Need A Root Canal - Cant Afford It

[matera_goal]

Hey guys,

In January I slipped on the floor and snapped my front right tooth in half (just exposing the nerve).

I have had a temporary filling since then (with tooth being extremely sensitive as a result) and had a permanent filling put on last week (slightly sensitive to the touch but not a big problem) and was told that I would probably need a root canal done sooner or later.

Since then, not so much the crown but inside the gums it is EXTREMELY painful, sometimes affecting the smaller incisor next to it. If I touch the root going up into my jawbone, it is very painful to the touch, the whole way up.

Strangest thing is that it comes and goes. When it comes, it is very intense pain, a heavy, aching pain.

I know that I will at the very least need a root canal on my broken tooth. But the bottom line is I simply cannot afford it I'm 16, have less than $900 savings (for a car), make $300 a week (before board/bills) and have no private health cover.

My parents best idea would be to invest in private health cover but it's not cheap and don't think it will cover all that much.

What do I do? If it wasnt my front tooth I'd just pull the ****er out but I can't walk around with a front tooth missing, especially considering I had braces when I was younger

Help Please.

MG

 

[Hawk Dork]

Go to the dental hospital(I think its still free just have to wait for hours for the first visit then they give you an appointment)

or if they put in a white filling it will kill the nerves anyhow so just wait and you save up for the dentist.

 

[cuzzy_bandwagon]

I got head butted and stomped one time and lost my two front teeth and had to get a denture to fill the gap.

Its annoying as ****, but its a quick fix until i can afford the surgery

 

[matera_goal]

So you're both saying I should deal with it until I can afford the surgery?

Just wondering, roughly how much would a front tooth root canal cost me?

 

[cuzzy_bandwagon]

So you're both saying I should deal with it until I can afford the surgery?

Just wondering, roughly how much would a front tooth root canal cost me?

I looked into it a while ago, its ****ing thousands man, and if there is complications then the price can skyrocket, A partial denture will only set you back a couple of hundred bucks.

 

[raskolnikov]

Somthing just doesn't sit right about this post. Firstly, at 16 I would be expecting my parents to pay for me. Instead you're paying them board? And what bills does a 16 yr old have? Also you joined BF when you turned 12 years old? It's not much point joining a private health fund as most funds won't cover you for a certain time period.

 

[Hawk Dork]

Forget the Dental Hospital idea.
Howard got rid off it and it hasn't been reintroduced

Send these guys an email and get a quote
http://www.thailanddentalcenter.com/

Cheap flight
will work out cheaper than a local dentist plus holiday.

 

[matera_goal]

Somthing just doesn't sit right about this post. Firstly, at 16 I would be expecting my parents to pay for me. Instead you're paying them board? And what bills does a 16 yr old have? Also you joined BF when you turned 12 years old? It's not much point joining a private health fund as most funds won't cover you for a certain time period.

They don't have the money but especially since I'm working they wont pay for me.
Yep, but board is cheap because I've always bought my own stuff
Got a gym membership, and a phone contact I'm locked into, aswell as food/clothes.

Yep, a 12 year old joined BigFooty
and yeah I found that out this morning that even HBF will not honour my claim until 12 months after joining..

Think I'm going to play the angle that the job was botched and left me in severe pain.

 

[matera_goal]

Also paying off an ambulance bill ($740), $50/week driving lessons hurts the pocket. So the long and short of it is I need a root canal, have no way of financing it and need the best strategy to get something done about my tooth.

 

[Shell]

Also paying off an ambulance bill ($740), $50/week driving lessons hurts the pocket. So the long and short of it is I need a root canal, have no way of financing it and need the best strategy to get something done about my tooth.

Yeah I got slugged with that too when I called an Ambulance last year, but luckily I was a member. Didnt even really know I was a member, it just automatically comes out of my account every year, lol.


Good luck with finding a solution to your problem.

 

[gerta]

Feel for ya MG. I had to get my 2 teeth done and another done as well with Root Canals about 10 years ago. Now apparently they are stuffed and need to be fixed which will cost some ridiculous figure per tooth. At the moment i dont' get any pain from them, but as soon as i do, i'll get them ripped out and get a plate put in.

Have had another 3 teeth at different stages that have supposed to have had Root Canal treatment, but as they were towards the back, i just got them ripped out instead. A couple of $K as opposed to about 150 to get them ripped out. No choice really.

Good luck.

 

[J_Moore]

This thread is a perfect example of why medicare needs to drastically increase its dental cover, 'cause 16 year old kids who have parents who charge them board end up having to endure horrible toothaches that are easily fixed.

Also, it's a perfect example of why private health cover should be one of the first things you buy if you can afford it. No sense ****ing around on this point.

 

[Kerrby]

I snapped my front tooth back in 2007 and had to have a root canal.

Hurt like a bitch! I can't imagine the pain your in.

 

[matera_goal]

Bit the bullet and got it done, its going to cost me $740 over 24 months, not that bad.

