Fundie Dental Care

[gustava]

I went to the dentist today and that got me thinking about fundie children and dental visits. I know we've seen the Duggarlings go to the dentist. And we see fundie children with braces.

But dentistry is not cheap, unless done at a dental school. So how do fundies with large families afford taking the herd for annual dental appointments?

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I went to the dentist today and that got me thinking about fundie children and dental visits. I know we've seen the Duggarlings go to the dentist. And we see fundie children with braces.

But dentistry is not cheap, unless done at a dental school. So how do fundies with large families afford taking the herd for annual dental appointments?

They don't! They brush their teeth and hope for the best. Most people have no idea that Dental Schools have clinics. The ones in my state are so overly booked you can forget it. Braces were out of reach for my kids and we have dental insurance!

[Jana814]

I also always wondered that. I know that Mary Maxwell had braces not sure about the rest of them.

[polecat]

I went to the dentist today and that got me thinking about fundie children and dental visits. I know we've seen the Duggarlings go to the dentist. And we see fundie children with braces.

But dentistry is not cheap, unless done at a dental school. So how do fundies with large families afford taking the herd for annual dental appointments?

Dental work isn't cheap, but dental insurance is generally reasonable. Now fundies who don't believe in insurance may struggle, but honestly, if you brush and floss the way you are supposed to and go in for six-month checkups (which are also usually pretty inexpensive, here anyway), most people will not have a need for any major (read: costly) restorative work.

As for orthodontics, plenty of non-fundies can't afford orthodontics. Only one of our kids will probably get them even though the other two have some slightly misaligned teeth. That's because the one has the potential to suffer actual structural problems as a result of his malocclusion while the other two have mere cosmetic flaws.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Dental work isn't cheap, but dental insurance is generally reasonable. Now fundies who don't believe in insurance may struggle, but honestly, if you brush and floss the way you are supposed to and go in for six-month checkups (which are also usually pretty inexpensive, here anyway), most people will not have a need for any major (read: costly) restorative work.

As for orthodontics, plenty of non-fundies can't afford orthodontics. Only one of our kids will probably get them even though the other two have some slightly misaligned teeth. That's because the one has the potential to suffer actual structural problems as a result of his malocclusion while the other two have mere cosmetic flaws.

Dental insurance is cheap and provides little coverage at today's prices. I cannot believe how much I've paid in the last two years for "copays" or "patient portion" expenses.

[hoipolloi]

If fundies are on Scamaritan or something similar, hardly any dental coverage is provided: samaritanministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/201412-Guidelines.pdf

7. Dental Problems—We publish:

a. The breaking or injury of natural teeth and caps (but not repairs to dentures or partial plates) by accidents other than when eating and certain motor vehicle accidents.

See Section VIII.C.

b. Operations on bones in the mouth (not teeth).

c. Life-threatening dental problems. An example would be an allergic reaction to previous dental work materials on a lifethreatening level. Publication of bills would be limited to helping with the immediate life-threatening problem only. It would NOT include subsequent routine dental work. We do not publish dental work on the teeth either above or below the surface of the gums, and/or routine dental work such as (but not limited to): cleanings, fillings, crowns, removal of wisdom teeth, dentures, treatment of periodontal disease, etc., except as provided in 7.a through 7.c above.

So, yes -- brush & floss your teeth and hope for the best.

Sadly, this doesn't differ much from what's available to many non-fundies, as people here have said.

[sparkles]

We have dental insurance which covers a max of $1500 per year per person. And that's considered GOOD coverage. These days, you'll pretty much blow through that just walking into the office. Over the past 5 years, we've spent close to $50k on dental bills. Both Mr. Sparkles and I were blessed with bad genetics where teeth are concerned. We also had the misfortune to be born before fluoride, sealants and the like became standard practice and well before pediatric dentistry was heard of. When you're a kid and your dentist doesn't use novacaine… Well, to say we're both dental phobic just barely scratches the surface. Our current dentist is very good and did the majority of our work all at once using sedation (HIGHLY recommended). Thankfully, he's also very understanding about costs and we've been able to pay everything off interest free. We also had orthodontic coverage for our daughter that also only covered a small amount of the bill and we paid that off as well.

