Well, we went for the evaluation appointment today for Mr. Leeny's extractions and dentures. It was a large practice with many doctors, two of whom saw Mr. Leeny. Although they told us, as they are supposed to do, about all of our options, they pretty much agreed that in Mr. Leeny's situation the best thing to do would be to pull all of the teeth at once even though some of the back ones are not yet decayed. They also think it would be best not to give him the temporary dentures that are used these days and just let his gums heal with nothing in his mouth. I'm not sure why they advised this; I think the reasons had to do with Mr. Leeny's mental disability and the dry mouth that his medication gives him. The procedure can also be done in the clinic (the surgeon doesn't have priviledges at the hospitals here anyway) under light general anesthesia, the kind they use for colonoscopies.
They gave us the minimum price for everything because we don't have any insurance to cover this. They're not going to charge anything for the IV anesthesia. The whole smash, which includes extraction of 27 teeth and a full set of dentures, will cost $4,639 if done by November 6; after that, the fees may increase. They accept Care Credit and gave me a pamphlet about that; also, a financial organization associated with my church's denomination may be able to help some, too.
Right now, Mr. Leeny is thinking about it for a few days, as he always has to do when confronted with something major like this. He just has to get used to the idea before committing to it, and I will be investigating the financial arrangements while he's thinking it over. (He'd said at one point that he wanted to have it done in January so he could eat over the holidays. I told him that, if he put it off until then and the price went up, he'd be responsible for covering the difference. He's already having trouble eating, anyway; last night he had difficulty with a chicken casserole.) I'm just glad I'm not looking at having to pay a hospital for the rest of my life.
