financially, if it is a dire emergency (other than pain) I could go begging to a friend or my parents and see if they can loan me money. I can pay it back slowly, but 2000+ dollars is beyond my ability to pay all at once.
The place I go to is called prodental, and they don’t have a “billing” system, other than you either have insurance, you pay cash, or you apply for a loan. I could try elsewhere, but I don’t know if Dental offices like to be called and ask if they do “loanless” billing. What do you think?
Ibuprofen helps a little, but I have to take so much of it. The bottle says don’t take more than 6 a day, but if the pain gets worse, 6 a day may not work so well.
There is one in Kansas City, but I’ve tried getting in there before (just for cleaning and check up though) and it is generally pretty hard to get in. I guess I could try and apply, since it is a procedure that would be beneficial to students.
All the stuff they do is beneficial to students. They might have a shorter wait time for problem teeth.
My son is uninsured, and I googled “dental clinics” for him in Chicago and found a shitload of 'em. You might want to try that. They will bill based on ability to pay. Worth a look.
I had a “3 week” wait time at a school of dentistry I tried to get into last year (poor college student at the time). Well, my tooth just couldn’t wait. I worked the numbers, and it was cheaper to take a road-trip with some friends to the next state over and go to one of their dental schools rather than go to a real dentist.
IMHO, waiting can only make it worse, and costlier. For example, the infection could not only get worse, but could spread to other parts of the body. Heart valves have been said to be especially prone to such infection. You think the dentist is costly and inconvenient, try open heart surgery.
IANAD, just basing this on family history and experiences.
what mls said. the longer you put it off, chances are good the worse it will get. and so will the price of doing business.
i have a high pain threshold in my mouth and really didn’t realize how bad a particular tooth had become. what started out as a root canal went bad and today i am the proud posessor of my very own implant. looks just like my other teeth but at nearly 4 times the cost.
I’m going to call them in the morning and set up an appointment. Hopefully I can get in as an emergency and get an antibiotic and some pain meds until I can get my root canal. IIRC, you have to wait until the infection goes away to operate anyway, right?