need ur wisdom

[Guest050817]

Have a friend that needs a dentist. She has been trying to find one that will work with payments due to not having health insurance. Has been in tremendous amount of excruciating pain lately due to the tooth. She has tried care credit but didn’t qualify. She is most definitely able to make payments just can’t do the full amount up front. She has been to two different dentist and both have recommended extraction for the tooth and a dental implant following the extraction. She definitely wants the implant because of the problem tooth being in a visible area. Does not want just the tooth extraction alone. Just looking for some advice/suggestion/dentist.

[ElisabethWhispers]

Finding low cost dental care if tougher than finding low cost health visits or STD type of clinics. It'll take some research. Got this from a list on the internet.

The only other suggestion that I have is that she save a few dollars, again do some research, and go to Mexico to get the work done.

When I was at the museums working, I dealt with a lot of volunteers. In the non-profit sector, volunteers are usually more elderly and have disposable income. However, a bunch of ladies would go to these nicer clinics in Mexico to get major dental work done for a lesser cost.

I think it would be worth checking into! Good luck.

Alright. Here is the list that I found on the internet:

1. Dallas County Hospital District, located at 5000 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75235. 214-590-0153. Services include: Dental Care Services, Enabling Services, Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services, Other Professional Services, Primary Medical Care, Specialty Medical Care.

2. Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic, located at 809 Singleton Boulevard, Dallas, TX, 75212. 214-571-6132. Services include: Dental Care Services, Enabling Services, Obstetrical and Gynecological Care, Other Professional Services and Primary Medical Care.

3. Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Clinic, located at 2922-B Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75315. 214-426-3645. Services include: Dental Care Services, Obstetrical and Gynecological Care, Primary Medical Care and Other Professional Services.

4. North Dallas Shared Ministries, located at 2875 Merrell Road, Dallas, TX, 75229. 972-620-8696. Services include both Medical care and a Dental Clinic (Adult Extractions & Gum Disease Only) Website: www.ndsm.org

5. The Stewpot/Homeless, located at 408 Park Avenue (at Young Street), Dallas, TX, 75201. 214-746-2785. Services include: dental and medical care, mental health services, legal aid to the homeless and at-risk, and much more. Website: www.thestewpot.org

6. Parkland Health & Hospital System, located at 5201 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75235. 214-590-8000. Parkland Hospital’s 11 Community Outreach Patient Dental Care (COPC) local facilities are listed here, including addresses, phone numbers, map and directions, fees and more.

7. Baylor College of Dentistry Clinic, located at 3302 Gaston, Dallas, TX, 75246. 214-828-8100. Website: http://bcd.tamhsc.edu. Baylor College clinics provide a full range of comprehensive dental treatment for those who have needs that correspond to the teaching needs of the dental students. Baylor’s Dentistry Clinic also offers an Urgent Care Emergency Extraction Clinic to extract (pull) teeth on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fees are somewhat lower than in a private dentist’s office, but more frequent and longer visits are typically required.

8. Dental Health For Arlington Inc, located at 201 N. East Street, Arlington, TX, 76011. 817- 277-1165. Services include: preventive and pain relieving dental care for low-income families and to educate children about good oral hygiene. Website: www.dentalhealtharlington.org

9. Bluitt-Flowers Health Center, located at 303 E. Overton Road, Dallas, TX 75216. 214-266-4200. Services include: Dental, Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy, Mammography, Nutrition, Psychology/ Psychiatry, Social Work, TDHS, WIC, Adolescent Medicine Specialty.

10. deHaro-Saldivar Health Center, located at 1400 N. Westmoreland Rd, Dallas, TX 75211. 214-266-0500. Services include: Dental, Texas Department of Health and Human Services, Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy, Nutrition, Mammography, Psychology/Psychiatry, Social Work, Language Assistance.

