On June 23rd my bottom, right wisdom tooth broke in half! I knew it had a pretty bad cavity but it was giving me no problems, no pain, nothing. Since my dh and I have no dental ins. I was putting it off. The kids are covered with Hoosier Health Wise thank God! Anyway, half of this tooth broke off and fell out! Since then I pretty much always have a tooth ache! My question is this, is there any financial support for adults going to the visit? I need help paying to have this tooth removed. I just need a one time visit. anyone know if there is aid like that??

By Tarable on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 09:30 am:

I know when I didn't have dental insurance people told me to check to see if there was a dental college in my area because they will do a lot of work for very cheap. And don't worry it is all supervised by the instructors and they won't let the student do anything wrong.

Good luck.

By Mrsheidi on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 09:58 am:

THere's a dental assistance card you can purchase, but it's $100 a year, I believe. (Careington is a good one and it gives good discounts.)
I took my mom to a local dental school and it took FOREVER (3 hours) to see her. Then, they take FOREVER between appts. I never heard from them after the first appt, even though they say "we'll call you". ugh. I kept calling back and it just wasn't worth it (to me). I had to get a sitter for 5 hours, drive her into Baltimore (crime city USA), and then we were waiting (without food) for 3 hours and it took an hour just to evaluate her.

If you have more time than money, then do the school route. If you can afford a $100 fee for a discount card that saves you 50%, then go that route.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 10:10 am:

Call around to offices in your area, tell them you have a broken tooth and that you have no inusrance.. Some doctors will do the work for cost, some will do it for payments with a set amount paid up front but you need to call around and find out what they offer. Might even call the local Welfare department, they might have a suggestion as to a dental clinic. Best of luck, because you need to get that taken care of...

By Rayelle on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 11:49 am:

I can only agree with the suggestions above. I have no health insurance but have dental. Just before getting the dental I had looked into getting one of those cards and many dentists in my area take them, and I live in a small town. Good luck. I hope you can do something before it gets any worse.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 01:30 pm:

Charity dental care is in short supply, where I live! They just don't get reimbursed enough, for it. There is a dental clinic, at a local tech school, that will take people without insurance. I have no idea if it's a hassle or not.

We get people in the walk-in, all the time, with tooth pain. While antibiotics and pain pills help, they don't really solve the problem.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 08:46 pm:

A dental college is always a good place to start, if there is one nearby. I know KS does a yearly thing at the Topkea Expo Centre that has docs from all over the state who volunteer for 2 days, but of course, it is only once each year. Still, something to look for in your state. Honestly, an extraction, depending the conditions (impacted, etc) is not very expensive, but still a couple hundred dollars total. I would call to dentists in the area, most will offer a payment plan. (((HUGS))) I have major dental issues, even with insurance it's insanely expensive, and I totally feel for you!!!

By Yjja123 on Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 10:57 pm:

We just spent over $10,000 on my hubby's dental surgery & bridge. I understand how frustrating dental costs are. We were offered a payment plan so I think that is quite common with dentists. Make some calls and see who will work with you. Even a tooth that is not "too painful" can cause a life threatening infection so please do not wait too long.
(((hugs)))

By Karen~admin on Saturday, August 11, 2007 - 09:26 am:

I HAVE dental insurance, paid for by my company, and even with that, it covers very little. I had to get a triple crown bridge, and I felt lucky that it paid for HALF of the total cost. I am paying the dentist $100 a month to try to pay it off. :-(

It's a pet peeve of mine, that dental and eye care are not covered on health insurance policies. After all, your eyes and teeth are part of your body, so doesn't it seem logical that they should be covered by the plan???? Am I the only one who feels that way?

By Yjja123 on Saturday, August 11, 2007 - 10:24 am:

No I feel that way. We paid $10,000 for dental work and we HAVE dental insurance. It paid very little of the surgery & bridge.