Matthew and Kayla both went for their second dental checkup a couple weeks back. They had gone in September (where we learned that Matthew had one cavity) and so it was time to go again. Not good news this time either! Worse, in fact. They were both fantastic patients...but we learned that while Kayla had no cavities again, Matthew had a mouthful. Yes, a mouthful. Cavities in all four quadrants of his mouth. Oh man. They discussed Matthew's case with the main dentists, and I received a phone call a few days later with my options: 1) Sedate Matthew and they would do them over two appointments. My cost? $240 each appointment for the sedation alone = $480 + the cost of the fillings etc. Ouch. Option 2) Refer Matthew to a pediatric dentist. Option 3) Try the normal route of freezing, which is 80% effective in children who are cooperative. Since Matthew has been a great patient for his past two check-ups, and since I don't want to shell out $480 to sedate him, I opted to give option 3 a try - normal freezing.
We went for his first appointment today, and he did FANTASTIC. They completed one quadrant (upper right) in the first 30 minutes, and since he was doing so well they decided to quickly freeze his upper left quadrant as well. He didn't even flinch when the needles went in, nor when they were trying to fit the metal clamps over his molars (which they struggled with, because apparently his molars hadn't fully come out of his gums yet, so they had to shove the clamps into his gums a bit). I was so proud.
Matthew's next appointment is in two weeks...where he might have a root canal done. Ouch. For him and for my wallet :). Once they get into the tooth they'll see how bad the cavity(ies) are. How many four years olds need root canals. Only Matthew.
I have to say that as much as I hate the dentist, in general...my dentist is awesome. I requested that they do all amalgam (silver) fillings because that's what we're covered for (for molars) in our dental plan and because they're just on Matthew's baby teeth which he'll lose anyways, but my dentist said he would do composite (white) fillings and just charge me for the amalgam. Awesome. I appreciate that my dentist was willing to trust me that Matthew would be fine without sedation, and that he was understanding about me wanting to save money but wanted the best for Matthew. So awesome.
After struggling with infertility for three years, we were blessed with the birth of Matthew and Kayla in March 2011 (by in vitro) , Nathan in October 2013 (by frozen embryo transfer), and Olivia in August 2015 (naturally!). We are loving every moment (well, almost!) of our lives as parents.
Sorry to hear about Matthew's condition. Though a good dentist will be a huge help in fixing that issue. It’s great that your dentist took your coverage and financials into consideration, rather than just pushing for the expensive treatments, most of which he’ll lose after he sheds his baby teeth. Anyway, thanks for sharing Matthew’s dental experience. I hope everything works out for all of you. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteMilton Wilson @ A Plus Family Dentistry
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ReplyDeleteKids' dentist appointments can be the biggest nightmare. First off, the child never wants to go to the dentist because it is really scary and is never a good experience. Second, the costs that you can now incur for the tiniest of services. I am glad you have found a dentist that you can deal with because I have not.
ReplyDeleteVictor Peterson @ Dr. Farole