08 July 2008

No Food for You

I'm getting my wisdom tooth out today instead of later in the month as originally planned. I can't have anything to eat or drink this morning except for some giant pills I need to take an hour before the procedure. I'm usually not that hungry first thing in the morning but of course I am today since I can't have anything.

I've been thinking that it's not fair that we have to choose doctors and procedures based on insurance coverage. Lately I've felt that my teeth are a business opportunity for someone and maybe my health isn't really the issue. I had consultations with two oral surgeons. The one that I liked, who talked to me for a while and whose office staff made me feel comfortable and right at home, is not covered by our insurance. The surgeon who is covered by our insurance... sitting in his waiting room is like being at a cattle auction or something. A bunch of us were herded in and left to sit there and when I was finally called in I was showed a five-minute video about the procedure and then the surgeon talked to me for about two minutes, cramming in a lot of information about everything that could go wrong and not giving a lot of assurance that it will probably be okay. When it comes down to insurance or no insurance, $100 or $1700, I really didn't have a choice.

I just keep telling myself it's a common procedure that happens all the time so the odds of wrong-doing are slim.

1 comment:

Adventurous Twenty-Something said...

I hope it went well! Just remember don't take your pills afterwards with water unless all the novocaine has warn off. I made that mistake and almost choked on the water, pudding works much better.