The dentist.... Such fun!!

I had my 6-month dental cleaning today. My teeth feel so clean!
BUT....
I have to vent. About my dentist and about insurance.
EVERY time I go, my dentist tells me to get braces, and EVERY time I tell him that my dental plan won't cover them and even if I upgraded my plan, I couldn't afford the HUGE co-pay for braces. We go round about this every time. The thing is, I don't really need braces. I had 3 years of braces and two teeth pulled to deal with severe crowding, and my teeth are pretty d@mn straight now. I have ONE side tooth that's a little crooked, and he flips out.
He also insists that my wisdom teeth need to come out. I've had my upper ones for 3 years, and they aren't a problem. The bottom ones barely show up on x-rays, and have looked the same on x-ray since I was a kid. I'm 27...I doubt they'll ever come in. My medical insurance would probably pick up most of the bill, but there's a deductible and I have no money to pay it.
I keep asking him who is going to pay for all this...I have crappy dental insurance and can't afford the next-best plan.
Rrrrggg, why is staying healthy such a pain in the butt???
Does anyone else have this problem???

Oh Zoe, I hear you! (sorry, can't recall your name atm )

When I was young, my mom had stellar insurance (she was a nurse - hospitals have the best plans!!) and my dentals were covered, even my sealants (avoided cavities completely until 16) and my breast reduction too. I always had preventative/routine visits for EVERYTHING.

Then I moved out of state and in with my ex; was uninsured for nine months until we married, when I fell under the military health care system. Great for routine health visits - no coverage for dental or vision unless you pd for it, which my ex was too cheap to do (he had 20/20 and HIS dental was covered, why should he? ) I didn't have a dental exam for at least six years, until I got a job that included dental in their group plan. By that time I had three NASTY cavities - Doc said two or three more months and it would've been root canal

I've been uninsured since I lost my job last June, and I haven't had a dental visit in 18 mos. I"m starting to worry. I don't like not keeping up w/the routine stuff, because invariably the cost of the "catch up" visit is much worse. The old "stitch in time saves nine" really applies. But if you can't do it, you can't do it. Having been unemployed and uninsured for over a year, I know now why it's so da*ned scary!! I had an ER visit in March, and all I could think while I was lying there getting my antibiotics was how many $$$ were dripping thru that IV, and how in the HE!! was I going to pay for it????? And that was a minor injury!

I'm wondering why I'm paying for "Major Medical Ins" at the moment, as I'm just biding my time until I can enroll in the University's crappy PPO plan. Yes it's crappy, but at least it pays 80% after a $300 deductible, instead of the $5000 annual ded on the MMP - which is ONLY to cover my butt and save my house should something catastrophic happen in the immediate future.

Medical costs are terrible...even with insurance. It's ridiculous!! Even my health plan is crazy, and I have a relatively good one.
If you haven't had a cleaning in a while, see if there's a dental hygenist school around. The ones in my area will do free cleanings for the practice. And call your local Human Services office if you might need some work...we always try to keep a list of doctors and clinics that are willing to work w/ people on payment, or use sliding scale payment according to income.

No, I don't have this problem. I have impacted withdom teeth that hurt, and my dentist never said anything. Gee, maybe it's time to find a new dentist.
I have no clue as to why my dentist doesn't want to do any work on my teeth-I have insurance.

I have never had a problem with my wisdom teeth..I had my back molar pulled a couple years ago & it allowed a wisdom tooth to grow almost in it's place. It doesn't hurt, so I leave it there. My dentist knows it's there, but hasn't said anything about it.
I know my others are in there, too, but at my age, if they don't bother me, I'm NOT going to put myself through unnecessary suffering to get rid of them. I have crappy dental insurance too, but am glad I have at least something!
Don't let him pressure you into something you're not comfortable with. Just tell him you can't afford it, repeat yourself if you have to, & leave it at that. (at least for now)
But keep taking good care of your teeth, because if you don't, prepare to shell out some serious money.