diving with dental cavity

[klausbh]

To my dismay, I discovered yesterday that I have a cavity in one of my molars. Unfortunately I do not have dental insurance and am not willing and able to spend a lot of money to have it fixed right now. My university has a dental plan that covers pre-existing conditions, but it would take at least until next month until my coverage starts. Unless I find an affordable alternative that means I will be diving with a cavity for a couple of weeks. I would appreciate it if anyone has advise in any of the following categories:

1. Diving with cavities - big deal or no?
2. Having a cavity filled - how expensive?
3. Dental plans with immediate coverage for an existing condition (yeah, I'm dreaming)
4. Alternative cheap dental care - i.e. dental schools
5. Odds of a getting a tooth squeeze after a bad filling

Thanks,
-Klaus
(Miami, Fl)

 

[gfisher4792]

Can't answer everything, but...

1) Not a big deal, in my experience. Cavity is a hole in your tooth enamel, leaving a pit on the surface of the tooth. No air pocket, no worry about "tooth squeeze"

5) If by "bad filling" you mean with an air pocket, then yes, you can get squeeze. However, most dentists leave no air pocket when inserting a filling. Some on the board suggest to mention that you scuba dive before the procedure.

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

Dear klausbh,

I'll get to the answers in a moment. First, GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

Unfortunately I do not have dental insurance and am not willing and able to spend a lot of money to have it fixed right now.

Most dental care is less costly than medical procedures. All patients, and YOU at the top of the list must take RESPONSIBILITY for your own health.

Long before dental insurance, people actually had to PAY for treatment. Even today, about 50% of the population actually has no insurance and, well, they use their own money to pay for care! I may not feel much sympathy toward insurance companies, but on the other hand, Dental and Medical insurance is a to REDUCE the costs of treament and to use an excuse that you want dental insurance to pay is more than unreasonable. Medical and dental care is not nor has it ever been a free ride.

Insurance is to help defray costs...especially if it is for care of catastrophic incidences. IMHO, a "cavity" is not catatrophic! Stop moaning about insurance paying for your treatment and spend a few hundred bucks to fix the problem. Take responsibility for your own care.

It shouln't surprise you or anyone that, 1) insurance companies are in business for a profit, and 2) in order to make a profit, they have to take in more than they spend. If everyone wanted 100% payment for all problems with no deductible, then your premiums would would have to high enough to pay for that care, pay the commissions to the agents and produce a profit.

In general, you will spend more in insurance premiums than you get back in paid treatment for a given year. In years that your luck goes south, you'll luck out and more will be paid to you. That is the way insurance works.

You will probably spend more on dive gear and travel this year then you will on dental treatment. On the other hand, if you don't practice preventative dental care and only go if there is a problem, then getting your mouth into stable condition will cost a fair amount the first year. Once in shape, you might need two cleanings a year and a rare filling.

Unless I find an affordable alternative that means I will be diving with a cavity for a couple of weeks.

I cannot believe that the treatment for a single "cavity" is so costly that you are forced to look for an "affordable alternative." Even if you needed a crown, the cost may be under a thousand dollars and while not cheap, it beats the heck out of most medical procedures. Also remember, you get what you pay for. If you sign up for an HMO, you're gonna get HMO type care...the cheapist materials, the minimum treatment time and most likely quality that is at a bare minimum.

OK, the answers:

1. Diving with cavities - big deal or no?
2. Having a cavity filled - how expensive?
3. Dental plans with immediate coverage for an existing condition (yeah, I'm dreaming)
4. Alternative cheap dental care - i.e. dental schools
5. Odds of a getting a tooth

1. Diving with cavities will, in most cases not cause a problem unless it is deep or the nerve is already going bad. This is a very rare problem.

2. Yes, HAVE THE CAVITY FIXED! Is there really any other advice? Any other advice is basically going to end with a toothache and/or an extraction.

3. Yes, you are dreaming. What the heck, maybe you'll meet the
Tooth Fairy.

4. Alternative dental care is available. If you qualify, Jackson Hospital has a dental clinic as does Dade County. Nova Southeastern Dental School must also have a program. Care is limited at all of these. The quality of care provided should actually be good because it is well supervised. If you don't meet selection criteria, you won't be accepted. If you do qualify but have problems that are not being looked for, you may get no treatment. Treatment will be slow.

