• Cowbee@lemm.ee
    ·
    11 months ago

    This. I've only been recently able to afford much needed dental care, and now it's too late for one of my teeth, a tooth above it broke the roots because my mouth is too crowded. Had I been able to afford it earlier, I would have a much more normal mouth.

    • RustyShackleford@literature.cafe
      hexagon
      ·
      11 months ago

      I have larger than average teeth too, so I had braces all of middle school.

      Hoping the cause of this is something simple like a sinus infection, though the area has a baby tooth that’s managed to hang on and it has fillings from when I was a kid.

      • Cowbee@lemm.ee
        ·
        11 months ago

        My problem is the opposite, normal teeth, small mouth! Haven't ever been able to have braces until now, so I'm knocking it all out now. Hope everything goes well for you!

      • Cowbee@lemm.ee
        ·
        11 months ago

        Yep, I'm grateful that I can fix what's still there, it's just unfortunate that teeth are luxury bones, and good health is a luxury in and of itself.

  • poinck@lemm.ee
    ·
    11 months ago

    Rethorical question: Where in the world your insurance doesn't cover this?

    And: Buying a house .. I don't know what to say about this. Who would do such a thing?

    • Hexbollah [he/him, any]
      ·
      11 months ago

      In America, dental and health insurance are separate. And many jobs that provide health insurance can often not provide dental insurance. There is a reason teeth are referred to as the "luxury bones".

    • gila@lemm.ee
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Aus here, for complex dental I can claim up to $800 annually on my extras cover, need braces for around $8000.


      Edit: forgot to mention it'd only have been ~$2000 around 2003 when I was first told I needed them, but my parents, whom paid off our house with a year's combined salary, couldn't afford it. My dad argued it should come out of his existing child support payment, and I didn't get them.

    • SoyViking [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      In Denmark, the social democratic Nordic welfare paradise, universal healthcare does not cover dental care for adults. If you're really poor and have an emergency you might have some luck begging the local municipality to pay for having the offending tooth pulled out but that's about it.

      The result is a wide class disparity in dental health and even people who are not poor think twice before going to the dentist, resulting in issues growing worse than they had to be.

      Some private insurance exists but they are free to reject you as a customer if your dental health is already bad.

      Nobody likes the current system or want to be seen defending it. The only argument that's given for maintaining the status quo is that doing the right thing would be too expensive.

  • Ergifruit [he/they]@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    11 months ago

    clove oil, babes. you can buy cloves and coconut oil at the dollar store. dump em both into a pot, simmer on low for a few hours. strain and pop into a container. it'll solidify, so you can just swipe a chunk and tip it across your gums and into any applicable holes. not as good as the distilled stuff, but it's kinda hard to make that yourself without the proper equipment.