First time at the dentist

Today was Ian's first appointment. It was just an "infant" appointment (free), which only includes a very brief exam. Nadia had her third appointment today. Her first was also an infant one, and then she had her first real appointment (including cleaning, exam by the dentist, fluoride, etc.) six months ago. She cried during her infant appointment but did an amazing job at her first and second "real" appointments. I am so relieved and pleased!

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Since I'm not keen on dentist appointments I was assuming they might be challenging with little ones. I'm glad that hasn't been the case thus far! Ian did cry during his brief exam, but he had a blast playing with the train table in their waiting room during Nadia's appointment. Neither of them wanted to leave at the end. They just wanted to play with the trains. They were each given a very large balloon at the dentist.

Unfortunately neither of them are interested in the Bob the Builder one (which was for Ian). They both just want to play with Sleeping Beauty (which was for Nadia). At least they both made it home in tact this time. Six months ago one of them popped in between the doctor's office and our car. Both kids got a good report. I was encouraged to start flossing their teeth. Well it took me almost 40 years to get in the habit of regularly flossing MY teeth, and I don't think Paul has ever flossed his teeth. I've been happy that I brush their teeth three times a day. I do want them to start flossing sooner than I did, but I think I'll wait just a little bit longer because neither of them are super keen on teeth brushing much less flossing.

It seems almost every day I could write something about the EOBs that arrive at our house on an almost daily basis. Let me just say once again that having two insurance policies is of ZERO benefit financially, and it's a big, huge headache. Another thing I learned in the last year is that hospitals vary greatly in how much they charge for the same procedure. Hershey charged FAR less (we're talking thousands of dollars difference) than CHOP for the same exact procedure (upper endoscopy). Also, Hershey charged FAR less (we're talking about more than $500 difference) for Ian's feeding team appointment than our local hospital. In fact, if I wasn't so weary of dealing with medical bills, I think I'd challenge the local one because it really seems fraudulant. Part of the $949 bill (for a 45 minute appointment with a speech therapist and an OT) was $208 for "tests/procedures." They didn't do any tests or procedures on Ian. They talked to me for most of the time, and they also watched me try to feed him for a few minutes. The only "test" they did on him was to weigh him and measure his length. The irony is that the Hershey feeding team charged FAR less for a MUCH longer appointment (more than twice as long), and their team inclues a psychologist (PhD) whereas the local feeding team doesn't include anyone with anything more than a master's degree. So the bottom line is that in terms of cost, Hershey has proven to be the most reasonable (compared to CHOP and our local hospital). That's trivia I wish I didn't know anything about!

One lesson that I learned yesterday is that it also doesn't always pay to have double dental insurance. It did help out in January (during our two week overlap) because if bills go first to my dental insurance, United Concordia (which we are paying a little bit for through PSU) will pay the difference. I didn't owe a dime for my crown in January, which was really nice. Last month Paul had his 6 month appointment, and it went first to United Concordia, and my dental insurance (as a faculty member) didn't pay one dime of the $30 left on the bill. I called them yesterday about it, and they admitted it was better to not pay for additional coverage. Go figure. It will help out for my bill (because it will go first to them), but because of the "birthday rule" the bills for Paul and the kids will go first to United Concordia, and my dental insurance won't pay a dime of whatever they don't pay. So if I am still teaching next semester, we'll be dropping our dental insurance through PSU. I thought I had made a wise choice to pay a little to have extra coverage, but it turns out my insurance won't pay anything toward 3 of the 4 of us since we have other coverage through Paul. It doesn't cost me anything to have dental insurance through my university (if I'm working). Live and learn.