Girding myself for a visit to the dentist--and having to tackle the insurance industry




Edit: The insurance never received the paperwork. So now I'm not annoyed with them, but instead, with the vagaries of the US Postal Service. 

Always something.


I never used to worry or get nervous about going to the dentist. After all, I'd made it over 50 years with no cavities. Then, a tooth cracked deeply, it was during pandemic times, and I had to put off dealing with it-- and it had to be pulled (cue: nightmare scenario with not enough numbing). A year later, the same thing happened to the opposite tooth-- and I went to a different dentist, better experience, but one fraught with panic that necessitated not only special care but also mild sedatives. So, two teeth gone. In January, I underwent a full evaluation, and there are several pin-hole type cavities that must be dealt with before I end up with a really bad situation. What the hell???

Aging is not for the faint of heart. Or someone with little up-front cash. 

My new dentist does not accept insurance; you pay the bill, then submit the paperwork to your insurance for reimbursement. Which, on the surface, makes sense--he can afford to keep the business working well without having to deal with insurance issues in his office. But I have to, and it's a real pain. I submitted my paperwork immediately, and I have not heard a thing. So, I have to pony up the front money again today for a cleaning, and then start scheduling the cavity-filling work-- and the estimate is 3K. I do not have 3K to put toward this, so it'll have to be scheduled a little at a time-- and it's a race against time, if I want to avoid complications that will cost me either more money or teeth.

Ugh. 

Guess what I'll be doing today? Probably getting inordinately pissed at touch-tone mazes that are designed to defeat all but the most tenacious, likely getting disconnected, and having to start over at least once. 

Yes, we have insurance, and yes, they will pay for a goodly portion of this--IF I can get them to do so. 

What a great system we have.

I am now a very nervous, slightly angry dentist-goer, and that is sad. Don't even get me started on mammograms and the like.

Have a good day,

C

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