On Fri, 29 May 2020 13:17:51 -0400, Radey Shouman
wrote:

John B. writes:

On Thu, 28 May 2020 22:58:12 -0400, Radey Shouman
wrote:

John B. writes:

On Thu, 28 May 2020 09:32:06 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 5/28/2020 12:42 AM, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 27 May 2020 20:53:35 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 5:38:47 PM UTC-5, wrote:

Paydays are excellent when you need some fast calories and don't mind
chewing a bit.

Unlike Jay I still have all of my teeth.


And why do you think Jay doesn't have a full complement of teeth?
He is an attorney. So I am guessing he makes at least the median
US income. So he should be able to afford a dental insurance
plan. He is an independent attorney, not employed by a firm. So
he does have to purchase his own plan. But I assume there are
insurance plans available to attorneys offices. So he is probably
able to get dental insurance through work, sort of, if he cannot
purchase a dental plan as an individual.

A serious question here. Can't the average USian afford dental care
without an insurance plan?


In 1965 the ADA opted out of many new government programs,
unlike AMA. Hence there are still reasonably priced cash
dentists. Not so much for MDs.

I was wondering as when I lived there was no real problem in "going to
the dentist" but I read above the mention of "Dental Insurance".

Dental insurance, or a dental care plan, or whatever really doesn't
change much in my experience. Simple cavities and preventive care are
reasonably affordable for those with good jobs, but the upper limit of
dental expenses has gone way up. My wife got a mouthful of implants a
few years ago, and it cost enough to buy a better car than I have ever
considered having. I had dental insurance through my employer, which
paid very little, and made no difference whatsoever in choosing a course
of treatment.

The alternative, of course, would have been dentures, which are still
much, much better than gumming all your food.

Some years ago I contemplated implants but in researching it seemed
that they install a metal stud and then wait for a period to ensure
that it becomes firmly attached and then add the "denture". But if the
initial stud doesn't become firmly attached than they remove the stud
and go no further. Or at least that was the way it was explained to
me. I thought about a mouth full of studs some of which were good and
could "hold" a tooth, and some of which couldn't be used and would be
replaced by what? Some sort of denture? And decided against them.

That's my understanding. My wife had to have some bone grafts to seal up
the hole that would otherwise be made in her sinuses. The implants all
"took", but some not in exactly the intended spots, so our regular
dentist had to do a lot of work faffing around with the bridge to go on
the implants. First she had to heal for a bit, carefully avoiding any
smiles that might show the freakish titanium implants, then she wore a
temporary bridge, which kept falling off, then finally she wore the
permanent bridge with temporary cement, so it could be tweaked. The
original plan was to have something that screwed on, but that didn't
work out because of how the implants actually seated.

For months after she started wearing the new teeth I had trouble
understanding her, I guess the lips didn't slide right and she developed
a lisp. Now, however, all seems well and I hear no complaints.

Incidentally, it's possible to get implants in the US for nothing, if
you play your cards right. My brother went to dental school in Kansas
City, and described the competition for volunteer patients around the
time the dental class sought certification. They have to perform a
number of procedures under supervision as a test, and need to find their
own patients to allow it. If he was not exaggerating it seems that most
of the homeless population of Kansas City may well have implants by now.

As for gumming your food... it depends greatly on what sort of food
you are eating :-) Chocolate cake, for example, gums quite well :-)

I would really hate to have to live on chocolate cake. I would rather chew
raw field corn like Mr. Muzi.

Raw Field Corn? Well, I suppose although that is usually intended as
animal feed :-) But raw "sweet corn", that is corn intended for human
consumption, is quite good raw. As a kid I ate a lot of it and it is
best a bit before it is fully mature while the kernels are still not a
bright yellow.
--
cheers,

John B.