I went to the dentist today. Got whole mouth xrays and an examination. When I was retired from the pd, I lost access to dental insurance. Needless to say, not having dental care these past 5 years has had a negative impact on my teeth.
Dr. Ahn said my upper teeth are the worst with only one good tooth up top. He recommends upper dentures and said that I have several teeth that need to be pulled immediately. He said that he would be able to do several of the extractions but that some would have to be done by an oral surgeon. His preliminary estimate to get my mouth healthy again is around $5,000.00 and said that he will mail me the treatment recommendation report and the estimated costs next week.
He said it is around $150.00 for each extraction and another $1,200 or so for the upper plate. He said my lower teeth are in better shape but that there will be at least one root canal in my immediate future.
He also cautioned that once he starts working on my mouth that my dental nerves, which have been fairly non-reactive so far, are going to fire off. A lot. Said that I have several abcesses and will need to be on antibiotics for treatments. Since I have a fake knee, I have to have pre-dental antibiotics but he said this will be beyond that.
Since I am going to be in the Bay Area the weekend of the 25th, I will schedule the "must be done now" stuff for when I return. Not good to go to an event where there is gonna be lotsa food and talking with a mouth that can not do either.
Oy.
