Tag: dental stuff

I had to think about that a while back, when something else about seriously unequal access to dental care in the US (and how dangerous that can be) came up.

Hopefully the ABLE accounts can help for at least some of the people who are eligible, and actually have some way of getting the extra savings at all. Covering otherwise difficult medical and dental expenses (besides educational) was part of the idea behind that, to begin with.

Shame this is only an option in a minority of states, and only for people who became officially disabled before 26. Not to mention, as already said, that the vast majority of people relying on SSI are unlikely to be able to put away much/any money without the help of family and friends. At a maximum of 75% of the poverty line? :/

But, it’s particularly nasty how Medicaid does not cover dental care for disabled adults.

Besides the basic issue of finding the money at all, there’s also the $2000 individual asset limit with SSI. One root canal is liable to cost more than that. Some of us are also dealing with conditions which directly affect our teeth. It’s a mess.

That’s actually one of the reasons I ended up with a bit of a dental pileup, after I moved into a better financial situation. When I was on SSI, I got one badly needed filling done for $20 through a free clinic volunteer dental program with an extremely long waiting list. (And was glad for the opportunity, I tell you what.) That was the full extent of dental access over nearly 10 years. It would probably still be that way if I were on SSI. My mouth has needed a decent bit of catch-up work as it is, maybe not too surprisingly.

And I know I’m far from the only one to have ended up in a situation like that. It’s unconscionable that Medicaid does not have to provide any dental coverage, for people who are quite deliberately kept that poor. It’s unconscionable that anybody is kept away from dental/medical care, period. It just adds a few extra layers of nastiness, setting people up in that position because they are disabled and needing to rely on SSI/Medicaid.

Reminded by one reblog from earlier getting another note.

One cost comparison: I actually picked up a mail order prescription from the post office this evening. I’m not thrilled about needing to go the Dodgy Online Consulting route, and pay out of pocket for something that I should be able to get from the NHS totally free. But, that’s more a matter of principle than anything else.

How much did for 6 months of BCPs totally out of pocket (with prescribing fee included) set me back?

Yep, a grand total of £29. Or US$37.40, at the current rate. Working out to £4.83 or $6.23 per month.

Which seems pretty standard here for most pill formulations, looking at other online consulting pharmacies. I wasn’t even shopping around for the best price there.

Out of curiosity, I just did a search for the same formulation under the US names on GoodRx. What did that turn up?

Yep, $9/month minimum, which was honestly lower than I expected. Mostly somewhere around $20/month.

Compared to the $6.23 I just paid for the same thing, which did have a consulting fee included. And probably wasn’t the cheapest possible to help keep me out of Cramp Hell.

It’s not like we’re getting bargain basement pharmaceuticals here. It’s the same manufacturers. There’s just at least that big a difference in what they can get away with charging. Sometimes it’s a lot more than with this particular example.

(I also paid £50 for an emergency dentist appointment with x-rays included, and maybe £12 total for two antibiotics the last time I had to go. Don’t even want to know what that would have cost us back home 😨)

shedoesnotcomprehend:

One of the most bizarrely cool people I’ve ever met was an oral surgeon who treated me after a ridiculous accident (that’s another story), Dr. Z.

Dr. Z. was, easily, the best and most competent doctor or dentist I’ve ever encountered – and after that accident, I encountered quite a number. He came stunningly highly recommended, had an excellent record, and the most calming bedside manner I’ve ever seen.

That last wasn’t the sweet gentle caretaking sort of manner, which some nurses have but you wouldn’t expect to see in a surgeon. No; when Dr. Z. told me that one of my broken molars was too badly damaged to save, and I (being seventeen and still moderately in shock) broke down crying, he stared at me incredulously and said, in a tone of utter bemusement, “But – I am very good.”

I stopped crying on the spot. In the last twenty-four hours or so of one doctor after another, no one had said anything that reassuring to me. He clearly just knew his own competence so well that the idea of someone being scared anyway was literally incomprehensible to him. What more could I possibly ask for?

(He was right. The procedure was very extended, because the tooth that needed to be removed was in bits, but there was zero pain at any point. And, as he promised, my teeth were so close together that they shifted to fill the gap to where there genuinely is none anymore, it’s just a little easier to floss on that side.)

But Dr. Z.’s insane competence wasn’t just limited to oral surgery.

