Dentistry and Social Work and Single incomes ...

So the short story is this:  being a single mom with a social worker salary and having no

dental insurance is a really really crappy mix. 

The longer story:  In February we went to the free cleaning/check up program Give Kids A Smile.

In February at that appointment I was told that Lucy had no cavities. 

So I was surprised that a few months later, while eating some fresh pineapple Lucy started

crying in agony, saying her tooth hurt.  Crap.  We went to the dentist. The first dentist took some xrays and said that the two cavities were too deep for him to handle and he referred us to a children's dental clinic.  He kindly charged only for the xrays he took, at a 50% discount.  Which turns out to be the

only break we are getting.  We go to the children's dentist.  For $85 he took two minutes to look at our $20 xrays and said that one tooth has to be pulled at an oral surgeon.  After the pulled tooth area heals, he will need to put in a spacer in that spot to keep her teeth straight, plus do a "kiddy root canal" on the other bad tooth, along with a cap. 

So we went to the oral surgeon. Who for a mere $300 gassed her up, numbed her up,

and pulled out the offending tooth. 

She had a hard time bouncing back from the laughing gas.  Poor baby.

So when it's all said and done.  The kid who had no cavities in February, will cost her mom a month's salary on dental care.  A MONTH'S salary.

Anyone have a nice brother, brother-in-law, etc they want to introduce me too???  I could totally dig on doing grass-roots, old-school social work for a long time if say I had a 2nd income to add to the mix. 

I wonder what the odds are on universal health care ever really coming to the US?

or maybe simply having the work I do valued in the same way

other work is valued? 

Yeah. I thought so.

p.s. she's totally worth it

p.p.s the families i work for are totally worth it too

p.p.p.s  please vote carefully in the next election friends.