dentist woes

This is another thing that happened that demonstrated to me that I am a terrible grown-up. I went to the dentist in March, and my dentist was like, "Here are some issues. You seem to grind and/or clench your teeth at night, so you need a mouth guard. Also, some old fillings are falling out, so you need replacements." My response is, "Mmhm, yeah. I've just been to the dentist for the first time in several years. I've done my duty by my teeth."

At the time of this dental visit, I had dental coverage from my job in Campbell River. The coverage extended until August, and the dentist recommended I get all this sorted by then. But I'm all, "Nah. I don't like the dentist, so I'm just not going to go back."

I went back this week. And the dentist said to me, "So, your teeth are sort of breaking each other apart with the whole grinding thing. Also, there are these fillings, remember the ones I told you about? They're still falling out. Plus, you have a chip in your tooth, which I think is from the grinding."

I said, "No, that's from my dog." Because one time Charlie was like, "Surprise!" and whipped his head back into my teeth and his little skull chipped my tooth. I thought this was an important detail.

The dentist and the hygienist both gave me a look. "Okay," he said, "but you still need to fix it."

So now I have to pay for all these things, with no dental coverage, because I didn't feel like going when I had dental coverage. Do you know how much all these things cost? So much! Right now I'd really rather spend that money rebuilding my collection of nail polish, because did you know that when nail polishes get old they become goopy and difficult to apply? True story.