Tuesday, August 28, 2007

You know you're ghetto when...


Have you ever received that email forward that has a random list of "ghetto" stuff and you're supposed to calculate how "ghetto" you are? Well, I've received that email a lot (should I be offended?) and I always thought one of the "ghetto-isms" was funny as hell. You know the one that says, "You've never been to the dentist." At the time I was with "the ex" and he had never been to the dentist EVER in his whole life. So when I read that in the email, it rang true.

But I almost ghetto-fied myself because, before today, I hadn't been to the dentist in 4 years. Ya'p, my last dentist visit was in 2003 in Charlotte, NC. I remember it vividly because I had gone in for a routine cleaning, but came out with swollen gums, numbness, and new metal in my mouth. See, when the doctor checked my x-rays he noticed 2 huge cavities that were extremely close to hitting nerves (which would've meant 2 root canals). I didn't have time to even think about anything because before I knew it, he'd reclined my chair, handed me some headphones, and started the drill. It wasn't bad though; he'd given me the novacaine shot (twice) so I couldn't feel anything. And I never got the routine cleaning I went in for.

When I received a coupon in the mail a couple of weeks ago for a dentist's office around the corner ($39 for cleaning, xrays, and initial consult with the doc), I had to take the deal. I'd been experiencing pain while eating sweets for months and assumed I had about 3 cavities in various spots. I got a really thorough cleaning by an extra talkative, but nice, hygenist (she said it would've costed me about $300 because it was not a normal cleaning). My really cute doctor, Dr. Jimmy, got even cuter when he told me my teeth looked great on the xrays. He did his little check (nothing compared to that damn cleaning) and that was it. I paid my $39 and left the office without ever mentioning the pain I've been having.

My friend Chrissy said I should've told Dr. Jimmy about my pain because the xrays could've missed something. In retrospect, I should've. I was just so excited for a dental visit to go well, I wanted to believe that nothing was wrong. I'm gonna give my mouth some time to heal; I'll go back and tell Dr. Jimmy to hurt me...hurt me so good.

With Dr. Jimmy as my dentist, I'll never go "ghetto" again.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just pull all the back teeth out and chew with your front. No one will know.

mer said...

Did Dr. Jimmy wear a wedding ring? You could have just met #10!

minus five said...

if you do end up having to do more work on your teeth later, get signed up with www.dentalplans.com. i had to do that last year. i think it ends up being $99 or soemthing for a whole year of coverage. you get one or two free cleanings and check-ups and free x-rays. on other things, they cover a pretty big chunk of change. i had waited 4 years, maybe 5, to go to the dentist b/c i was broke and unemployed. when i did go, it was because the pain was too much to go one more day. two root canals. honestly, the pain of a root canal isn't as bad as what i've heard. it hurt worse to have my teeth hurt the way they did. it did, however, hurt my wallet when i had to lay down $3000 in cash. if i hadn't had dentalplans.com, it would have been twice that amount.

Anonymous said...

I most def agree with minus five...I am another customer of dentalplans.com. When I got my braces, they treated it like an Aetna (major insurance provider)PPP plan. So it wasn't as expensive and it could have been.

Anonymous said...

Thanks minus five and shavon for the tip. I, like Tracie, am truly ghetto-fied. It's been about two years since my last dentist visit. I stop going because even with insurance, I was paying way to much money after each visit. Frankly, I believe it was because my dentist was talking me into things that were not covered under my plan and that I was convinced I truly didn't need.

Now that I am only employed part-time, having dental (hell, having health insurance) seems more of a luxury than a necessity. Thank you, American healthcare!

Jessica said...

Ha! I am more ghetto than you! I haven't been to the dentist in six years!