11. East Dallas Health Center, located at 3320 Live Oak, Dallas, TX 75204. 214-266-1000. Services include: Dental, MHFP, Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy, Mammography, Nutrition, Psychology, Refugee Program, Social Work, TDHS, WIC.

12. Garland Health Center, at 802 Hopkins, Garland, TX 75040. 214-266-0700. Services include: Dental, MHFP, Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy, Epilepsy, WCS and Anti-coagulation, Adult Diabetes Education, Pediatric Asthma Education, Epilepsy, Mammography, Nutrition, Psychology / Psychiatry, Social Work, TDHS, WIC.

13. Dental Health Clinics of Collin County McKinney Clinic, located at 825 N. McDonald Street – Suite 130 (inside Collin County healthcare), McKinney, TX, 75069. 972-548-5580. Non-profit dental center providing quality dental care for low-income patients. Medicaid and CHIP accepted, and have greatly reduced copay fees for uninsured patients, regardless of treatment.

14. Community Dental Center of Plano TX, located at 900 E. Park Blvd, Plano, TX, 75074
972-633-3380. Same details as the McKinney Community Dental Center: Non-profit dental center providing quality dental care for low-income patients. Medicaid and CHIP accepted, and have greatly reduced copay fees for uninsured patients, regardless of treatment.

15. Community Dental Center of Carrollton/Farmers Branch, located at 13551 Dennis Lane, Dallas, TX, 75234. 972-241-2259. Non-profit dental center providing quality dental care for low-income patients. Reduced rates for low-income children, proof required of low-income status (check stub, income tax form, notarized letter from employer). Medicaid and CHIP accepted, and have greatly reduced copay fees for uninsured patients, regardless of treatment.

16. Dental Hygiene Center Collin County at the Community College McKinney, (hygiene students provide supervised, quality dental care) on a sliding scale. The clinic is located at the Central Park Campus, 2200 W. University Drive in McKinney. 972-548-6537 or 972-516-5030. Community Dental Programs of Collin County provides primary dental care for low income children ages 1-20, who qualify for the National School Lunch Program or Medicaid. Services include exams, cleaning, x-rays, pit and fissure sealant application, periodontal scaling and root planing, restorations and extractions.

[bored@home]

Get the tooth extracted to ease the pain, it is going to have to come out anyway and likely a round of antibiotics. This can be done by any office and usually not a bank breaker cash wise. May even look at student clinics or more discounts.
Next size up alternatives to the expensive implant (which by the way takes time and multiple steps). Things like a bridge or a partial can be decent solutions and can help this friend save up for Mexico (which is a huge saving and not anything near as "shady" as it may seem) or domestic.

[ElisabethWhispers]

From my understanding, and I've known several people who go to Mexico, these doctors get their education in the US and then practice in Mexico.

The clinics are nice. The cost is a fraction of what you would spend here. Very win/win.

And these clinics are well known and are out there, if you know who to ask. I'm just out of that group setting and so I don't have any recent information. And for now, I don't care to do that type of research.

But it's out there and fairly easy to find.

Good luck.

Elisabeth

[TexTushHog]

Pull the tooth. You have to get this done separately from any repair work in any event. Then make a decision on bridge versus implant, etc. But an implant, while likely the best solution from a technical standpoint, will take at least 6 months to complete. Often more.

[guest012815-1]

First off are you sure it needs pulled ?
Pain does not = pull
If she has plenty of tooth structure above the gum line and there is no bone loss do to gingivitis she can get a root canal. They remove they nerve. No nerve no pain Then the can cap the tooth.
For your best care simply go to Baylor Medical dental school
The students are in there 7 th year and will be graduating within 1-2 years. All steps will be overseen by a team a A+Doctors/professors.
They have the latest technology and are cutting edge.
They even do implants and complete jaw restructuring if needed.

