I have one wisdom tooth that is bothering me right now....?

Question

everytime I close my mouth I bite my cheek. I have one wisdom tooth above it and the one under it is coming in. What can I do to deal with the pain until I can find out what my dental covers?

Also is it possible that the dentist (upon my request) will only pull the ONE tooth that is bothering me so I don't miss work? I can't afford to miss any work, money is too tight, we struggle if I miss ONE HOUR!

I want to know what I can DO UNTIL I can get to a dentist! Right now there is NOTHING I can do because A: I don't know what my dental covers and B: I don't even HAVE a dentist! I am working on that RIGHT NOW and would like to know what to do UNTIL I can get to a dentist!!

God I hate Wal-Mart, my insurance won't cover it until AFTER January first, says a one year waiting period!! Damn! What can I do I am tired of putting my finger in my mouth to keep my cheek out of the way!!!!!?????

If it says copay - 80% that is what I pay right? I have never had dental coverage or insurance before.

Answer 1

OK, "UNTIL" - fair enough. honestly, aside from putting your finger in there, there's not much you can do to avoid traumatizing your cheek, hon. :(

But here's some tips. Soft foods; avoid super hot things as well. Don't chew gum. Chew on the other side... Rinse twice a day with warm salt water to help heal any traumatized tissue.

I have a crossbite myself that makes me occaisionally bite me cheek, and I sometimes "puff" that cheek out slightly w/ air while I chew to keep it clear of the "bad" tooth that wants to bite me.

Some tips on insurance - I've never heard of an 80% copay. I would assume that 80% is the amount the insurance covers, as that's fairly typical, although depending on procedure, sometimes it pays only 50-70%.

IF your insurance covers only 20% (and you co-pay 80) then, gosh, who cares? I mean, let's say it costs $200 to extract the tooth (I charge about 170 and that is high as New England has higher fees, cost of living, etc compared to the rest of the US).
So if you your insurance covers only 20% that's $40 and you've have to pay 160. Well, $40 isn't small potatoes (and it might be half a day of work at Wal-Mart) but it's not much compared to 160. I'm guessing it pays 80%. But I shouldn't underestimate the degree to which WalMart might try to save money to keep our prices low!

Find a dentist that has evening or weekend hours. I'm open 'til 8 on mondays, for example, so even people with different schedules or jobs they can't miss can come in.

Answer 2

The only way you can solve your tooth problem is to go to the dentist and pull it out. If you want the tooth to keep on bothering you then don't go to the dentist.