Ok, now you all know I have had more than my share of hurdles to jump over the past few months (years). Well, today I got MORE bad news.

I have had some jaw pain over the past few days and found a new dentist. Last time I went was in 03. I brush vigerously with a sonic care toothbrush and floss all the time.

Well the dentist did a full exam this morning and I need a TON of work. I asked why when I take as good a care of my teeth as I can. He said with my medical history some of the medications I have taken cause the teeth to deteriorate. To look at them they look find but I need crowns on many of them and fillings on others....to the tune of $18,000!!!!!!!!!

we have dental insurance but that doesn't cover much as you may know, major is covered at 50%

Man, this 39 year old body feels like it is done. Obviously I am going to do what insurance covers and hope to make payments on the rest. Anyone have $10K I can borrow? KIDDING!!!

Ouch! That bites!

Go here, Earl, and start making the phonecalls, it works.

http://www.azdentalfoundation.org/

Earl, rather than getting all of the dental work done this year and making payments can you do some of the work this year and some next year so insurance is paying and not you?

I would get a second opinion. There are some unscrupulous dentists out there who run up high bills on people. One of my best friend's was a victim of that. She went to another dentist and found out that a lot of what the first dentist said needed to be done was a lie. She also found out that dentist #1 had grossly padded the bill.

I second that Earl!!! When we moved to DeKalb in 1989 I went to a new dentist and he wanted to replace all of my old fillings for (then) hundreds of dollars but I was suspicious since I took good care of my teeth.

We tried another one in town with a more modest office and practice and he said my teeth were fine, that I might need one filling replaced the next year! We've been with him ever since and he always does the right thing for us without a big sales pitch for extras we don't need.

Yep, get a second opinion Earl. And listen, I am not trying to scare you or anything but Jim eventually lost all his teeth due to medications and such. His teeth started receeding and exposed the pulp.

All I am trying to say is get a second opinion. For Jim it was salvage what they could as long as they could. But I do think your dentist is charging an enormous amount. That's almost a down payment on a house at the right price! Wow.

You could almost get implants for that price, not to mention false teeth that look very real. Ha!

Hi Earl~ two things~~ One, I used to work for a dentist yrs ago, and I quit b/c he was bilking his customers. The Hygienist and I would look at the X-rays and no way did certain customers need crowns or fillings replaced, so another opinion wouldn't hurt.

Second, my DD has never had a cavity and she's 31, but she went to a dentist when she was living in So IA, and he said she needed 6 fillings. Well, I knew that in the course of 6 months, she didn't, so I told her to get her films and come home. I took her to my dentist w/Xrays in hand and he said that her teeth were perfect. So, yes~ the dentist "could" be padding it some.

I'm guessing that since it's been since 2003 that Yes, you probably need work done, but to that extent, it's worth checking it out elsewhere.

Hope you can win the lottery, but if not~~ I've got a string and a doorknob and we can start yankin em.

Oh and my DS (29) is cavity free too. They take after their Dad. Wish I could say the same, I've put a ton of money in my mouth over the yrs.
Good Luck Earl.

Earl - Sorry you have all this going on. I do think a second opinion would be a good idea. Also, check out the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health. They might have a program that would work for you.

www.atsudental.com/home

AZ doesn't have the best healthcare system. AHCCCS/Medicaid will only cover dental and vision costs for children. It doesn't do it for adults. Heck, why would a single parent need their vision and teeth. LOL. j/k

I also know that some clinics offer free/reduced cost for dental care around the state.

Good luck!!!