sooooo.. for us that do not have dental... any ideas for low cost dental..

I was "mad as hops".... that I went to my dentist 5 months ago... he refused to treat me unless I got??? bite wing xray???... well.. that is a "yearly" thing evidently.. and I had to have them.. or " there isn't anything we can do.. you will have to leave".. in other words.. I couldn't even get my teeth cleaned..

I guess maybe I could understand.. if I had gone years without dental work.. but I do think.. given the fact I have no insurance the xrays could have been skipped for a year..

and then to top it all off... he spent.. 3 minutes.. I kid you not.. with me...so 200.00 later.. and all I had were my teeth cleaned.. and a 3 minute rude concersation with him.. I felt.. sooooooooooo gyped...

sooo... the free clinic.. isn't taking on any new patients... any ideas???

[Pita]

Hi Freewill - is there a medical school with a dental school anywhere close to you? Sometimes they have clinics to train their more senior students.

[Perna]

Dental doesn't work like regular health insurance because instead of being something everyone at work gets, it's voluntary so only people who need it get it so it doesn't cover anything! Regular health insurance counts on some people in a group not getting sick so their premiums pay for some of those who do get sick.

I would check with any alumni or professional organizations you belong to or would be elegible to join. Some of them offer insurance plans you could be part of, like AARP http://www.aarp.org/aarp_benefits/offer_insurance/ for example. My husband has life insurance through IEEE I think and we looked at their health insurance when we retired, etc. I've looked at the American Historical Association, at their insurance for myself: http://www.historians.org/members/be....htm#insurance Think of schools, clubs, etc. you belong to or could belong to or use to belong to. . .

[bebop]

yeah I agree medical schools are great and much cheaper.

[heyjoe]

ive had work done at new york university school of dentistry and have found the work done there superior to the work dont at other dentists. They take the time and do the job right are polite and courteous and are supervised by experienced dentists. They arent in a rush to run from patient to patient to make more money. There have been quite a few times in my life where money was tight and the reduced fee schedule certainly helped.

[lenjan]

I went to a dental school at my alma mater and had outstanding work done. The students are supervised, and if your problems are over their head, they send you to the faculty practice. (Most of the faculty does clinic work a couple days a week.)

Failing that, sometimes universities with dental schools will offer low-cost clinics at community colleges or lease space from other clinics in town.

[January]

Call around to different dentists and ask them if they have plans where you can make payments. My dentist lets me pay $20 a month. I still have a few cavities to go, but not nearly as much as when we started.

Hugs,

Jan