Petunia rambles on and on….

Ok, guys, here it goes.   A nice tell-all.

Went in for the first appointment to start the process rolling to fix my teeth; removal of the remaining teeth on the bottom and replacing them with a full lower denture.   I should have married a richer man.   Much richer.  Preliminary x-rays, consult, etc, about $400.  Lower denture is $1450, post-insertion temporary fittings will be $85 each and it’s not known yet how many of them I’ll need, final permanent reline 6-9 months out, $400.  

Oral surgeon charges will probably be around $1500-1800 to get the natural teeth out.  This figure could go higher if any complications arise, and that’s unknown until the procedure takes place.

That’s $4200 so far. 

Lower dentures are a pain in the ass to keep in place.  Everybody knows that.  Since the beginning of artificial teeth, this has been the case.   George Washington knew this, I’m sure, way back when.  An upper denture is partially held in by the suction created by the “roof” of the plate.  Not so the lowers, that sit there like a horseshoe.   Up until recently, all that’s been available is what my husband calls “tooth glue,” some sort of sticky preparation made to temporarily hold the denture in place.  These products are specifically designed to gather sesame seeds underneath and to “lose their grip” at the worst social moment possible.  Like the car that falls apart the day after the warranty expires, tooth glue gives out when you’re biting into an expensive steak in a fancy restaurant OR just as you stand up to give a speech in front of 250 people.  Ooops, teeth on the floor. 

So they’ve finally come up with something better.  Dental implants.    Pardon?   Explain please, sir, what this means in relation to my needs?   After lengthy explanations, and web surfing, these are essentially titanium anchor pilings placed level into the root socket when teeth come out. The titanium bonds with the natural bone tissue in the jaw.  They fill the opening where a root came out.  In short order, they fuse with the bone.  Then wee bumps are put on them, look very much like the ball hitch on the back of a truck.  A receiver is put inside the lower denture, which will then snap on and be held firmly in place.  It all makes sense!   What a great idea.  Secure teeth, secure when talking, laughing or biting into an apple.  Great Idea!!!   

The doctor recommends two of them be implanted, preferably at the time the natural teeth are taken out.  (Years ago, they recommended many more implants be done to secure a lower denture, at much greater expense, but it’s been proven that, unless you intend to hang by your teeth from a high wire, more are unnecessary.  If all you figure to do with these new teeth is smile and eat, two implants are sufficient.  Being terrified of heights, I think there’s little chance of me running off and joining a high wire act at the circus)  Doing it all at once reduces cost, because there would only be one anesthesia charge, one surgical procedure.   This also reduces time out of work, times I would need a driver to carry my sorry, wobbly ass home.  Less time that my husband might have to miss from work due to scheduling issues.

In some cases, implants are an “extra,” an “indulgence.”  They add an extra level of stability and security, but we all know many folks that have gone for years with a full lower denture without such a high-tech solution.  Uh, we also know lots of folks whose lower denture spends more time out of their mouth than in!   (I had this old aunt whose teeth were always handy, right there in her purse,   As far as I know, she only actually wore them for weddings, funerals, Christmas and Easter mass)  The doctor gave me a thorough exam, a weird sensation, latex gloves “feeling up” every part of the inside of my mouth.  He was checking for bone mass.  Combining what he determined from his physical exam and what showed on a series of x-rays, there’s not a lot of bone mass there, and it’s critically needed for a denture to remain in place.  Part of this is because of my general small stature.  I have very narrow wrists and ankles, small face and jaw structure, naturally wee bones all over.  Additionally, the back of the jaw is worse.  I had molars pulled many years ago.  In those areas where bone is no longer needed to support existing teeth, the bone mass greatly reduces over time.   SO…   the front is minimal, and the back is less.    This is a great indication that a lower denture is not going to be stable because it has little there to ride on.  In cases like this, it is critical that the patient have these implants inserted.

2 implants/anchors needed.   EACH is $1500, each “receiver bump” is $450.  We’re talking another $3900 to hold everything in place.   And NO insurance will cover the charge.  They deem this to be a “convenience” or “cosmetic” procedure, rather than a medically necessary one.

AND the real kicker is —–   Ta Da ——-   Drum roll here!!    

All of our medical/dental/prescription coverage is through my husband’s employer.  We all know that medical costs have risen astronomically and that this is a crippling fact to all employers.  (I’ll give the cheap bastards that)   For dental coverage, we were given two choices.  One was “In-Network” where you select a dentist and all work must be done by a practitioner that has agreed to accept this insurer and their fee schedule payments for all services.  The patient pays minimum co-pays and payments are made up to the $1000 cap.   I did a lot of searching on the company’s website and found NO dentists in the local area that accepted this insurance/fee schedule. NONE!!  NOT ONE!!!!   Actually, there are three listed right here in town, but a check of the local current telephone directory shows that they no longer have offices here (they are 50 miles away now).  Another with a local address practices Orthodontics, but braces aren’t going to help my teeth, a few offices an hour away north of here that took the insurance BUT ARE NOT ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS.   That’s all that are part of this plan in the whole damn state.   I called the insurance company’s toll-free number, hoping I was just too stupid to properly get through their website and after providing all the numbers on my insurance card, I was treated like I must be a lunatic.  First, I was refered to the office right here and had to explain that those “local” ones had skipped town and their website needing some updating.  Then I was told to go to the next closest, a provider listed as only 23.55 miles away, not an unreasonable distance to be expected to travel, she said.    In Bridgeton, NJ.     HUH?????   I’m the lunatic?   ME?  I asked the woman if she’d ever looked at a map of New Jersey.   