Any other cheap treatment is just that. You'll get crummy work.

5. I don't know the "odds of getting a tooth"...I'm not sure what you are asking.

While I may have been "flip" with some of my answers, they are correct. I do find fault with you attitude and motivations. I certainly hope you understand what I was trying to say and I hope you will get care quickly.

Safe diving,

Laurence Stein, DDS
:doctor:

 

[H2Andy]

thanks for the answers, Dr. Stein.

the "tooth squeeze" he is referring to is most likely a reverse squeeze on the way up
from the dive.

 

[MarkH]

Dear klausbh,

I'll get to the answers in a moment. First, GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

All patients, and YOU at the top of the list must take RESPONSIBILITY for your own health.

Stop moaning about insurance paying for your treatment and spend a few hundred bucks to fix the problem. Take responsibility for your own care.

I cannot believe that the treatment for a single "cavity" is so costly that you are forced to look for an "affordable alternative."
While I may have been "flip" with some of my answers, they are correct. I do find fault with you attitude and motivations. I certainly hope you understand what I was trying to say and I hope you will get care quickly.




:doctor:

While Klausbh may be an evil person, I doubt it is because he/she cannot afford to pay for the treatment right now. Are you suggesting Klausbh go into debt, and is it so unreasonable to explore other options? As for the cavity/ diving question, you should be fine. It's not an air space. I've done it myself.

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

swankenstein or is that swankensteen?

I certainly never suggested that klausbh is a evil person or that he should go into debt.

The way he stated his problem was that a cavity was discovered in his tooth and he didn't have dental insurance AND he is not willing to spend alot of money to pay for it.

If this is indeed just a "cavity" and needs a filling, no one is going into huge debt over it. The premiums paid to a dental insurance company and the delay caused by waiting to become eligible are more than if he would just get the darned thing done and pay for it.

Perhaps he didn't mean it the way he said it but it comes out like he wants someone else to pay for his problem...insurance. You wouldn't believe how prevalent this attitude is. Insurance is NOT a method of payment. It is instead, a way to protect yourself from high costs associated with extensive treatment. Sure, sometimes it helps to get those two free cleanings a year...only they aren't free...you paid premiums.

Again, I will state that diving is more expensive than a dental filling.

"Hump. What hump?"

Regards,

Larry Stein

Er...in that picture...which one is the wolf fish?

 

[glbirch]

Insurance is to help defray costs...especially if it is for care of catastrophic incidences. IMHO, a "cavity" is not catatrophic! Stop moaning about insurance paying for your treatment and spend a few hundred bucks to fix the problem. Take responsibility for your own care.

I cannot believe that the treatment for a single "cavity" is so costly that you are forced to look for an "affordable alternative." Even if you needed a crown, the cost may be under a thousand dollars and while not cheap, it beats the heck out of most medical procedures.

While I may have been "flip" with some of my answers, they are correct. I do find fault with you attitude and motivations. I certainly hope you understand what I was trying to say and I hope you will get care quickly.

:doctor:

Sorry, but IMO this is a little over the top. ONLY a thousand dollars for a crown? Not everyone has bottemless pockets. I'm sure a lot of us who went to University can remember a time when 'a few hundred bucks' meant the difference between getting the rent paid or not. I certainly don't know the details of klausbh's postion enough to judge him one way or the other, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's got a problem and he's looking at his options.

On the other side of the coin, my sympathy is limited when someone hasn't bothered to pay for medical or fire or whatever insurance, and something happens that they weren't covererd for. If you choose to go cheap and take risks, don't complain when things go wrong.

And yes diving can be expensive, but for all I know the gear was a gift, or purchased when he/she had more disposable income. Once you've got the gear and training, doing a local dive is just the cost of a Starbuck's coffee for the air.

With that, I think I've pretty much offended everyone. My work here is done...

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

I didn't say a crown is 1000 dollars. I said if a crown was 1000 dollars and yes, it is expensive to need that treatment that will require about two hours of doctor time, an assistant, a front desk staff, materials, a lab bill that may be more than $200. Compared to your physician, dentistry is one of the most expensive professions to operate...especially with high quality services. See what your physician charges you for two hours of time. Neglect is very expensive and so is an attitude, "No insurance, I'm not doing any work."

