Dentists

I'm really coming to the conclusion that if you go to five different dentists, you'll get five different reports back. I went to a dentist in St. Charles, who I really liked for almost two years. They advised me to get my wisdom teeth removed and I planned on it at some point, but didn't go though with the actual procedure. Then, the pricks at Kaplan took my job and my benefits in the process. Thankfully, I'd had an appointment about a month before it all went down, so my teeth were ok. But there was no way I was going to any doctor without insurance, unless it was absolutely necessary.

So, then I got a coupon in the mail for this one dentist office that I won't name because I don't want to give them publicity. Let's just say their name implied they were cheap. They would give me a cleaning and X-rays for $59. Not terrible, but hey, my teeth had to be taken care of. They start of putting the jaws of life inside my cheeks stretching my face out to where my top lip was over my nose and my bottom lip was on my Adam's apple. They took about 10 x-ray pictures where I had to bite the tab, they adjust, I bite, they adjust, on and on. Then they measured all of gums with how far the had moved up and down. So they go to each tooth, measure both sides, and the hygienist is shouting out numbers for the lackey to write down. For five minutes, I was hearing "Two!" "Three!" "Two!" "Four!" It was like listening to the lottery winnings.

After all that went down, the dentist with this thick German or Swiss accent comes in and explain I need surgery. He goes on to tell me that even though my teeth are strong right now, the gums are a problem. He gives me the lovely analogy of if you have a beautiful house, but the foundation is no good, the house will crumble. He and the hygienist proceed to lay out surgery dates and options and they recommend two different surgeries so my mouth can heal. they promise they'll try to work with me since I have no insurance. they lay out a plan that would cost over $1,000 and I'm shuddering inside. I paid my $59 and left.

So eventually, I got dental insurance through Guardian, who has some very questionable customer service policies. Don't pick up the phone when I call for help and tell me you'll call back in 45 minutes. I know you're not going to call back, so don't lie to me. I set up an appointment with a different dentist in downtown St. Charles, since my previous one had moved to Palatine. Before that though, I received two e-mails and three phone calls from the previous dentist who wanted me to come back. There was no way I was going back there. Now I had an HMO plan, so I'm supposed to pick a primary care dentist. There was no place on the website to do that. Even the receptionist at the office had no luck contacting them or finding anything on the website.

So I showed up and we went ahead with the appointment. I filled out the obligatory paperwork and sat in the chair. The dentist came right in, did the iron hook, flossed my teeth, polished them, took two total pictures, said my teeth looked great, and I was out of there. 25 minutes, in and out. I walked out of that office laughing. How could my teeth be that much better six months later. The answer is they weren't. The answer is because before, I went to an office were people were trying to exploit me and get as much money from me as possible.