Merry Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 so I am saving it in a glass of milk. He had broken it a couple days ago at a playground. Our dentist is not qualified to do anything. We have Medicaid so we're having trouble finding an orthodontist. He says the tooth is not very painful and he's back to sleep but we need prayers and maybe advice on what to do if we can't find an orthodontist who will accept Medicaid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 so I am saving it in a glass of milk. He had broken it a couple days ago at a playground. Our dentist is not qualified to do anything. We have Medicaid so we're having trouble finding an orthodontist. He says the tooth is not very painful and he's back to sleep but we need prayers and maybe advice on what to do if we can't find an orthodontist who will accept Medicaid. good luck! Hope you find one. It is difficult, we had to drive quite a way out of the way to get to one, because none locally will accept it. Can your dentist or GP refer you to one? That was how we found ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deacongirl Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I could be wrong but I don't think you need an orthodontist to fix it. I think a regular dentist should be able to. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 the office said to go to an orthodontist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 the office said to go to an orthodontist? That is just absurd! Orthodontists don't fix broken teeth, they straighten them! Could the staff at your regular dentist possibly have misunderstood the situation? I used to be a dental assistant (and by no means am I qualified to diagnose) but it really sounds like he may need a crown and possibly a root canal depending and exactly where the break is. I don't think saving the broken piece in milk will really help, though. Usually that is what you do when a whole tooth is completely knocked out. Maybe you should call back and ask to speak directly to the dentist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Are you sure the dentist didn't say endodontist? They are the ones who do root canals, crowns and stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deacongirl Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 The front of my tooth chipped off when I was 10--the regular dentist "bonded" it (I think that was the technical term). It now needs to be redone and my regular dentist is doing it. You may need a specialist, but I don't think the orthodontist is the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Are you sure the dentist didn't say endodontist? They are the ones who do root canals, crowns and stuff like that. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelbe5 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Do you have a dental school near you? Perhaps if you call and explain the situation they would be willing to work with you . . .:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Do you have a dental school near you? Perhaps if you call and explain the situation they would be willing to work with you . . .:grouphug: :iagree: Our local CC will do this kind of thing for little to no cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 When we went through this we had to find a hospital that is connected with a pediatric dental school. We went to the er and then we were transferred to the dental clinic for follow up visits. If I had medicaid, all of it would have been covered. This happened a couple days ago? He needs to get in asap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Doesn't your insurance give you a list of providers or post one online? That would be the easier way to do it. I agree that you need to take him in soon or the tooth will likely die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevilla Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 This is going to be an expensive repair, most likely, if your DS wants to keep his tooth (or have a replacement tooth). AFAIK, Medicaid will not pay to keep a tooth but will pay for extraction (I hope I'm wrong about this!) Best case scenario, IMO, is for a crown to be put on the tooth (if it can't be rebonded - it sounds like a pretty large part came off though). This is $$ but far less expensive than the next option of there is nothing left of the tooth to save (which will involve a dental implant, surgery, waiting for bone to grow to implant the fake tooth, and a removable false tooth bridge in the meantime). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 we went online and called several dentists until we found one who would take our ds this morning. The dentist put a temporary plate on the front of the front tooth until he can get approval from Medicaid to put something permanent on it. But ds is not going to lose his tooth like the other dentist we went to yesterday said he might. What a relief. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 we went online and called several dentists until we found one who would take our ds this morning. The dentist put a temporary plate on the front of the front tooth until he can get approval from Medicaid to put something permanent on it. But ds is not going to lose his tooth like the other dentist we went to yesterday said he might. What a relief. Thanks. Whew! It really can be scary!! I'm glad you got good news! Fwiw, I had one of my front teeth bonded as a temporary measure when I was 16. So far, it has held up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 This is going to be an expensive repair, most likely, if your DS wants to keep his tooth (or have a replacement tooth). AFAIK, Medicaid will not pay to keep a tooth but will pay for extraction (I hope I'm wrong about this!) Best case scenario, IMO, is for a crown to be put on the tooth (if it can't be rebonded - it sounds like a pretty large part came off though). This is $$ but far less expensive than the next option of there is nothing left of the tooth to save (which will involve a dental implant, surgery, waiting for bone to grow to implant the fake tooth, and a removable false tooth bridge in the meantime). Teeth injured in an accident are treated the same as a broken bone/medical covers them. It does have to be coded correctly though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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