Go See Your Dentist!

Go See Your Dentist!

I decided to entitle this one like some of those cleverly-named delis and sandwich shops with names like “Call Your Mother”, etc. As it turns out, I just came from seeing my new dentist after a prolonged absence from scheduling such visits. I can’t even blame it on Covid, although I did wish to urgently check in with someone about my front tooth just as the pandemic was starting in March 2020. My absence this time around pre-dates all of that. I’ve been waiting until today to finally get my chipped tooth repair checked on.

When I was a kid, I went through a LOT of orthodontic procedures. I had developed what I felt was a rather pronounced front tooth gap. In reality, the gap was probably no larger back then than it currently is now. But at the time, my two front teeth were like the biggest part of my body, and I was self-conscious about them. So when my parents explained I would be seeing a more specialized dentist, I was excited about the prospect of getting the gap closed. Well, the orthodontist worked on a lot of the other things that I was less aware/concerned about. I apparently had a propensity for growing teeth, like a shark. I had like two extra upper fang teeth, a second row on my bottom jaw, and a couple other things going on. There were a lot of extractions I endured over the span of maybe 2 months headed into junior high school. I even remember one time, the orthodontist being a bit exasperated because he couldn’t believe he was removing a third tooth from the same spot. (He had pulled the baby tooth, and adult tooth, and I swear I grew a third- which he said was impossible. But I did it.)

The Novocain shots were painful. The extractions were painful. The adjustments to the braces I eventually got were painful. There was a lot of pain. I had braces all through junior high school, and they didn’t come off until my senior year right before prom. I was given a retainer, but I’ll admit that I didn’t wear it with the prescribed regularity. I was too ready to stunt with my new smile. But because God knew I wouldn’t know how to act with my new grill, my gap opened back up in a matter of weeks. Oh well. At that point, I just embraced it.  

You might think that all of the pain of the early procedures resulted in my first early absence. I don’t think that it was though. I was in college doing college things. It just hadn’t occurred to me to keep up with any scheduling. I remember my first job after school, I actually could see on my paystub that I was contributing to my dental plan (and the other medical/health stuff). I got specialists corresponding to each of the plans afforded to me. Through all the job changes, I’ve actually been able to keep the same primary care physician. I’ve been hard-headed about the vision stuff. They made me pay for some anti-glare coating on some glasses that I don’t think I need, none of which was covered by my insurance. I’ve been maintaining a one-man protest ever since. It’s dumb. (I think I have to do a vision screening for my race car license, whenever I actually qualify.)

The dental part is what’s been hit or miss. I found a great dentist some years ago that got me caught back up to speed from the care I had missed while I was colleg-ing. On the day the photo was taken, it was my 29th birthday. I had a mishap at work before what would be a long weekend for me. Her practice was technically closed that day, but she actually opened it up and met me there to fix that chip. We had developed a good rapport during that time. I remember telling her that she was using some of the same tools that I was using at work, only in miniature. She had great chair-side manner. She retired a few years after that. It became difficult finding a practice that I liked that was also compatible with whatever insurance I had. And then frankly, it just wasn’t a priority to keep trying. It should have been.

I had actually tried to schedule a visit with this dental practice in November pre-pandemic. It’s run by a college classmate of ours, which I thought would be awkward, but it totally wasn’t. Well, it wasn’t awkward for me, but maybe she was like “Girrrrrrrl….!” As it turned out though, they accepted plans offered by my same provider, but the plan I had was one that didn’t work. I don’t fault our friends. (Maybe that’s my bias.) I fault the process. I called my insurer at the time as we were outside of the benefits election period and just asked, “can I just pay you the difference between the two types of coverage so I can see the dentist that I want to see?” No. You have to wait for a qualifying event to happen or await the next enrollment period. I waited. I changed my election during the pandemic. And then I waited for a lull in between subsequent surges and waves to try to get something scheduled. Today was my opportunity.

Once again, I’ve got a fair amount of stuff we will have to do. As I sat in the various chairs today, I thought about my dental history. I thought about the process of selecting and transferring plans. I thought about the various elections we make to schedule or defer visits based on all of the various timings and things we consider as working professionals. I thought about people who perhaps don’t get dental coverage at all through work. I thought about the idea, the privilege of “self-care” and the lack of even distribution of such things in our country. (It was a long visit. I had time for thinking.) I got a bit frustrated. If I had $44 Billion dollars to spend, I think I’d use some of it to help improve access to health and dental care, namely to help transition towards a future where such benefits are not tied to an employer. I’ll admit, I haven’t done a lot of thinking in this arena. There are folks for whom this is their career field. As someone who has mostly been a W-2 worker but now doesn’t get a regular pay stub, I was particularly aware of the impact of such transitions on access to healthcare.

I hope, if you’re reading this, you’ll give consideration to the cheeky title. Even if it’s been a while. They’ll ask you if you’re flossing nightly. Just say, “No.” They’ll know if you lie anyway. It is important to continue to prioritize yourself and your health. These jobs aren’t worth it in the end if you aren’t afforded the opportunity to stay on top of your wellness visits and such. Go see your dentist.