The root canal didnt actually hurt a bit
but when it was stuffed and sealed back up it hurt like a mother****er
so i have an empty tooth with a hole in the back

Feels so much better

yeah will definately get hbf now because I need a cap in 2 years time

Thanks for the help
MG

 

[Hawk Dork]

Do the maths,private health insurance wont cover it all, use the money you would waste on insurance into an account and pay for it.Or take out a loan would be cheaper/or go to Thailand

 

[J_Moore]

The whole "do the maths" argument is predicated on knowing in advance what you'll need to claim. Which isn't really how it works.

 

[HarryTiger]

The whole "do the maths" argument is predicated on knowing in advance what you'll need to claim. Which isn't really how it works.

And dental work is an extra, and there are often out of pocket expenses.

I got 4 crowns in Thailand. If you need that much work it really pays to have a holiday and get it done at the same time.

 

[J_Moore]

It is an extra, but on plans intended for young people, it is usually included at the expense of things like cardio and fertility treatment.

Of course, long term, most people are going to spend more on insurance than they'll get back, otherwise the industry wouldn't exist, but it seems to me a sensible bet.

This thread seems to be suggesting that the only thing you'll ever use private health cover for is dental, and while flying to Bangkok to get a filling may be a wonderful idea, you aren't going to get an ambulance to your local hospital via Phuket, and you're unlikely to hop on a plane with a broken leg that requires pins and months of physio.

Self-insurance is a nice money saver in theory, especially for young people that are unlikely to require a whole lot of expensive ongoing treatment, but it relies on 2 things: 1) You actually save properly. 2) You've saved enough cash by the time you need to pay your first big medical bill.

Each to their own, I guess, but if you've got a bit of cash to spare, it's always struck me as a prudent purchase, especially given the ridiculous s**t most people spend money on.

 

[Hawk Dork]

The whole "do the maths" argument is predicated on knowing in advance what you'll need to claim. Which isn't really how it works.

And dental work is an extra, and there are often out of pocket expenses.
I got 4 crowns in Thailand. If you need that much work it really pays to have a holiday and get it done at the same time.

The kid is 16 too he will waste more on health insurance than he will get back in dental care.

 

[jacqui9]

I could be wrong (I probably am), but I thought until you were 18, you could sit on your parent's health insurance. I am pretty sure my brother didn't get his own until he was 21.

 

[moons_moore]

Has anyone here been actually been overseas to get dental work done? It seems rather cheap and could be tied in with a holiday

 

[HarryTiger]

^ yeah me see above.

I'm going to use this as a soap box for my health insurance pet hate.

Insurance....

1 in 10 people expect to receive a large cost event in the next 10 years. Say $50,000. If 1 person cops a $50K bill that's too much for them and will hurt. If 10 people pay $5000 over 10 years that's affordable, so 10 people can pool their money to protect the one unlucky guy from the unlikely outcome.

See above unlikely outcome. That's insurance, insuring against the unlikely but very hurtful outcome.

Now these health insurance extras (usually extras) are often things that are regular ongoing expenses.

Example they can include a dental check-up. Huh? You are insured against a dental check-up?? You are going to get the check-up, and it will cost the fund x amount, and they will add x amount to your annual fee.

Like if these guys designed car insurance policies they'd be covering tyres and tune-ups.

And even this, a root canal. Really it ain't a big medical expense. Broken limbs, heart attacks etc are the things that cost a lot, and they will be covered by medicare (sometimes badly, I know).

For medical expenses which occur semi-regularly and don't cost that much, just pay it yourself when it happens. And be smart about it, shop around, go to Thailand etc.

 

[Fire Storm]

I've done exactly the same thing to my front tooth many moons ago. All up to do root canal and re-build tooth was $450. Not thousands as some say.

Just had a big banger tooth root canaled and all up cost 700. Not too bad I though. Of course for the bog ones it will need a crown evenmtually and will cost 1400 or so.


Put some manuka honey on it several times during the day. Take some nurafen to sleep. Might help till you save some money.

 

[lincsPJ]

or if they put in a white filling it will kill the nerves anyhow so just wait and you save up for the dentist.

not this again. you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

as for the OP, the situation does seem a little strange.. if you were still at school, the school dental system would be able to assist you, but it seems you're no longer eligible for that. and because you live at home, you dont have a centrelink card, so you're not eligible for the adult public dental care either.

if your parents have private health, you may have been covered under their care. financially, it is not worth taking out a policy just for a treatment like this. root canal treatment is considered by insurance companies as "major" treatment and usually requiries a 12mth wait to get stuff all back.. so you'd have to pay them about $800 in a year in order to get about $500 or so back in your second year.

$750 or whatever is a pretty good deal.

as for the notion of flying to thailand as a 16yo to have dental treatment when you have $900 to your name, whilst living at home with parents who won't help their son save his front tooth.. well... the whole thing seems rather sad.

 

[Team Mo']

Apparently I need a root canal on one of my back teeth as the whole inside of the tooth has pretty much rooted away. Their are no visible signs from the outside except for a tiny whole that isn't big enough for a filling. They have taken x-rays and it was black (x-ray black) compared to the white filled other teeth.

However this dentist has already cost my family thousands of dollars with other crap "operations/complications" over the years yet we keep going back. Not my choice.

Would it be best to shop around for a better price/theory/reasoning or would the extra appointments be pointless?