subject: Comfort from Anesthesia Now, Insurance Trouble Later [print this page] I remember my dentist 10 years ago who knew what I was talking about and actually did something about it. Waiting for me to get numb takes a while but he had the patience to wait for that time before proceeding. He also took a look at my x rays and tested whether the nerve shot with novocain indeed made different locations numb. When I moved out from that area, no other dentist took me seriously so I stopped seeking any dental appointments.
I had a severe tooth pain last year and I decided the hump has to go. I went to have my teeth checked by the dentist referred by my wife's friends. He did attempt to inject me with novocain a lot of times but he eventually said he needs to refer me to a dentist in San Francisco who specializes in people like me.I did not have a hard time getting comfortable in this dental office because it is among the few ones that offer general anesthesia for every dental work.
The friendly staff had me answer a survey form that had details pertaining to my actual issues. A familiar instinct of fleeing was even described in one of the sections. I was asked if I constantly hold off dental appointments, which I did.To do all the work that was needed on my teeth in one visit, they put me under general anesthesia in the office. Most of the patients will not afford an every visit general anesthesia. I shelled out a little over $1000 on the anesthesia alone, so the procedures are really extra costly. The case I had that time was just needing deep cleaning and a prep on one side of the mouth for a crown placement. They trimmed one tooth down to remove the damaged surface and another tooth was prepare for root canal procedure.
I could not remember the duration of the entire procedure. Devoid of the general anesthesia, I would have needed to go for three more separate appointments and that does not sound nice. You can easily decide if you look at the cost of four issues of local anesthesia in four off times at work compared to a single appointment using a general anesthesia.
It is not sickening to be under general anesthesia, but it will make you sleep the entire rest of the day. My wife once had four wisdom teeth cut out in one procedure under general anesthesia, and she was as sick as a dog for three days. My insurance does not cover the sedation but they did shoulder all the other work up and this is approximately $1,000. Another dentist, however, was needed for one tooth for root canal surgery under sedation and this means for him an additional $1200.
So that year, my insurance was maxed out so quickly. This is probably exactly what I will resort to if this happens to my mouth again. If they opted to use local anesthesia on me instead, I must have left before they started doing the procedure. Since finishing the major procedure, all I need to have every dental visits are oral prophylaxis which does not involve needles. But the dread for dental procedures will probably stay.
Comfort from Anesthesia Now, Insurance Trouble Later
By: selindaholli
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
