Lessons from my $40K dental treatment plan

Have you ever been handed a large medical bill?
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were handed one?
Do you dread going to dentists, like me?

Well I was going on my merry way until a tooth of mine cracked, in January 2022.

My husband took out a pair of pliers & pulled it out. For Real! Yes I thought he was joking too.
For $2K my surgeon extracted what was left of the tooth.

Then he sent me to a dentist to fix the rest of my teeth so they wouldn’t end up with the same fate.

One dentist flat out rejected me as a patient, saying that my case was too complex.

A 2nd dentist wanted to put a crown on every single tooth in my mouth, right away.

The 3rd dentist had the same diagnosis as the first two, that I had been grinding my teeth for decades. Most of the teeth are about half of their original height. Not only were 2 more teeth prime candidates for extraction, but also my bite, a new term that I’m learning, needed to be raised.

All in all I was handed a couple of $40K dental treatment plans.

..S..H..O..C..K..

Here I thought that I was healthy. And I thought I was doing everything RIGHT!

The shock of a missing tooth and $40K treatment plan stopped me in my tracks.

What had I done wrong?
How could I have NOT known that I grind my teeth in my sleep?

Where was I being stupid? The words of my Tai Chi teacher rang in my head.

“Do you take supplements?” He asked, knowing that I was vegan.
“No.” I said proudly.
“Don’t be stupid… there’re some nutrients you can’t get from a vegan diet.”
He was a blunt man …

Over the next 12 months I did a lot of research, reflection and self-inventory on what led to my teeth problems, what to do to fix them, and how to get back to a healthier state. It was a scary thought to think that maybe I was at the beginning of the end of feeling healthy and vibrant…

One of my discoveries was that I was too proud of my organic, vegan diet to want anything else. My ignorance and over-confidence was going to cost me my a lot of money.

Here are some of the lessons that I learned:

1. Stress from the pandemic and the post pandemic world seeps in and goes deep.
2. Your body breaks at its weakest link. Mine was my teeth. Yours might be your kidneys, or digestion.
3. Whatever you’ve been doing is great. It probably has helped you to avert bigger health issues, like kidney failure. FYI, teeth deterioration is an indication of kidney weakness.
4. Whatever you’ve been doing is probably not enough. Just look at how many family and friends have died or are dealing with bigger health issues. They’re simply a step ahead of you. Your turn may be next.
5. Good food itself is insufficient. You may be missing critical micro nutrients. Because mine was organic, etc I didn’t believe I needed anything else.
6. The sooner you look at the any problem you have, the better. I could have saved the two adjacent teeth had I gone to a dentist 3 years ago.
7. There’s always something you can do to dig yourself out of the health challenge that you’re in. Sometimes it may give you 5% improvement, sometimes 95%. It took me 18 months to get my teeth taken care of.

There might even be a silver lining if you persist! Mine has been an interesting journey to say the least.

I added a new health regime into my daily health routine as a result.

It’s been a really great addition! Here’s the proof 😁. My dentists were surprised to discover that new bone grew to cover the implant stem that they placed 6 months ago. My teeth are getting stronger as a result of my new health habits instead of keeping going downhill.

I’ll elaborate my journey in the coming months. Stay tuned.

Comment below/email me if you want to know more of what I’ve been doing sooner.