Our youngest son complained of a toothache on Tuesday night that intensified yesterday (we had a hard time controlling the pain for him) so I called the dentist this morning to get him in and assessed. As of right now, he is having a root canal done and then a filling put in because the cavity was deep enough to extend to the nerve (it was either do a root canal/filling or he would have to have an extraction done and the tooth is too close to the front of his mouth to do that to him). At some point in the near future, he'll need more dental work done to correct the problems and prevent this from happening again. This is an expense we didn't expect, nor can we really afford it at this point. We do have coverage (Praise the Lord) but we still have a co-pay (20% of the overall cost and a root canal, x-rays and fillings are not cheap). The dentist did say they would bill the insurance for what they will pay and we can pay our part after Christmas but he really wanted to get the tooth fixed (as did we). It delays the payment until after Christmas but we're in no better place then than we are right now - the income is still limited no matter when it is (other than Christmas will be out of the way by then). We need a serious financial blessing at this point to pay for the work being done right now (and vehicle repairs.... another expense we don't need but is staring us in the face) and what is to come in the future. I would far sooner see that blessing in the form of some kind of work for me (I do have an income right now but it will end in March and I need to find work in the biggest way) but God's will be done. Please pray for this as you think of it?
4 hours later, he is done (and at school he won't miss school for anything). His face swollen from the anesthetic and required to take Advil every 4 hours for 2 days. The bill wasn't as painful as I expected it would be but it still requires us to do some juggling around to cover it (and then the many other appointments he will need in the future for other work that needs to be done). The anxiety I was feeling two hours ago has subsided. Praying God will keep it at bay ETA: On a good note, he called home shortly after 2 to come home (the freezing is coming out) but he's not in too much pain at this point.
We had so many dental bills, because of me, that we joined Care Credit. We didn't have to pay interest as long as we paid on time and paid it off by the date we agreed to. Best part was that the payments were not too high. I hope your son is doing okay tonight. If he starts hurting too much when he goes to bed, tell him to try sleeping more elevated. I have had more than one root canal and sleeping on two pillows helps me.
He's such a trooper and hasn't complained about much pain (unless he's pushing around the area where the work was done). I did give him his Advil anyway this morning and that seems to be sufficiently controlling the pain for him. I can't stand having a debt hanging over my head so we're really digging into our finances to see what we can do to pay it off ASAP. The dentist was generous enough to do this for us and I feel that I need to honor it and pay it as soon as we can.