BTW, medical insurance and dental insurance act completely differently...coding, reimbursement, deductibles, pre-existing conditions, etc. Try not to equate how your medical insurance works to how you expect dental insurance to work.

For all I know this cavity is simply in need of a filling. That is all the original writer said...and he also said that he wasn't going to pay for it. I'm taking his statement at face value...he has a cavity and he's not paying for it. It's this kind of statement that makes me judgemental...I wouldn't be so quick to defend klausbh.

If, and this is a big if, this person hasn't been to the dentist for years and finally went in because of a problem they themselves may have suspected or detected, then an extensive amount of work might be necessary. Think of all the money saved over the years by NOT going on a regular basis. Do you think this money was saved or simply spent on something else?

Had this person been going on a routine basis, the yearly costs drop dramatically.

To keep it in perspective, dental care on a yearly basis costs less than gasoline, food, medicine, going out on weekends, cigarettes, clothes etc....even if you managed to spend $1000 per year at the dentist. This assumes that you go for regular check-ups, cleanings, x-rays and have an occasional expensive "hit". Most patients on a regular recall spend around $250/year. Every once and while they need a filling and even more rarely, a crown.

I'm sorry, when I hear a story like that, I just shake my head...and it's not because I don't appreciate what the patient is telling me. I simply know better and I know that most dental care is within the means of most people.

Once you've got the gear and training, doing a local dive is just the cost of a Starbuck's coffee for the air.

Ah yes, Starbucks...$7 for a frigging cup of coffee. But it's ok to spend through the nose for that item but your health should be cheap.


No, you haven't offended me....yet!
But I'm seem to be working on it myself.

Regards,

Larry Stein

Boy, I knew I was gonna get flak on this one
:10:

 

[glbirch]

BTW, medical insurance and dental insurance act completely differently...coding, reimbursement, deductibles, pre-existing conditions, etc. Try not to equate how your medical insurance works to how you expect dental insurance to work.

For all I know this cavity is simply in need of a filling. That is all the original writer said...and he also said that he wasn't going to pay for it. I'm taking his statement at face value...he has a cavity and he's not paying for it. It's this kind of statement that makes me judgemental...I wouldn't be so quick to defend klausbh.

If, and this is a big if, this person hasn't been to the dentist for years and finally went in because of a problem they themselves may have suspected or detected, then an extensive amount of work might be necessary. Think of all the money saved over the years by NOT going on a regular basis. Do you think this money was saved or simply spent on something else?

Had this person been going on a routine basis, the yearly costs drop dramatically.

I'm sorry, when I hear a story like that, I just shake my head...and it's not because I don't appreciate what the patient is telling me. I simply know better and I know that most dental care is within the means of most people.

Ah yes, Starbucks...$7 for a frigging cup of coffee. But it's ok to spend through the nose for that item but your health should be cheap.


No, you haven't offended me....yet!
But I'm seem to be working on it myself.

Regards,

Larry Stein

Boy, I knew I was gonna get flak on this one
:10:

Hey, don't get me wrong, when I hear one of those "The house burned to the ground and they didn't have insurance, how tragic" stories it makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

Can't speak for how insurance works elsewhere, but where I am I'm paying into my company health and dental plans and happy to have them, because it's cheap insurance against what could be major bills.

All I'm saying here is that we don't know the details. Klausbh didn't say he's not paying for the cavity, he said he doesn't have the cash to pay for it now, and is looking at options. I don't know his past, or what he's been doing to take care of his health up to this point. But personally I hope he treats this experience like I treat a bad dive. Look at what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what to do to make sure it doesn't happen again. If getting a cavity shows him the wisdom of proper medical coverage and he proceeds accordingly, great. If not, then maybe the first root canal will change his mind?

Ya, Starbucks coffee. I know people who could retire early on what they spend there in a year.

No offense on my end. Pretty thick skinned. (Married, don'cha know)

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

(Married, don'cha know)

Don'cha know! You're not just married, you're Canadian!

Larry Stein