Dentist Days

I finally did something that I've been a little nervous about doing, but now I'm SOOO glad I did. I changed dentists. The last office we were at, everything was super expensive, and just not affordable for us. And I'd heard that from other people about that place too. I also think that maybe they didn't do as good of a job on some of the work they had done as maybe they should have, which is frustrating and disappointing. And expensive. So today marked the day when Trey & Talin were due to see a dentist, especially since Talin had been complaining about two teeth that were hurting him for the last couple of weeks.

After picking up the kids early from school to bring them to see this new, and gratefully better (in my opinion) person whom I would trust my kids' smile with, Trey was selected to go first. Trying to be a bit efficient, I went through Talin's backpack with him while we were waiting for it to be his turn, got his homework done (can you believe they have homework in first grade?!?), practiced his spelling words, and then tried to put together this puzzle that was nine cubes, each with a piece of a different puzzle on them...a 6-in-1 puzzle! Why aren't there MORE of these?? But, after about 20 minutes of Trey being in back, the hygienist came and asked me to come talk to the dentist. This was it...the moment of truth...the deciding factor in whether we'd be back or not. I was greeted by a lady, the dentist, with a smile, introduction, handshake, and "Have we met before?" I don't think we have, but who knows? Then she informed me that Trey's teeth had somehow "lost" their sealants (remember the shoddy work I mentioned earlier?), and one filling was fractured, which seemed to cause him some discomfort when it was moved. Needless to say, I was thoroughly irritated about having paid a mint for this work to be done, only to have it be undone in such a short amount of time. She recommended a few fillings on each side, and new sealants, which I was happy to agree to, and silently prayed for God to have a vault full of money land on my car outside. I'd pay for a cab home then, no problem!

Then it was Talin's turn to go back, and Trey's turn to succumb to my efficiency kick and get his homework done while his younger brother was being inspected. Talin I knew was going to have issues. He grinds his teeth in his sleep, or at least he used to, I don't know if he still does or not since he hasn't lost any teeth lately. But that, I found out, was about to change. Talin will be losing one tooth for sure on November 7. I knew the blackening of his teeth wasn't a good sign, but I thought a filling or something would take care of it. Nope...it's decayed down to the root, which means it gets yanked so it doesn't cause him any more pain. Incidentally, the same tooth on the opposite side has the same problem, and will meet the same fate sometime shortly after the first one is pulled. Talin will also need some fillings, but just on one side. Whew!

I was then ushered out into the waiting area, where one of the two receptionists was going to have me sign my life, and probably body parts, away to her employer. I braced myself as she started going over the figures. I felt myself beginning to think of reasons why we couldn't possibly pay what they were asking. But then I was shown how much we'd actually owe, and told that if we pay in advance we are given a 5% discount. A discount? At the dentist? And a nice, helpful, friendly and understanding dentist at that?? I nearly fainted when the total amount for the fillings, sealants and extractions all came out to cost about the same as just one of those would have at our now former dentist's office. And I was thankful that the good Lord didn't drop a vault of money on my car, so we could get home. Okay, the vault of money wouldn't have been so bad LOL