Say "ahhhh"

Not only is it fun that Blaine now has a job (or should I say "gets a paycheck") but the added perks of things like insurance have really made life fun lately. Poor Blaine hasn't had new glasses in several years, and even then when we got his glasses we used a prescription that he got from before his mission, so we would only have to pay for the frames and lenses and not the exam. None of us have been to the dentist in our whole married life. Well, correction, Blaine went to some dental college where he swears they did more damage than good. I went once while on Medicaid to the only dental office that accepted Medicaid (in the mall), and the dentist reminded me of the torture master on "Alias". Then since January my teeth have been hurting so I went to a community dental clinic, which was surprisingly nice, but I only actually got an exam, the work they needed to do required me to schedule out a ways, so I couldn't fit it in before we moved. So, as you can see, our family is in major need of some luxuries, like getting cavities filled and getting glasses. We are excited about insurance.

I called and got my dentist appointment. I was amazed how far out these people are scheduling, had I known I would have called to set my appointment in January back when my tooth hurt and then maybe they could have gotten me in sometime this year. Luckily though the pediatric dentist was not as booked out, so Gwen was able to go to the dentist a couple of days ago.

We rehearsed with her what it would be like, so she wouldn't freak out when the dentist tried to pry her mouth open. Though I have to admit, if anyone is used to having their mouth pryed open and someone sticking their hands in there (usually me to retrieve mysterious items Gwen identified as food) it would be Gwen. Anyway, the dental appointment was cute. She sat on my lap, said "ahhh" while the assistant brushed her teeth. The actual dentist peered in and declared her cavity free, and then they painted on a little fluoride mixture. The whole process took all of ten minutes, maybe eleven because we had to switch rooms one time.

We got the claim from the insurance today. Okay, I wasn't kidding when I said the hygienist "brushed" her teeth. No metal scrapey thingy, no whirring mechanical brushes. A plain old tooth brush with plain old toothpaste, just the same as we do every night (er. . . and morning, most of the time, or at least some of the time. . . .occasionally). The charge for this dental "cleaning" -- $65. $65! No wonder we didn't visit the dentist in our college days! The fluoride ($32), and the exam ($80) were also ridiculous, but I assumed they would be.

The best I can figure is that Colgate must now have a new flavor of toothpaste that they use at that office, laced with liquid gold for a real "million dollar smile" look.