Dental Infection- Need help. :(?

Almost a year ago I was sent to the emergency room because of a dental infection. My face swelled up %26amp; I could not see out of my right eye for about two weeks. My doc told me I had to get the infected tooth taken care otherwise it could lead to a series of big problems. I have yet to take care of it because I have no way of paying thay much money for a specialist.. Now my tooth pain is coming back %26amp; I still do not have the $ for the procedure. I prob should not have waited this long because I know if I dont take care of it, the infection could cause terrible problems with my heart and all.





Does anyone know of an organzation that could give me free help or assist me with getting my dental procedures done so I will not need to suffer anymore nor worry about this. Or has anyone heard of colleges who do the dental work for you with the supervision of the professor?





Any advice is greatly appreciated!





Thankz

Dental Infection- Need help. :(?
Who told you that you need to see a specialist? If it is simply that you need to have a tooth pulled, there are numerous general dentists that could do this.





I am a little confused. You got sent to the ER, but you say that you don't have the money to take care of that tooth? Unless you have great medical insurance that paid for that ER visit, I am sure you know what an ER visit costs. You are setting yourself up for another trip to the ER. You say that you don't have the money to take care of this tooth, but you have had a year that you could have been saving the money to have it extracted. How much do you think this would cost? Even if it was $500, you have had a year to save up for this. You say that you are worried about the damage to your health, but you have obviously not made any effort in the past year to try to save up money and have it taken care of.





I don't mean to sound like a rude, hateful person, but , to a person in the dental field, you are comming across as someone who isn't really as concerned about their health, as they are about getting the treatment for free. This may not be the case, but you could have saved the money in the last year, if this was really an issue with you.
Reply:I don't know where you are, but there should be a college nearby where students under the supervision of a doctor, should be able to take care of you, and hopefully set up a reasonable payment plan. I can say from experience you need to get this taken care of right away. I had an infection in my wisdom teeth that spread to the rest of my teeth through a sinus that runs underneath connecting everything. I not only had to have all of my wisdom teeth removed, but 6 additional teeth, and they are still taking infected tissue. You are right about it posing a serious risk to your health. Get it looked at as soon as possible.
Reply:It's surprising how someone experiences the same things as you do! I had the EXACT same problem!! I was diagnosed with cellulitis and it can spread through your bones and tissue and cause problems. I was given antibiotices as treatment and I also CAN NOT AFFORD A DENTIST. It's been two years since I had the problem. The only suggestion I have for you is to see if you qualify for medicaid. They will cover your dental needs and other things too. I recognized the causes of my flare ups and I avoid them now. I also use orange flavored listerene twice a day to kill the bacteria and germs and keep my mouth healthy. If you remember what caused your infection and don't eat it again and use some kind of bacteria killer in your mouth regularly, (if you already don't), that will help you out. It also dulls the pain. Please let me know how you do with this thing okay. lwilliams2036@yahoo.com.
Reply:Pain! I had an infected wisdom tooth about 10 years ago and it was excruciatingly painful. As soon as the infection went away I had all four pulled. I haven't had a problem since. I know nowadays dentists won't bill you and demand payment up front. Maybe you could talk to them and make out some kind of a payment plan. Tell them you'll sign something and pay a certain amount each month. Crying may help, especially if you're a man.
Reply:I'm going to have to agree with Huskymom on this (as I usually do). Why did you let this tooth go for so long? Did you do any research on what it would cost to take care of this tooth? It sounds like you need to take this tooth out and just be done with it. Normally, that will cost around $200 or so (this includes extraction, x-ray and exam). Now, I don't normally tell people to take out their teeth, I'm a big advocate on saving them, but if you are someone who keeps putting things off, just take it out.
Reply:All, be aware that emergency rooms have state funding to provide charity care. Even people who make a little money and go "over the top" and make too much to qualify for Medicaid can not afford ER care, so this picks up the slack. Unfortunately this option is difficult to find for dental services, but:





Contact your local or state dental association and and see if there are any dentists who provide free or reduced cost care for low-income, disabled or senior patients.





Call your local health department and ask about health centers that provide dental care for free or on a sliding scale.





Go to a dental school, if there is one near you, for reduced costs.





Check http://www.toothwoman.net to see if low-cost or free dental services are available near you.





Check http://bphc.hrsa.gov and choose "Find a Health Center" to see if there is a low-cost clinic near you.





Check http://www.nfdh.org/DDS.html to see if your state has a "Donated Dental Services" program. D.D.S. is designed to locate dentists who will give free care to patients who are financially compromised due to medical problems. Not all states have D.D.S. programs.
Reply:hi





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good luck