Teeth Ouchies

[apricot3.livejournal.com]

Almost a week ago, my jaw was hurting but I thought I had just slept funny. It didn't get better, so here I am with a throbbing mouth and no insurance, trying frantically to find something cheap and quick. figures I'm indulging in restaurant week this evening and I can barely stand to chew soup :P

tips, tufts or BU advice, thoughts on West Somerville Dental and root canal stories of cheapness welcome...


Yes, I read through a lot of the previous Dentist tags, and it was helpful- glad I can rule out Gentle Dental!! On google I saw a blurb from them for $57 cleanings, but that doesn't sound worth it since I'll definitely need more.

I just made an appointment with West Somerville Dental at 124 College Ave and was wondering if anyone had any words on them. She said, literally "Nobody is here today," but I scheduled to have Xrays and see someone tomorrow and then go in for a cleaning on Monday, which they are being nice and letting me split the cost for a coupon I received- $67 for new patient cleanings and diagnosis. I feel a little sketched out about a place with coupons and not much wait, but I'm in a lot of pain and there are far too many dentists in this area. I'm tempted to just walk along broadway to college and go to the doors of the all the places and see who will take me Now, at least for a cleaning so I know what I'm dealing with.

I think for the real deal I may have to go through Tufts or BU since I'm a broke girl. Tufts emergency said that, if I'm lucky and get there at 7am, they can only help the pain for $77 and then I could have the full procedure the last week in September for under a grand (i forgot to ask if they do a payment plan). I was told that the only way to get that Sept fix is if I show up first for an initial chance walk-in visit, which would suck if I go to this other place first, but I just can't wait for a "chance" to be seen.
BU's site uses a lot of PDFs for their info and I have an archaic and unruly computer so I can't see anything :(

How many of you have done the Tufts waiting lottery? I'm worried about relying on that, not to mention I don't want to drag myself Anywhere before 10am!


**edit**
Has anyone ever gone through Harvard? They weren't very helpful over the phone and I had to leave a message for the root canal lady even though I insisted that I'm not positive What I need done, I just hurt. They wouldn't give me any estimates at all, even after i asked if a cleaning would be under $100, there was "No way to know" :P

Oh, and very importantly... how long does it take to get over this? I don't have sick days at work, but I assume I'll have to at least take off the day I have it done so I need to work that out too :(

So at this point, I'll see what they find tomorrow. I was wondering if some of you could give me estimates of how much you've paid for an uninsured root canal (specifically in the molar region).
Yes, I'm that person that drives 5 miles out of the way to save 5 cents on gas, if you can't tell ;)

Comments

[veek.livejournal.com]

Call BU Dental, talk to them. Their number is 617.638.4670. I've been there and had great work done by very young, thorough and interested doctors; I like the place. But then, I have insurance, so have no idea how much things cost for those who don't.

I do know they have walk-in clinics on Thursdays and Fridays; don't know whether their clinics are any different from Tufts'.

Good luck.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I've been to W.Somerville Dental a couple times and have been happy with the work. But I have no idea how the cost compares to BU or Tufts.

[apricot3.livejournal.com]

whew, glad to see a positive vote for them! what all did you have done there?

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I had several cavities filled.

[apricot3.livejournal.com]

thanks for the number, i'm goin crosseyed looking at all this crap online!

their walk-ins are more expensive, $130, but it sounds like the chance to be seen is much higher. she couldn't give me an estimate on the cost or wait for any real oral surgery. the location sounds harder to get to, i've never heard of the CT1 bus but at least i have a car.

[damsel-ophelia.livejournal.com]

IIRC (unless things have changed in the last three years, I used to work there) - at BU Dental the 130.00 includes the x-ray for your chart as well. Root canals (at least on morals) are done in the post-doc clinic, not the pre-doc clinic.

Dental school treatment is not quick (the appointments are generally longer), but much less expensive.

[apricot3.livejournal.com]

how much does a root canal run? or a removal of all four wisdoms uninsured? how much does it run in the real world? why don't they have these damn quotes online! sorry for the outburt... but thanks for your help is what i meant to say :)

[damsel-ophelia.livejournal.com]

No worries - the big problem with posting rates for dental work is that you can't really give accurate treatment estimates without seeing the patient. I actually don't know how much the root canal or the wisdom teeth removal would be at BU - I worked in Implantology, so I don't know off of the top of my head.