Current Events > My dental issues are now affecting my greater physical health. :(

(+) Yeah! (+)

Stopped going to the dentist when I was a kid because my mom gave up on parenting and life itself once my parents divorced and she realized she couldn't be a stay-at-home-mom forever. I never had a job that paid me enough to afford to go to the dentist, nor offered benefits.

I've had an abscess in one of my second molars for a while now and recently it's started to make my neck and chest hurt when I'm in certain positions. I cannot afford any dental procedures whatsoever. I would hypothetically need expensive antibiotics, at least two root canals, a removal, and work done on the jawbone.

I've looked at every option and I'm screwed. I cannot afford insurance, free dental clinics in my area are borderline useless unless you just need a simple cleaning/removal, and dental schools don't offer free/cheap care under the guise of educating students anymore.

I don't know what to do. If I get this problem checked out, I'm going to be put in significantly more debt which I can't afford. If I don't get it checked out, my health will get worse. There's no way I can afford to have this problem treated.

May just have to take on more debt

Use coupons from goodrx for antibiotics

Maybe the dentist can work out a payment plan with yoy

Does your job not offer dental? Fucked up situation.

Go to Cuba or Canada

I can ask my fiance tonight if she has any advice if you want. She is a dental hygienist

Can you get it pulled at least? No tooth is better is better than a rotten infect tooth giving you pain and making you feel like shit 24/7

Squall28 posted...

Does your job not offer dental? Fucked up situation.

Haven't been able to find decent work in a while. I make small amounts of money by doing some freelance work but nothing substantial. It's next to impossible finding full-time work in my area that offers any kind of benefits; everything is just part-time retail, fast food or warehouse work. I have skills and experience but it means nothing and I can't find a decent job.

This is made worse by my mother and I being evicted soon, so literally 100% of the money I make will be going to the rent and bills. I won't have any opportunity to save for my nonexistent future, let alone prioritizing my health.

Agonized_rufous posted...

Go to Cuba or Canada

Dental tourism is too expensive and not worth it.

bsp77 posted...

I can ask my fiance tonight if she has any advice if you want. She is a dental hygienist

Is there any way I can treat this with antibiotics bought over-the-counter? I cannot afford any kind of visit to a doctor or dentist.

Go to a country that has free treatment.
Or die... Your choice.

Are you low income enough for free health insurance?

IIRC you're picky with jobs, right?

If you're healthy, see if there is a clinical trial in your area.

--Zero- posted...

IIRC you're picky with jobs, right?

If you're healthy, see if there is a clinical trial in your area.

Not picky at this point, it's just the greater financial situation is so bad that I'm unable to save for anything. My mother and I are getting evicted and have a tough time as it is, so every dollar I'm making (and will continue to make) will go into keeping us fed and housed in some terrible apartment. I'm about to turn 30 and I have no future. This is a nightmare.

If youre in the US you should qualify for some basic dental insurance. I know its tough when youre in pain but get in touch with your local financial services office they can get you covered very quickly

otherwise youll inevitably end up in an emergency room with an absurd bill

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

A lot of it comes from depression. I've applied to four different local retailers, two warehouses, a local data entry job and one fast food place. I've been dealing with serious mental health issues as well and as pathetic and selfish as it sounds, I don't want to constantly be made fun of and looked down upon for working those kinds of jobs at my age. At my previous retail job I was constantly mocked and towards the end started having panic attacks in public, which made my coworkers look down on me.

It doesn't feel like there's any way out of any of this.

CRON posted...

A lot of it comes from depression. I've applied to four different local retailers, two warehouses, a local data entry job and one fast food place. I've been dealing with serious mental health issues as well and as pathetic and selfish as it sounds, I don't want to constantly be made fun of and looked down upon for working those kinds of jobs at my age. At my previous retail job I was constantly mocked and towards the end started having panic attacks in public, which made my coworkers look down on me.

It doesn't feel like there's any way out of any of this.

You can always cozy up with The Catgirl Fondler/ Infernal Dive Dragoon at the homeless shelter. Cause that is the path you are going down if you don't shape up and get your shit together.

Some warehouse jobs aren't that bad. Honestly, you need to swallow your pride and just take 1. After getting it, use the dental insurance.

WaterBucketCat posted...

You can always cozy up with The Catgirl Fondler/ Infernal Dive Dragoon at the homeless shelter. Cause that is the path you are going down if you don't shape up and get your shit together.

I am objectively unable to "get my shit together" and the financial aspect is just one half of it. Nobody seems to understand this and when I try to articulate it, it just makes it look like I'm whining.

My mental health has taken such a nosedive. I'm never going to be able to live independently. I'm unable to have friends or relationships due to the abuse. I can't enjoy most things people like. I'm in a near-constant state of fear and unease over everything. None of my skills translate to jobs/careers. There's no end goal for me. I'm going to be putting myself through even more stress just to exist, not live.

I'm sorry if I came off as whiny and pathetic.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/6/9/AAZgIXAAEKU1.jpg

Go to Mexico. You can get there, get surgery and tons of meds for a grand,

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

At this point it sounds like I might have to. It's going to destroy what little self esteem and confidence I have as I've been constantly fed the notion that being on it means you're "leeching" off the taxpayer. For someone with a terrible obsession with how they're perceived, it's going to be a huge scarlet letter.

I wish there was just a path I could take to treat all these intersecting issues. I feel like such a failure in every aspect of the word, and it's difficult to have any kind of optimism or hope for the future.

If your body is enduring rot in any major area, it's defenses are constantly trying to compensate and throw resources at that health anomaly while it can. Including the teeth. This can escalate over time and basically start robbing the rest of your body of those necessary recourses. For example, a very common sentiment from people with chronic tooth decay is "feeling older and achier than they actually are".

Without the major source of the decay in their body, they would feel closer to their actual age if not better.

It's not uncommon for some elderly folk having their rotted teeth pulled for full denture replacement to have a positive improvement in their immune systems and healing. The rot they ignored for years was taken out.

I used to have this same issue. My lower right primary and secondary molars used to be chronically infected. They can't just give you a prescription for something like augmentin? It's about $4 for a 10 day course if it's effective for your case

Cant you just ask them to extract it? Surely that would save you 80% or so, not ideal but better than nothing.

Squall28 posted...

Does your job not offer dental? Fucked up situation.

dont you think if his job had dental that he would have already explored that option?

Whatever you do, don't ignore your dental health for too long.

Ignoring a putrid cracked abscess for years out of intimidation or "convenience" can literally lead to shortening your lifespan. The dentists are not trolling you on that one. When something goes necrotic, it's supposed to be extracted from your body to prevent exposing the rest of your system to the fluids of rot. The whole time a row of bad teeth sit in your mouth, your digestion is pumping toxic residue to the rest of your body. This has also been linked to contributing to certain cancers.

I know getting dental work done is not a fun time or cheap, but it's a good idea to get it taken care of sooner than later at some point.