When I picked BBug up from school a few days ago (before the sickness overtook our home) we had the following conversation:
BBug: I busted my teeth today!
Mommy: You what?
BBug: I busted my teeth!
Mommy (looking for blood and/or broken teeth): How did you do that?
BBug: K (another little girl in her class) and I were running and we fell and busted our teeth.
Mommy: What did you and K bust your teeth on?
BBug: The table.
Seeing no obvious signs of trauma I asked Hubby to inquire with the teacher the next morning and see if she had in fact 'busted her teeth'. When he asked her response was "Oh yeah, I wrote up a report about it."
There didn't appear to be any damage - no blood, no loose teeth, no swelling, nothing - we didn't think a whole lot about it. BBug did mention a few times that her tooth hurt, but that was it.
Now, a couple weeks later her left, top, center (got that?) tooth is rapidly turning brown! OK - so obviously she hit it harder than we thought and she wasn't kidding when she said it hurt.
It's time for her 6 month dental cleaning any way so I figured we would kill two birds with one stone. I called the dentist we've gone to in the past - yes, we were one of those by the book parents (ok, I was) who started going to the dentist before the 1st birthday - and they've increased their prices.
They wanted $142! Just to clean her teeth!! No x-rays, no work, JUST CLEANING!! So I called another pediatric dentist thinking that was crazy...
They wanted...are you ready for this...$180!! Again, just for the cleaning. And if I want BuddyRoe to have his first visit/consultation (they do NOTHING, just get him used to the dentist and look in his mouth to make sure there are no glaring deformities) it would be $48!!
Seriously? You want $180 to brush my kid's teeth? Because really, at her age that's all they're doing! And people wonder why there are so many gross mouths out there! Who in the world can afford $180 a piece to get their kid's teeth cleaned every 6 months?
I did finally find a practice of dentists - who I have since heard wonderful things about - that includes a pediatrict dentist (they actually cover the whole spectrum which is nice) who only charges $78 for a cleaning. And when I tried to make an appointment for BuddyRoe they laughed and told me just to bring him in with BBug and they would let him sit in the chair and take a quick look - at no charge!
I know pearly whites are important and I'll pay whatever I have to to ensure my kids' have good health (dental included), but seriously folks? Am I the only one that thinks this is outrageous?
Am I just being cheap? (Hubby, I swear if you say anything about me being cheap I'll have to hurt you!)
2 comments:
Heck NO, you're not just being cheap! That is crazy. Lord help, we are going to have to save up money after the big 1st birthday party to pay for Allie's first dental visit. I had no idea! Thanks for the heads up. If I didn't think it would be super tacky, we might just have to take up a love offering before we eat the birthday meal just to cover the first dentist appt. Ha! Ha!
I am laughing at Carrie talking about a love offering before the bday party... ha ha...
oh my gosh, i thought they didnt even start going to the dentist until they were like 3 anyway... thats what we were told...
we never took Coopie to the dentist, and wasnt planning on taking Belle until she was 3... I'll have to look into this more! But if its close to 200.00 for a cleaning, we might be waiting until she's 3!!! ha... thats insane...
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