Thursday, January 24, 2008

Good or Bad Dental Timing?

Last week we decided that we better get our teeth cleaned while we're out here, because Julie's insurance through the church allows us to have it done for free. So Monday she went in for her cleaning. Well, she got her teeth cleaned, and she also found out she has to get a night guard to wear when she sleeps because she grinds her teeth. AND she needs to have all four of her wisdom teeth pulled. So we discussed what we were gonna do to pay for all this, because the insurance gives us a discount on dental work but we still have to pay some of it ourselves. The dentist said the wisdom teeth pulling can wait, so we're gonna wait on that. A cool thing happened though: after we talked about how we were gonna pay for the night guard, we checked our mail and saw that our montly Health Savings Account statement came. The amount that we have in that account is almost exactly what we need to pay for the night guard, the difference being a few cents. Hallelujah, there was much rejoicing.
But then I went in the next day for my cleaning. After looking at my x-rays for no more than 10 seconds, the dentist said, "You're not gonna like this, David." I narrowed my eyes at her and said in a low voice, "What." She told me I'm gonna need a root canal job done on one of my molars where I happen to already have a silver filling. I felt like someone that knows nothing about cars being told by a mechanic that I need headlight fluid. How do I know what's what on an x-ray? I haven't had any pain there so it's her educated word against mine. She said all of my other teeth are in great shape.
What the heck is goin' on? We just wanted our teeth cleaned, and now we have to pay hundreds of dollars, at least, to have these unforeseen problems fixed! Actually, Julie's night guard thing was not a surprise. A dentist told her a few years ago that she needs one. And if my tooth is in fact infected, it's probably good to have it fixed now, while it doesn't hurt.
So maybe it's all a case of divine timing? Because when we go back to Ohio, we probably aren't going to have dental insurance. And even though our insurance out here won't pay all of it, our cost is still much less than what we would've paid without it. A blessing in disguise? That's what I'm believing.