I know where Bridgeton, New Jersey is.  It’s in south Jersey.  (It’s been there for years!)  And yeah, as the crow flies, across the damn Delaware Bay, it may only be 23 miles to Bridgeton.  But I’m not traveling by crow and my stupid Ford doesn’t FLY!!!!!    And when I drive north, up to the Delaware Memorial Bridge (the other method of getting to New Jersey) and then back down again to Bridgeton, the journey is almost 2 hours, one way.  I thinking this is fucking outrageous to expect people to travel that far for a filling – or in my case, to begin a process that will involve  COUNTLESS trips in for fittings and adjustments.  What the hell good is this insurance if no respectable practitioner is willing to take it?

Our other Dental Option was a “No Network” plan, which is what we chose.  I can go to any practitioner who is properly licensed; I can go to any local doctor to minimize my time away from work and the distances I would have to travel.  The insurance company says it will pay a percentage of the “reasonable” cost of the procedures.  I’m led to believe that this is ALWAYS just a fraction of what any doctor charges.   (They will decide that these procedures are really only worth about $78, and I’ll get 50% of that)  AND I have a $1000 per year cap on expenses.  In all likelihood, I will not even get the thousand dollars out of them.  From what I’ve heard, I’ll be lucky if I get $500 re-imbursed.  For in the neighborhood of $8K of charges.

WTF?????

All this was thrown at me just recently, so I’m still a bit overwhelmed by it all.  The horrendous costs to get this done properly, as recommended by a doctor who’s been practicing here for 25+ years, are staggering.  I actually looked the doctor straight in the eye and said, “While I respectfully agree with all you’ve said, and with your assessment of the situation and my needs, none of that information will cause my insurer to come up with more money, or increase the balance of my savings account.”

Sadly, another aspect of The Great American Way.   The Rich get good medical/dental care as needed, and those that aren’t rich only get what they can afford.

And I’m wondering how long I can live on coffee and oatmeal.

Here’s what’s kept my hands busy for a few evenings.

Pictured on the pumpkin on the porch.

Made with a skein of Noro Kureyon in Color 50, purples and blues and a bit of pink and green, with Cascade 220 in black to bring up the jewel tones. This is not blocked yet, but I had to take advantage of having sunlight at a time when I wasn’t working!!   With the time change, that may only be available to me on weekends from now until next March!!

The pattern is the Fake Isle Hat from Spunky Eclectic.  It was worked on US size 7, 16″ circular needle and finished up with size 7 DPNs.  I was originally taught and raised as a Continental knitter, but this summer I spent time with my friend, Freda, who is a native of Britain.  I watched her hands closely as we sat and knitted together; watched how she held her yarn and moved her hands, watched the speed with which she worked.  It’s taken me some practice to get even a small bit comfortable holding a second yarn in my right hand, but I can clearly see/feel the advantage.  I kept the Noro in my left (most comfortable) hand, and the black Cascade in the right.. I’m still awkward at it, but it’ll get better.   The idea behind this pattern, that the Noro gives all the color-changes, is wonderful, and I’m pleased with the work.

I set up the Skype program on my computer today.  It’s up and running but I had many questions.  Fortunately, Bri was home for a bit, and we were able to test the audio, back and forth.  It sounded like he was right here, waiting for dinner to be put on the table.   My webcam works fine.  I could see a wee little “monitor” picture of myself and Bri said he could see me!   He didn’t have his cam online and was getting ready to head out the door to a hockey game in Phillie.  How rude of him to have a life when I need help?  Really!

As Daughter and the wee boys will be moving in a month or so, being able to talk to them AND actually see them will help to ease things for all of us.  And I have a friend in Australia that I’ll be able to talk to!! 

Surfing the net

I found a great article title – How to Supercharge your Brain.   Several things happening lately made me think that this is a good article for me to be studying.  The author gives 12 points.

1. Eat almonds.    I like almonds.  This is something I could do, after I get done with all the dental work, scheduled for the next 90 days.
2. Drink apple juice.   Ok – that, too, is possible.  But if I drink enough apple juice to rev up my brain cells, will I be able to ever get out of the bathroom?
3. Sleep well.   Good.  I already do that.   Thanks to better living through chemistry, I take pills every damn day of my life to counteract Chronic Sleep Disorder.
4. Enjoy simple pleasures.   They suggest listening to music you enjoy (the family and neighbors get a bit testy when I scream Journey music as loud as it will go) or running a few miles every day.  I see that causing a heart attack, not fixing my brain.
5. Exercise my mind.   Does that include thinking how to pour coffee in the morning?
6. Take up Yoga or Meditation.    Great ideas.   I’ll put them on my To-Do list, right after “Finish the ironing.”
7. Reduce sugar intake.    I’ve recently had to do this.  Not to stir up my brain, though.  On the last round of tests, my blood sugar came back a bit high and my doctor said to eliminate sugar and reduce carbs, to avoid having to go on medication for the sugar issue.  The only thing its done for me is to make me sleepy in the afternoons. 
8. Eat whole wheat.    I hate whole wheat.   I’m just gonna get real dumb real quick.
9. Eat a light meal at night.   What they’re saying makes sense.  Probably also from a dieting point of view, too.  If the biggest meal is mid-day while you’re active, more calories will be burned off, rather than clinging tenaciously to my gut/butt.  The Great American Way, though, for all of us who work for a living, is to eat the largest meal when we get home in the evening, making sure those calories know how much we want them to stay.  And they do!
10. Develop imagination.  This sounds too much like work.
11. Control your temper.  This also sounds too much like work.
12. Take Vitamin-B Complex.   I take vitamins.  When I remember.  Guess my brain doesn’t work well enough to remind me to take the vitamins that would help me remember.

I just don’t see a lot of hope for me.