Dentist

I've had a cavity since before I got pregnant with Nory, and it does not want to be filled. I went to get it filled during my first couple months of pregnancy, and was advised against it - for one, I could barely stand to have them brush my teeth without throwing up at the time, and two, the effects of the local anesthetic were probably safe, but since you end up swallowing them, it seemed better to wait. So I waited until after Nory was born... and then all of a sudden she was 10 months old, I still haven't been to a dentist, and the cavity is actually starting to hurt when I eat.

So I decided to go to the dentist. We have health insurance through Dan's work including dental. So I went online to look up a dentist, and lo and behold, the website says "The host you have requested is actually unreachable."

I figured it just must be down for a while... but checked back the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the next week... and it was still down.

So I called the phone number on the back of my dental card, and got a busy signal. Yep. And I call back the next day, same thing.

Okay, I'll do this the hard way. I sent an email to my mom's group and asked a couple other friends who their dentists are. Then I called all of those dentists to ask if they took my insurance. Nope, none of them do. Drat.

This morning, I called the number on the card... and didn't get a busy signal! However the message says "if you are calling from California, please call this number" and listed a different phone number. I called that number. They were busy, but put me on hold. Now I'm really getting somewhere!

Finally, I get through to a voice activated choose your own adventure menu system (why I had to be on hold for this, I have no idea). Please say or enter your nine digit member ID. Hmmm, my member ID is only seven numbers. I push 0. Invalid option. I type in my 7 digit member ID. After a long pause, it tells me that I did not enter 9 numbers. Well, duh. I hang up and call back. This time, from the beginning I frantically push the 0 key on the phone over and over. Which worked! I reached a human. After explaining my situation, she transfers me. And then I finally reach a lady who can look up my account.

She emailed me a list of providers. Beggars can't be choosers - I called the first one on the list and asked to make an appointment. Please hold. I'm sorry, we are not currently assigned as your primary dental provider. Please call your insurance and tell them you would like to select us as your primary provider. At which point, the insurance people can send the dentist some paperwork which will allow them to bill the insurance. THEN you can call back and make an appointment.

The worst part is - I know I'm not alone. I know that this experience is not a fluke, a strange outlier in an otherwise streamlined system, and I know that it isn't limited to dentists. I know that everyone else out there has had a similar experience, unless they are lucky enough to have a parent or spouse who deals with this stuff for them (my kid and spouse fall into this category). I also know that I should be grateful for the health care I have, and I am - I just wish it wasn't so difficult to use!