RW dental needs - Costs in US?

[BubbaGump]

... in response to I'm wondering, posted by Pordzhik on Nov 17, 2002

and assume the rest are messed up.  ;-)

[robobond]

... in response to Just pick the ones with smiling pictures..., posted by BubbaGump on Nov 17, 2002

that's about all you can do....

[wilmc]

... in response to Let's talk teeth, folks!, posted by robobond on Nov 16, 2002

Good advice, Thank you.  This potential problem needs serious consideration.

One comment, in my experience America is obssesed with straight bright white teeth.  In my travels through Europe I was struck by the crooked, stained teeth on all ages and missing teeth among the middle and old aged.

Please don't misunderstand me, I agree that the FSU ladies I have met, older 30's and 40's, all had poor dental care.

Thanks to my dental insurance and my former wife's insistence she and all my kids had braces.  I never had braces and my teeth work just fine. I must confess though, I am lucky, my teeth are fairly straight.

[rickmoe]

... in response to Re: Let's talk teeth, folks!, posted by wilmc on Nov 17, 2002

America is not obsessed. Only a small percent of population see a dentist on a regular basis. People on this board, for a number of reasons, are probably a healthier lot. Also, I have visited major cities in Colombia, an economically compromised country to say the least, and you can't believe the amount of young people wearing braces (they call them brackets).

Rick G, DMD

[wilmc]

... in response to Re: Re: Let's talk teeth, folks!, posted by rickmoe on Nov 17, 2002

You are right, of course.  I fell into the trap of ignoring the "invisible poor."  I stand corrected.  
Thank you.

[juio99]

... in response to Let's talk teeth, folks!, posted by robobond on Nov 16, 2002

Very good post.  And let me make a couple of other observations.

First, I think it was Dan who said there was no problem with the methods of hygiene of the ladies.  I didn't find that to be true.  Despite only interacting with highly educated ladies, I found many who did not even brush their teeth on a regular basis, and most looked at my dental floss in complete mystery.

Second, several mentioned that their insurance 'paid' a certain portion of the bills.  Sorry, but the insurance companies don't pay anything.  They collect money from people, cover their overhead, make some profit, and cover some costs for some people.  So when we report that the insurance company is paying part of the bills for our new RW and their children, the reality is that our friends and co-workers are picking up part of the tab for us.   Same idea as when we think the government 'pays' for something.

JR

[wsbill]

... in response to Agree with this analysis, posted by juio99 on Nov 16, 2002

n/t

[wilmc]

... in response to Re: well duh... that's what insurance is..., posted by wsbill on Nov 17, 2002

You are correct, of course.  

Please keep the sarcasm, "well duh..." out of our exchanges.

Let's all try to be civil towards each other.  We may get a nice feeling out of it.

[Dan]

... in response to RW dental needs -  Costs in US? , posted by Burt on Nov 16, 2002

May play some part in this equation - but I can say that we spent a bit more than $10k on dental work with about 1/2 of it covered by insurance in the first few months after arrival. Only routine check-ups since.

Some ladies have reported little to no dental work needed - and that is where the luck and genetics comment may play into things.

Factors that contribute when there are problems are; (a) lack of fluoride in the water, and (b) inferior materials that many dentists use for repairs. I do not think that personal hygiene is any issue whatsoever. All of the women I know from the FSU are fastidious about taking good care of themselves - and their teeth are no exception.

I would not be surprised at all if you are looking at shelling out some pretty decent $$ for dental work.

- Dan

[robobond]

... in response to Luck and Genetics . . ., posted by Dan on Nov 16, 2002

Holy S___ Dan!  Send me details re: your dental carrier ASAP!

[Apk1]

... in response to RW dental needs -  Costs in US? , posted by Burt on Nov 16, 2002

My wife is currently getting everything re-done. She will have 7 new crowns by the time she is done, in addition to having every filling replaced.

The total cost is $6,000....about 2/3 will be picked up by dental insur.

I do not know where that guy came up with $50k ..sounds like a crock to scare people.

My stepson has had 2 baby teeth pulled because they were full of holes it was not worth saving. At 7 y.o. he has had one root canal on 1 of only 6 adult teeth, the rest of his teeth have had new fillings.
The cost for him...$1,000, all paid for by insurance.

[robobond]

... in response to Re: RW dental needs -  Costs in US? , posted by Apk1 on Nov 16, 2002

Holy S___, Apk!  Send me details re: your dental carrier ASAP!

[wsbill]

... in response to Re: Re: RW dental needs -  Costs in US? , posted by robobond on Nov 16, 2002

Even inside the mouth and check out her physical health, too.  I think most of these issue could be easily cleared up with the facts.

Do you want to save a few hundred bucks on dental work?
Go to a dentist outside of a major city, where the cost of living is much less, but the quality of workmanship just as good.

I was doin some work for the Navy recently and of course the navy gave me a free check (but no free dental work - the reserves for ya).  Anyway I thought I'd have it done in the Memphis area - Root canal quotes were $750, I can home to small town USA and got it done for $550.

Clearly not everyone can have all the filling replaced at one time, but any dentist will tell you to get the work done on a timely basis.

Does anyone know if they have floride rinses in a bottle in the FSU countries.  You guys that aren't taking care of you teeth, should wake up.  And take care of your teeth.

Now go floss now and follow up with a brushing and douche those things down with the anti-cavity rinses.