Finding a dentist
I did not want to pay $5,000 to the dentist that saw me at home. I have dental insurance and I knew I could get dental work done for a lot less. I called my old dentists who I had seen 3 years ago, and to my surprise, they were willing to work on me while I was in the wheelchair. I made an appointment and on the day of the appointment, I was off to see the dentist.
Getting into the van
I was dressed and I was patient lifted into the wheelchair. I took the wheelchair to the van. As sometimes happens the van door which is supposed to open electronically by remote control did not open. I had my driver manually open and close the door and then the van door electronically opened. The old used van has a finicky electronic door and ramp, but with a little work, it functions.
Dentist Office
I got to the dentist office and had the usual one hour wait. Then they took me. I provided them with the x-rays that the dentist that came to my house provided. Therefore, I did not need new x-rays. I had a cleaning, and after the cleaning, I heard the dental hygienist complaining to one of the dentists how hard it was to work on a patient in a wheelchair. The dentist told the hygienist this is part of dentistry.
Seeing the Dentist
The dentist looked at the x-rays and looked in my mouth, and told me that I had three broken teeth that needed to be extracted. Then he left to see another patient. An assistant came into the room to say that I’m all done for today. I said I wanted to see the dentist again. I waited for the dentist to return. When he finally returned, he said the teeth would have to be extracted by an oral surgeon. I asked why he could not do the extraction? After all, he had performed extractions on me in the past. He said that although they had done extractions in the past, my bone was strong but the teeth were cracked and these teeth would come out in pieces, so it was best to have an oral surgeon do the extraction. I advised him that I was not in pain and I wanted to keep as many teeth as possible. He then said that one really needed to come out and that the other two could be done later.
Check out
I went to the front desk and made another appointment. Since I have insurance and these dentists are on my plan, there was no co-payment and no charge. Of course, upkeep of the van and the driver cost, but the dentist is free.
The trip home
This time the van door and ramp worked, and I was on my way home. We stopped off for some gas and we stopped off at AutoSpa to see whether they received the new dip stick. They hadn’t and we continued home.