WOULD FREE HEALTHCARE BE LIKE THIS?

If this is the kind of work that a young dentist would perform, for patients that use the Illinois Medicaid card for insurance, I would hate to think of what a country with FREE Healthcare would be faced with.

Who would have thought that the girl in the picture at the top of this blog could have a mouth like this? Yes, it is me. I am not proud of my dental situation, but I am willing to embarrass myself in order to bring awareness to this issue. Beware because the next picture is worse.

Let me just start by saying that I am not proud of the fact that I am not financially able to provide medical insurance for my son and I. But in a Country where the rich keep getting richer, and the middle class are getting poorer, a single mother has little chance of full financial freedom, especially if fathers can't or don't help with support. My son and I are happy and get along rather well, so no pity please.

Now, about the pics. I recently went to my local dentist to start fixing some teeth that had been in need of attention. They took x-rays and he did a great job explaining the work I needed done, but it was going to get quite expensive. I decided I would do as much as I could afford each month. It would take a while, but it would get done and I would not be in dentures anytime soon.

Between appointments at my regular dentist a friend told me about a new dental clinic that opened in Bradley, Illinois that accepts Illinois Medicaid. This sounded like a great idea to me. I could go there and get the two extractions I needed and any fillings, then go to my regular dentist for any cosmetic work the clinic would not cover. Big Mistake!

The dentist who worked on my teeth at Bradley Dental Clinic, Patrick Dermesropian, took a quick look at the x-rays, a quick look in my mouth then proceeded to tell me of a tooth he could not save. "There is decay down in the root" he said. Well, because my local dentist had already told me that he could save this tooth I told him to just leave that tooth alone. He then said the two bottom molar teeth needed to be removed and I agreed. He said that Medicaid only covers fillings or extractions on teeth in the back of the mouth and then asked me what I would like him to do. "I guess just go ahead do the fillings" I said. He decided he would start on the left side and asked if I would like him to go ahead and pull the molar on that side while he was in there. I said yes.

Everything was just moving so fast and I was trying to decide if this was a good thing or not. I did not have a good feeling and he did not tell me which teeth he would be filling. I turned to him and asked "What color will the fillings be?" "They will be white" he said. This gave me some comfort and I tried to relax.

Dr. Patrick managed to drill and fill 5 teeth plus pull a molar, all in 40 minutes. When he was done he provided me with no care sheet or instructions, he just handed me a script for amoxicillin and tylenol 3 and told me to come back in 10 days. I was still in shock from gagging on a piece of something that was lodged in the back of my throat, my jaw was throbbing and I was just ready to get the heck out of there.

When I got out to the car, a friend had drove me, I looked on the rear view mirror to change the gauze from the whole where my tooth once was, and I almost started to cry. "Oh my God, what did he do to my teeth?" I said to my friend. My friend looked and did not know what to say. I was so upset, but I'm stubborn and did not cry until I got home

The photo above was taken the day after he worked on the bottom left side ofmy mouth. The photo here on the right is what he did, on the same day, to the top left back teeth. My teeth look worse now than they did when I went in. What was once decay in the crevices of my teeth, now looks like I've eaten a piece of dirty bread that is stuck in my teeth. As you can see from the photos, especially the one of the top back teeth, there is still decay. This tooth will never survive with decay still lurking, so this dentist has wasted taxpayers dollars. I know this photo looks bad, but his work actually looks even worse than the pictures reveal.

I called the clinic, after I took a couple of tylenol 3 and calmed down. I told them that it was the worst dental work I had ever had done and that the dentist told me the fillings would be white. I also stated that the dentist should have asked me before putting metal in teeth that are clearly visible while speaking/SINGING. I would have rather saved my money and had them done right, which I will be doing anyway. They want me to come back and try to rectify the situation. If I do return to the clinic it will not be for dental work, but to confront the young, inexperienced, lazy dentist.

Is this the quality of work we expect from those in the health profession. Just because I was not the one paying this Deranged Dentist, does not mean he was not getting paid.Because he is on a fee schedule I suffered the consequences. He did not bother to tell me I would have a mouth full of metal because he wanted to do the work and make a quick buck. He did not care one bit how my mouth looked when I left that office.

If Hillary is elected, and passes her Free Healthcare plan, I pray I never get a finger cut off. And if I do, I might as well stay home and sew the damn thing back on myself.