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13 April, 2011

Root Canal; Part II

Ok, so it turns out that it is different than a root canal. Once Dra. Monica got to look inside my mouth at the results from Dr. Jose's surgery, she determined a root canal wasn't necessary. Although the break in the tooth was deep, it didn't expose or damage the nerve, so she said she'll put in a crown.
Dra. Monica Working On Yours Truly
Dra. Monica was kind enough to let me take a picture of her at work on me. Well, I didn't take the photo, her assistant did. The 'trouble light' that dentists use really focuses some intense light so my mouth in the photo looks like it's glowing of its own accord.

I'll be going back to see her Thursday, next week. It turns out there's a bit of inflammation of the gum and before she seats the permanent porcelain tooth, she wants to make sure that's all taken care of. Dra. Monica prescribed some medicated mouth wash, which I'm using religiously twice a day.

Right now, I have a rough-textured temporary crown in place - but that is an improvement. I can actually eat again without cringing. The down-side is that I can only drink room-temperature Belikin. Bummer. But, at least it's beer and I'm usually in the pool while I'm drinking it. BTW, the cost for the crown will end up being $600.00 BZD. Still less than just about any procedure up north.

I'll include a final entry on this part of the saga after my next visit to Dra. Monica. Then, it's back to Dra. Glenda for more normal dental stuff, like cleaning, replacing old metal fillings with the plastic ones, etc. I'll keep you tuned in on that too.

Cheers,

7 comments:

JRinSC said...

Woo wee - that's a great price on a crown! Up here, the going rate is between $900 and $1,000USD. Of course, they say the price is for the convenience of one stop shopping. They make the crown on-site and do it all in one visit... but $1,000!!! Wow

Hope all goes well and the beer temp can plummet back down to normal.

Cheers!

Julian

Vivien said...

Crowns must go up in price as you get further away from the equator. Here in Canada I paid over $1200.00 CAD for a crown that I had to wait 10 days to have it made.
It is good that you didn't need a root canal. I am happy for you.
Viv

Ziggy said...

Please do research on replacing your fillings. We have had a bad experience here in the States with replacement fillings. I hope to take advantage of the Belize Dental Plan this year - they want $200 U.S. just for a cleaning here!

Dave Rider said...

Hi Julian,
So far, everything is going along quite well. It is fun to be able to eat on both sides of my mouth, however, I am looking forward to getting the permanent crown in and the beer cold. Although warm beer is better than no beer, and warm beer that was never intended to be consumed warm at that!
Cheers,
Dave

Hi Vivien,
I think it's a formula incorporating your latitude and accumulated snow depth plus they throw in the available cash rule too.
Cheers,
Dave

Hi Mr. Roarke,
I've done a little, most of it reading other folks rants on the subject on a lot of websites.
The deciding factor for me is that most of my fillings are around 40-50 years old, and when Dr. Jose removed the filling from my broken tooth, he said the filling just turned to powder.
More folks should consider taking a 'dental vacation' to Belize. The cost will probably come close to equaling what you would have spent just on a procedure up there, and you get to chill (pun intended) in a warm Caribbean locale.
Cheers,
Dave

JRinSC said...

Interesting idea... now how to cause just enough trouble to make the trip "pay" with pain, of course. Hmmmm.. I'll work on it.

Brian said...

Amazing. I've been reading that dental prices are a fraction of Yankee prices so it's interesting to make a direct comparison.

I had a crown done about two years ago in the Tampa area that set me back $1200 and like Vivien, I had to wait over a week for the "real" crown to be made and have it cemented in place.

I'm heading back down to Belize in November; maybe I'll drop in to see Dr. Monica.

Dave Rider said...

Hi Brian,

Don't forget Dra. Glenda. She does crowns as well. She just doesn't do root canal procedures.
And don't forget Dr. Garcia (I don't know what his first name is).
All three dentists have very good reputations here in town and I'm sure their prices are competitive too.
Cheers,
Dave