Tuesday 10 June 2008

People I hate Part One: People with Private Health Insurance




I have needed my wisdom teeth out for like the past 2 years but after spending like $800 bucks last year on the 7 (!!) fillings I needed I was broke as. My dentist informed me that my ol' wisdom teeth as so compounded...wait..compacted up in my face that their roots are pushing up into my sinus area and I have to get some hardcore good dude to do it and it will cost like 3 grand...WTF! Who the fuck my age has 3 grand to spend on their shitty ol' teeth. Why do I have to pay? Can't....society pay? I mean they hurt, they hurt like fucking hell (albeit, generally only after I get on the pingers) I had a look back there and there's like skin stretched over the tooth and tooth popping out of like 3 different parts, so gross and so painful. 

I've asked a bunch of people my age how much it cost to get their teeth out and they're all like "I dunno, my parents paid" or "I dunno, I got private health". Whaaa? Private health?!! What the fuck! Aren't we like in our twenties, don't we not need that shit unless we dying or having kids (might as well be dying)??? This is so not fair! 

I saw Sicko man, I know how this shit works. Dental should be free free free. Not orthadontic shit but dental shit. Or at least subsidised!  

Ok, enought ranting but my teeth are fuckin' driving me nuts. What's the deal with wisdom teeth anyway! What's wise about some big ass motherfuckers forcing their way out of your already overcrowded gums in your 20's. Gee wearing that ugly ass plate for 2 years was totally worthwhile now that these fuckers have come to the party. Why do you suddenly need these massive things at this age anyway, should I be changing my diet, like chewing on bamboo or some shit now. Seriously talk about a design fault there God.

Anyone know a hella cheap way to get these out that is at least semi-legit?
Sorry for the rant....but it hurttttss!
xxx
cc

6 comments:

Sanchez said...

Sounds to me like you need a holiday. Surgical tourism (ok, so i may have made that term up but it's called something like that) is the poor mans answer to private health insurance. A lot of other countries do the same job for a lot cheaper for whatever reason (value of the dollar, saving on sterelising etc, etc.) and you get the added bonus of a nice little holiday while you recover. It's usually somewhere tropical.
I've got some relatives who are all dentists. it may cost you as little as $600 to get there and back, the shopping is good and you can drink soft drink out of a plastic bag.
Let me know if it hurts that much...

Hayley said...

Mine cost thousands, but I begged to be knocked out in the hospital (and had to get all 4 wisdoms plus 4 pre molars out at the same time). It's the anesthetist that costs the most. Yeah, the guy that puts the needle in to make you oh so sleepy (sure he also makes sure you don't die so it's probably worth it).

The old fellow who's on his last day before retirement that seems just a little crazy, the one that shows you your x-ray and says, "see this here? It's a nerve that may get damaged during the procedure...usually a 5% danger of that but we can't really tell where yours is, so there's a bigger chance you may lose your taste and smell. Hmmm maybe 20%", the same guy that sticks his knee on your chest and dislocates your jaw to chip your teeth out is apparently worth less than the needle guy.

I freaked out as I was going under, then had funny dreams about cartoons and woke up in fits of laughter. That's the fun part. Even more entertaining was that the girl next to me screamed when she found her teeth in her 'hospital dress' pocket. She'd forgotten that she'd asked for them. WHAT?

I got a bit of a discount because I made them let me out early (I was paying more cash for each half hour I was in recovery.

I couldn't eat solid food for a month (by week 4 it was deb mashed potato blended with chunky soup) while my other friend who got hers done in the chair was eating 2 days later.

Now there's an incentive to get 'em out. Do it in the chair if you can, I think they can do evil things to you in hospital.

Anonymous said...

i feel your pain!

had to have a couple root canals and my wisdoms out a couple years ago in England (where its cheaper)...anyway, started getting pain a month or so back so reluctantly went dentist and he quoted me 10grand!!! said root canals fucked up and need implants...i'm like no go, not for 10g's, so instead paid 100bucks a tooth and got them things ripped out two weeks ago (well 2 of them anyway, got a third getting ripped out next week)...they on the side so no biggie, and i got some codeine shit to go with it so all good...saved myself a bit of money...when in doubt, get 'em ripped out (as long as they aint in the front)...and if you got pain i swear the best thing is chewing on cloves...like actual cloves, the little blackk things...its an old wives tale that works! just put it nr the part that hurts and chew/suck on it and it sorted it out...not a good taste tho, but better than being in pain...

Hayley said...

I got hooked on Panadiene Forte after my teeth got pulled, I smashed my face so had a huge supply of the stuff. Not helped by my friend who worked at a chemist and kept the supply going. Bad!

I get all nostalgic when I pop those night time cold and flu tablets. The best thing about being sick.

Definitely go the cloves!

Fraksha- 10 grand!!? Ouch. Best of luck with tooth #3 next week

corrie said...

Fortunately I got my wisdom teeth out when I was in Yr 12 and still under the Private Health of my parentals... I hated it, my face blew up like the elephant man and it made smoking cigarettes an absolute bitch for weeks...

Nowadays I have my own private health, have had since I was 27, the extras come in handy... I thought that more and more 20 somethings were getting private cover?

OUCH Fraksha, thats killer!!! Lots of my clients are missing teeth, and the only advice I have ever got out of any of them is to keep your teeth no matter what the cost, but 10G is serious!

love and light...

Blind Kid Seeks said...

Argh teeth... my experience wasnt too bad... although long and drawn out.

When i was 14 i had 4 teeth pulled out as my mouth was too small and there wouldnt be enough room for my wisdoms to come through. So i Had the left side done, one top, one bottom... at least i could eat on my left side... then 2 months later had the other side done, again one top one bottom.

The a few months later i had Braces strapped onto my teeth. every 3 months I'd visit an orthidontast to have the bastards tweak the wires to send massive amounts of pain through my jaws, for weeks on end. 2 years i had these fuckers on while they pulled the teeth i had in the back forwards to allow for the Wissys to come through.

then the killer was... when my wisdom teeth decided to come through... they as yours are... became impacted, or whatever... so they had to get ripped out anyways.

Assholes! over 3 years of torture through high school... only to have them ripped out anyways.