[ElisabethWhispers]

Originally Posted by Extreme

...
For your best care simply go to Baylor Medical dental school
The students are in there 7 th year and will be graduating within 1-2 years. All steps will be overseen by a team a A+Doctors/professors.
They have the latest technology and are cutting edge.
They even do implants and complete jaw restructuring if needed.

They're great. I had my braces done there when I was a teenager.

But it takes months to get accepted there and it's not the cheap option that it used to be, I don't believe.

I checked it out a few years back. Maybe things have changed. But if Baylor is an option for this person, then she will need to do something immediate.

By the way ... everything that you need to learn about the program at Baylor, which the school is on Gaston Avenue in Dallas ... is online and you can learn more about it there.

[guest012815-1]

True, there is a waiting list for standard procedures but emergencies will take top priority.

[Prolongus]

Anybody else see the irony in the "wisdom" title?

[bored@home]

Originally Posted by Prolongus

Anybody else see the irony in the "wisdom" title?

Yep

[ck1942]

http://www.catholiccharitiesfortworth.org/dentalclinic

[Guest031919]

Originally Posted by Extreme

First off are you sure it needs pulled ?
Pain does not = pull
If she has plenty of tooth structure above the gum line and there is no bone loss do to gingivitis she can get a root canal. They remove they nerve. No nerve no pain Then the can cap the tooth.
For your best care simply go to Baylor Medical dental school
The students are in there 7 th year and will be graduating within 1-2 years. All steps will be overseen by a team a A+Doctors/professors.
They have the latest technology and are cutting edge.
They even do implants and complete jaw restructuring if needed.

I actually know a bit about this because last year I bit down on a low-carb tortilla and cracked a tooth all the way in the back. I do have dental insurance, so it was not a big deal but I learned a lot about it.
And P.S: Never eat low-carb tortillas! Those things are like eating rocks!

Yes, unless the tooth is cracked she can get a root canal...FOR SURE..they may have suggested having it pulled just because they know she is uninsured and that procedure is only a couple hundred bucks, compared to a root canal, which can be almost a thousand dollars.

If she does decide to get the tooth pulled, she can also possibly get a temporary tooth until she can get the money together for the permanent implant. These are called "Flipper teeth" and they are really inexpensive. It's not a long term solution, but good for a few months and she will be out of pain...and not look like she has a tooth missing. Here is the info on that: http://health.howstuffworks.com/well...pper-teeth.htm

The other thing....no one can be denied insurance now (even if you have a pre-existing condition, like an infected tooth) and yes, that goes for dental insurance..so I am curious as to why she wouldn't just call and sign up for a health plan, tack on a dental plan, pay the first month's premium and then when the insurance kicks in on the 1st, go to the dentist. Yes, she may have a $500 or $1000 deductible but if she is a working girl, she should not have any problem getting that together in a few days.

[Alyssa Marie]

My understanding with insurance is that if you did not enroll during the enrollment period, which was constantly extended, you have to wait until there is another open enrollment.

I would suggest calling catholic charities and asking them for a referral.
You can also call places like a drug rehab, mental health clinic, etc. Those places are known to have contact information for all low cost health care.

Dental colleges aren't as easy as they used to be.

If she has a passport, Mexico is a wonderful option.

[TallDallasGuy]

I agree with most of what was written above! Baylor dental school is out of the question probably as it will take months to get in. I would suggest save up money and or continue to call dentists all day until you find one that can work with your situation.

More than likely, health insurance is not going to cover dental work, dental insurance would be needed for that. Most dental insurance policies are not very expensive, but they may consider this a pre-existing condition, which may or not be covered with all of these health care law changes.

Also calling different churches would be a good suggestion. If your friend has some money, and is in that bad of pain, there's a dentist out there that more than likely you will consider helping. They just want to make sure they're going to get paid.

And the dental suggestion in Mexico is a good idea. I've known several people that have gotten thousands of dollars of dental work done for less than 50% of what it would cost in America. But, if she is having trouble finding a way to make payment here, she won't be able to make it down to Mexico.