submitted by Michelle Nicholson of North Carolina
Recently, my husband had an abscessed tooth that needed to be taken care of immediately. We do not have dental insurance, so I started to panic over the impending dental bill!
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Well, I decided there had to be a workable solution. I started looking on the internet for local dental schools. While there wasn't one that would pull the tooth here in our city (but one that would do free cleanings) there was one in a local city (big college town) a couple of hours away. So, we made an appointment, packed the car with snacks, and off we went.
Since we are homeschoolers, I made plans to visit a local museum while my husband was being treated so we could still count it as a school day. When all was done, my husband got his tooth pulled for $108 total, we still got school done, and he had taken a vacation day off work, so we didn't miss any income for that day.
I was thrilled about how the situation turned out. My husband had excellent care, as the students were in their last year of studies and had a instructor monitoring the entire time, including the use of Novocain.
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Editor's Note: Please read my column What to Do When You Don't Have Dental Insurance, if you are unable to find a dental school in your area or would prefer to seek professional care.
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Copyright © 2007 by Michelle Nicholson. All rights reserved.