When I met Dr. Z., he, like most doctors I’ve had, asked me if I was in college, and where, and what I was studying. When I say “math,” most doctors respond with “oh, wow, good for you” or possibly “what do you want to do with that after college?”

Dr. Z. wanted to know what kind of math.

I gave him the thirty-second layman’s summary that I give people who are foolish enough to ask that. He responded with “oh, you mean–” and the correct technical terms. I confirmed that was indeed what I meant (and keep in mind, this was upper-division college math, you don’t take this unless you’re a math major). He asked cogent follow-up questions, and there ensued ten or so minutes of what I’d call “small talk” except for how it was an intensely technical mathematical discussion.

He didn’t, as far as I can tell, have any kind of formal math background. He just … knew stuff.

I was a competitive fencer at this point in time, so when he asked if I had any questions about the surgery that would be necessary, I asked him if I’d be okay to fence while I had my jaw wired shut, or if it would interfere with breathing.

“Fencing?” he said.

“Yes,” I said, “like swordfighting,” because this is another conversation I got to have a lot. (People assume they’ve misheard you, or occasionally they think you mean building fences.)

“Which weapon?”

“Uh. Foil.”

“No, it won’t be safe,” and he went off into an explanation of why.

Turns out, he was also a serious fencer – and, when I mentioned my fencing coach, an old friend of his. (I asked my fencing coach later, and, oh yes, Dr. Z., a good friend of mine, excellent fencer.) (My coach was French. Dr. Z. was Israeli. I never saw Dr. Z. around the club or anything. I have no idea how they knew each other.)

So this was weird enough that later, when I was home, I looked Dr. Z. up on Yelp. His reviews were stellar, of course, but that wasn’t the weird thing.

The weird thing was that the reviews were full of people – professionals in lots of different fields – saying the same thing: I went to Dr. Z. for oral surgery, and he asked me about what I did, and it turned out he knew all about my field and had a competent and educated discussion with me about the obscure technical details of such-and-such.

All sorts of different fields, saying this. Lawyers. Businessmen. Musicians.

As far as I can tell, it’s not that I just happened to be pursuing the two fields he had a serious amateur interest in – he just seemed to be extremely good at literally everything.

I have no explanation for this. Possibly he sold his soul to the devil.

He did a damn good job on my surgery.

On Dentists

spoonie-living:

lascapigliata:

huhnerkopf:

autistic-pyro:

So I can’t brush my teeth. Like, it’s the worst kind of hell. I went to the dentist for a cleaning today and I told the hygienist this, and she was wonderfully helpful.

There are some incredibly soft toothbrushes available- namely, post-surgical brushes. Running them under hot water makes them even softer.

She told me that you don’t really need to use toothpaste- it’s mostly marketing. The foam gets to me, so that is really reassuring.

She gave me two particularly soft brushes and some xylitol gum. Trident is a market brand of xylitol gum, which helps with your teeth and can make your breath smell better.

The whole purpose of brushing is to disrupt plaque buildup. You don’t need to brush twice a day, every day with toothpaste if you brush correctly- little circles, focusing on near the gums (where most plaque builds up). So if you’re having a bad sensory day and can’t brush at all, it’s not the end of the world.

Hell, you don’t even need a toothbrush if even the post-surgical ones are too harsh. Going over your teeth with the same motions using a washcloth is enough.

She wants to find a fluoride rinse that has a taste I can stand (peppermint is the only mint I can stand) but she’s not particularly worried about it.

I go to Dr. Barr in Chicago. If you can get to the State St. Macy’s, his office is nearby. He’s very kind and patient and really understanding of my needs as an autistic person. The hygienist, I don’t know her name, announced everything she was going to do before she did it, and stopped frequently to see how I was doing.

This is really the only positive dentist I’ve ever had- past dentists have been too rough and not bothered to help find ways I can actually brush.

Basically this is a glowing recommendation for Dr. Barr’s office if you’re autistic, afraid of dentists, or have sensory needs. This is a recommendation even if you don’t have any of those things.

Im actually crying i feel like this post was reblogged for me oh my god oh my god oh my lord thank you

You can also dilute your mouthwash and use it to swish around if it burns. My dentist does this so consider it dentally approved

If you were feeling guilty about your brushing habits, either due to sensory issues, pain, allergies, executive dysfunction, or just plain fatigue, here’s what you need to know about what is and isn’t necessary if your dental care!