The Wisdom (Teeth) of Adulthood
I had just had ‘one of those weeks’ at work. There was nothing really bad about the work week (luckily it wasn’t one of THOSE weeks), but I was on the heels of large event that our agency was organizing and that resulted in many late nights in the office. Some nights I tiptoed into my house at midnight, using the light of my iPhone (so as not to wake my sleeping beau) to help me find pajamas in my dark bedroom. Yep, it was one of those weeks.
It was also a week that I had a toothache. It started as a dull ache, near the back of my bottom left jaw. It was that kind of nagging ache, rooted deep in my tooth, which could be minimized by throwing back a few Advil. My busy days in the office didn’t have time for the ache, and I didn’t think much of it after the Advil took hold. My ‘work adrenaline’ was on high, and my bandwith already too full to worry about a tooth ache.
The event came and went successfully, but as I drove home from the event that Friday night, I realized I had taken 12 Advil that day to manage this pain in my tooth, which had grown from an ache to a persistent and acute throbbing.
When I went to bed that night, the pain was so intense that I could not fall asleep. I took two Aleve this time, half of a valium that I had left over from my recent international trip, and willed myself into a numbed sleep.
When I woke up on Saturday my face was swollen. In fact, my left cheek was so swollen that I couldn’t open my mouth very wide. But what was extremely troubling on this day was my left neck gland was so swollen that I couldn’t turn my head. Slowly, I began to panic as a startling realization swept over me: I did not have insurance….
See, I started a new job and my new insurance doesn’t kick in until December. I did opt for Cobra for my medical coverage (at a whopping $400 per month!) but did not select Cobra for my dental since I haven’t had a cavity in years!
So here I was. Swollen face, throbbing teeth, and uninsured.
I went to the local dental clinic and, after 3 hours of waiting and $100 later, was told that I need to get my wisdom teeth out and there was nothing they could do for me in the meantime.
Things had gotten worse: swollen face, throbbing teeth, needing a wisdom tooth surgery, AND uninsured. Unfortunately, I didn’t have several thousands of dollars laying around to cover this expense. And my pain was getting worse.
This was when I had my epiphany: Adulthood is being solely financially responsible for your own medical care.
In the recent New York Times article about Twentysomethings, the author posits that Twentysomethings are not yet adults.
Maybe the author is on to something after all — at least partly.
Under the new healthcare legislation, signed into law by President Obama earlier this year, children can stay on their parents’ health plan until age 26.
So, here I am: swollen, sleepless, and 29.
The burden of financial responsibility, as well as the responsibility to advocate for my own health, fall to no one but me. Thus I learned one of the biggest lessons of adulthood I have encountered yet: adulthood means being your own safety net.
Luckily, this story ended happily and I didn’t have to 1) sell my organs for money to pay for a wisdom teeth surgery, or 2) opt against a surgery I couldn’t afford and let my health deteriorate until I was completely incapacitated.
When I went to work on Monday, my boss, who is a very kind person and a good manager to boot, suggested I call her fancy dentist (you know, massage therapist on staff to give you foot rubs while you get your cavities filled) to at least get a second opinion that there wasn’t something they could do for me until I could afford to get my teeth pulled.
In tears, I called the dental office to explain my trauma and make an appointment. When I arrived, this dentist performed a 45-minute procedure on my gums (“this should get you through until your dental insurance kicks in and you can get your wisdom teeth out”), all while enduring a panic attack that was induced after he numbed me with 3 lithacane shots.
When I went to check out and pay my bill (I was dreading the total cost, but was relieved that the dentist had given me this intervening medical treatment, including a 10-day prescription of Amoxicillin for infection), I was informed that the procedure was done pro-bono!
This was one story of an uninsured adult that turned out well, but if it wasn’t for the kind heart of a doctor and the support of other concerned individuals, I may not have been so lucky.
The complexities of emotions that ran through me as I grappled with how I would ever be able to pay in full for a wisdom tooth surgery still haunts me. Affordable medical and dental care is not something that should be taken for granted. A lesson learned. Welcome to adulthood.
(photo via Dunleavy_Family on Flickr)
3 Responses to “The Wisdom (Teeth) of Adulthood”
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The best thing about that story is that it had a happy ending! Hooray for a cool dentist, nice to hear you didn’t have to sell your organs, but if you ever do, sell the gall bladder, apparently we don’t really need it…
I am so glad everything worked out for you!
I think it is bs that health insurance is tied to your job, because that means you they decide when you have care and the quality (or crapptitude) of your care. Instead, I say just let us pick our own care and pay us more! Furthermore wages are based on you opting into healthcare so if you deny it (because you are on your spouses or something) you are essentially just letting the company absorb that extra money they should be allotting to you……ah well, I’ll get off my rant, and back to the real world…..
Glad to hear the story had a happy ending, however I would have totally purchased your liver if you had to sell an organ – with the amount of alcohol I’ve consumed in my life, I know I need one
I feel your pain though about being uninsured. Doctor visits, medication and anything else medical related all comes out of my pocket. Needless to say, I haven’t been to the doctor in a LONG time.