Given that so many people in the general population simply can't afford regular dental care, I can't hold fundies to a higher standard. (No excuse for not making your kids brush their teeth, SPARKLING LAUREN.)

For the record, daughter began seeing a pediatric dentist as soon as her baby teeth came in because she had taken medications that they were concerned might weaken her teeth. She got all of the preventive treatments, always had a great experiences, went for regular checkups and as a result, despite bad genetics, at 25 she's only had one small cavity.

[polecat]

We have dental insurance which covers a max of $1500 per year per person. And that's considered GOOD coverage. These days, you'll pretty much blow through that just walking into the office. Over the past 5 years, we've spent close to $50k on dental bills. Both Mr. Sparkles and I were blessed with bad genetics where teeth are concerned. We also had the misfortune to be born before fluoride, sealants and the like became standard practice and well before pediatric dentistry was heard of. When you're a kid and your dentist doesn't use novacaine… Well, to say we're both dental phobic just barely scratches the surface. Our current dentist is very good and did the majority of our work all at once using sedation (HIGHLY recommended). Thankfully, he's also very understanding about costs and we've been able to pay everything off interest free. We also had orthodontic coverage for our daughter that also only covered a small amount of the bill and we paid that off as well.

Given that so many people in the general population simply can't afford regular dental care, I can't hold fundies to a higher standard. (No excuse for not making your kids brush their teeth, SPARKLING LAUREN.)

For the record, daughter began seeing a pediatric dentist as soon as her baby teeth came in because she had taken medications that they were concerned might weaken her teeth. She got all of the preventive treatments, always had a great experiences, went for regular checkups and as a result, despite bad genetics, at 25 she's only had one small cavity.

Just going to put this out there for anyone with babies ... they need to be seen by the time they are one or their first tooth comes in. This isn't a recommendation just for high risk people, and it can really make a huge difference in the long run.

[polecat]

Dental insurance is cheap and provides little coverage at today's prices. I cannot believe how much I've paid in the last two years for "copays" or "patient portion" expenses.

I've had a metric crap ton of dental work since my earliest memories thanks to dental trauma that resulted in both avulsed and luxated teeth. Then I had to have orthodontics. Then add in the fact that I'm a hardcore bruxer (to the point that I loosened several teeth -- oops), and I can promise you I know the cost of dental work.

And I still say, get dental insurance. As I mentioned already, dental insurance is reasonable, and most plans I've ever seen (and every plan I've ever had) covers biannual checkups with NO out-of-pocket costs. The vast majority (not all but most) of dental problems are directly related to dental neglect -- poor brushing habits, inadequate flossing or missed checkups. You teach your kid good brushing and flossing habits right from the start and you get them in for the free checkup twice a year, it's highly unlikely that they'll have any serious issues (barring accidents like I had or major orthodontic problems).

[DGayle]

Dental schools around here only discount about 15%, and they only take people with problems the students are currently working on (since guinea pigs are needed, I think it's fucked that they aren't paying patients instead), and you're told to expect to be in the chair for up to 4-6 hours for a filling. Pay ME for that, seriously. Saving $20 isn't worth losing a day of my life.

[lilwriter85]

Zsu has blogged about taking her kids to the dentist in the past. In one posting, she said something about Miriam's teeth not being cleaned at the dental office with flouride. I'm guessing the dentist or hygenist used a non-flouride method to clean the kids' teeth. Zsu also mentioned one of the boys needing a dental treatment, I'm also guessing it was a filling.

There was a woman who commented on Kim Coughlan's blog about not taking her kids to the dentist. I also remember Gabe Anast's blogging about how he cured his infected tooth.

On the topic of orthodontia, one of Jeub girls had orthodontic work done and IIRC, an orthodontist did it pro bono.

[nelliebelle1197]

The Rodrigii got braces for the oldest two. No idea how they paid for that