Blessings

I have a lot to be thankful for! Holy cow the past several days my teeth have been aching so bad. I did some research online and it turns out your teeth are much more important than I thought. I mean, I have always wanted them to look nice, but apparently if you have a cavity and you don't get it filled, your tooth can become infected and you could have to get a root canal or an extraction, OR it can even become life threatening!! I had no idea I was taking such a risk by going without dental insurance so long or going without going to the dentist for 2.5 years after I already knew I had two cavities! Anyway, I have been convinced, because of the pain that I was going to need root canals in about 8 of my teeth. Online, it says that they cost anywhere from $500 to $1000 I was preparing myself to spend all of our savings and tax return and then some on just my teeth!! I was pretty much expecting to pay the cost of a car on my teeth. I was feeling so guilty to waste all of our family's money on myself. Especially, because since we signed up for dental insurance, they told us the first year the only thing that was covered was preventative costs.

I went to the dentist and a great friend was so kind to watch Cheyenne for me. While at the dentist, they took x-rays and looked at my teeth and it turns out the only thing wrong (so far) is that I have 3 or 4 cavities, 2 of which are very large. I have never been so happy to have cavities, I honestly couldn't have cared less if I had a cavity when I was expecting root canals in every single tooth! Usually when I hear the word cavity I want to vomit... oh btw did I mention that I have an EXTREME fear of the dentist's office?? I start to sweat and feel sick the moment I walk in. The worst form of torture to me is to have to have that shot in the mouth, be numb for 6+ hours and sit there staring at them while this smelly high pitch drill is spraying crap all over your face. As a child, I once had like 13 cavities at one time or something, and I don't think I ever went to the dentist when I didn't have at least one. Every time I get the shot I shake, sweat, my heart races and tears roll down my cheeks... it really doesn't hurt THAT bad, but I get HUGE anxiety.

Anyway, they said they would fill one of the cavities right then (the tooth had actually broken that morning, because of the decay). So they bring me over to tell me the cost. I told them about the waiting period on my insurance and they decided to just call and ask my insurance company. The company said there was no waiting period! I really don't believe it because I specifically remember them telling me there was, so I may still have to pay, but hopefully it is true that there isn't for some reason. I only had to pay $80 today (for the exam, x-rays and filling) and then when I go back in a couple of weeks it is only supposed to be $100 more!! If it turns out I don't have insurance then it will cost about $800, but that is still sooooo much better than what I was expecting. I seriously just feel sooo blessed!! I was praying all last night that the dentist would be able to fix the problem and that it wouldn't be too expensive. I really feel like this is a direct blessing from paying tithing, because my teeth were hurting soooo bad and I hadn't been to a dentist in about 3 years (aside from the simple cleaning I had in October). And I naturally just have weak teeth, so this is amazing! I have been thanking Heavenly Father all day!!! The numbness is finally starting to wear off and now my mouth is REALLY sore, but hopefully after a few days it will go away. YAY!