Rhonda in TX Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I put off going to the dentist for years, and boy, am I paying for it now. I have two areas with gum problems (7-8 mm) and significant bone loss. I've seen the x-rays and would agree that it's significant. Here's the deal. I saw the periodontist today. He comes to my dentist's office once a week. He want to do something with my gums and bone grafts on the areas of loss. They will put me completely under and he says the recovery is about a week. He would not give me straight answer about possibly waiting awhile, but part of that is they have no history, so they have no idea of the rate of progression. Dental office wants to file this with my dental insurance, but I'm already going to max that out this year with just the other work I'm having done. (fillings, etc.) I want it filed with my medical insurance. Doesn't it sound like something they would file with medical, since it's done by a periodontist. He's an M.D., right? The procedure will be done in my dentist's office, but that shouldn't make a difference, right? Dentist's office tells me that they don't file with medical (although they have had dental ins. refuse to pay, insisting it should go through medical), but will give me all the information I need to file it myself. I'm willing to do this if it will save me money, but payment is due at the office the day of the procedure. What says the hive? Any advice? Anyone BTDT? I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I'm sorry. :grouphug: A periodontist is a dental specialist, not an MD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 Oh, okay. That explains the filing, then. Sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 get the codes for the procedures that need to be done, and see if your medical insurance will pay for them. Because my kids had bony impacted wisdom teeth, our medical insurance paid for it. They would not have paid for soft tissue impacted teeth. (Whew, as my medical insurance *was* much better than my dental--now it has changed.) All of which explains why my youngest two kids had their wisdom teeth out one year on Dec 28th, before my insurance changed on Jan 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 My husband just had a tooth pulled where the gum had completely receded and then a bone graft. Unfortunately, the bone graft was not covered at all by either dental or health insurance. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 get the codes for the procedures that need to be done, and see if your medical insurance will pay for them. Because my kids had bony impacted wisdom teeth, our medical insurance paid for it. They would not have paid for soft tissue impacted teeth. (Whew, as my medical insurance *was* much better than my dental--now it has changed.) All of which explains why my youngest two kids had their wisdom teeth out one year on Dec 28th, before my insurance changed on Jan 1st. I do have the codes and I'm going to call my medical insurance company. I'm hoping for some good news, but not counting on it. My husband just had a tooth pulled where the gum had completely receded and then a bone graft. Unfortunately, the bone graft was not covered at all by either dental or health insurance. Lisa Yes, they told me that dental insurance might cover the gum work, but not the bone graft. I'm probably going to max it out for the year anyway, so it probably doesn't really matter. Dental insurance is just a big joke. I'm trying not to stress about this too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa in MO Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I do have the codes and I'm going to call my medical insurance company. I'm hoping for some good news, but not counting on it. Yes, they told me that dental insurance might cover the gum work, but not the bone graft. I'm probably going to max it out for the year anyway, so it probably doesn't really matter. Dental insurance is just a big joke. I'm trying not to stress about this too much. My dd had a tissue graft last year and it was covered by her medical. Not a large percentage, but better than nothing. Not sure how this compares to a bone graft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 You might get your medical insurance to pay for the anesthesia. When I had my wisdom teeth out, my medical insurance paid the the anesthesia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirch Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I had the same thing a couple of years ago. Significant bone loss and had to have the bone grafting and gum flap surgery done along with some pulled teeth and implants. Almost $5000 worth of work. We looked into having medical insurance cover it but they said no. Dental insurance paid about $2000. The rest was out of pocket. Now here it is a couple of years later and I am having the same problem on the other side of my mouth and they want to go in and do it all over again. I have been putting it off because it is just so expensive! I am seriously tempted to just have my teeth pulled and get dentures. Oh, I did save some money by not doing the general anesthesia. It really wasn't that bad. The worst part was keeping my mouth open for the whole procedure but they were able to numb me up enough that there was no pain during the procedure itself. There was pain for a couple of days afterwards, but a mix of ibuprofin and hydrocodone took care of that. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Oh, I did save some money by not doing the general anesthesia. It really wasn't that bad. The worst part was keeping my mouth open for the whole procedure but they were able to numb me up enough that there was no pain during the procedure itself. There was pain for a couple of days afterwards, but a mix of ibuprofin and hydrocodone took care of that. Good luck! Um, no. Sorry, but no. {{shudder}} I was in the chair yesterday for 2 hours for fillings and sealants and that was bad enough. I just can't fathom doing this with just local. He offered, but I turned that down. {{shudder}} I am glad to hear that the recovery wasn't that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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