Finally found a pediatric dentist for our son!

[2lilsweetfoxes]

After almost 6 months of searching and calling around, I finally found a pediatric dentist that will put him under general anesthesia and will use amalgam . So, I've made an appointment. The only "bad" thing is that it is a 100 mile round trip--and DS needs 2 appointments: 1 for the exam and treatment plan to be made and 1 for the actual treatment.

I was getting frustrated because all the dentists I called would do one or the other. And no pediatric dentists would use amalgam. They had the gall to be proud of the fact . IMO, it is all about $$$$$$. Our insurance doesn't pay for composite unless it is the front of a front, permanent tooth. Taking that up with the insurance company is for another day.

[2lilsweetfoxes]

Update:

He had the dental surgery a couple weeks ago;  about 7 caps (stainless steel crowns) and 3 of those included root canals.  It ended up being free to us due to insurance and a program for lower income families that covered what insurance did not.  He's now able to eat without pain (poor baby)--and eat he has been doing.  I think he's in the midst of a growth spurt.  And, if you need someone to play the villain in a James Bond flick, he's your boy.

The other pediatric dentists (the ones who wanted to put composite in)--we were looking at about $200 or so per tooth.  So, it would have been at least $2000--and I wanted it done all at once.  If I could have gotten amalgam, then it would have been about $20 per tooth--so we'd have been looking at about $200 to get his mouth fixed.  I wanted it done all at once due to the general anesthesia.  If I'd tried doing one tooth at a time under regular numbing, I think we'd have just ended up with a traumatized autistic child.  So, we were saving up the money.  One shot, let's get it over with.  When the dentist said he'd put in stainless steel crowns, I saw $$$$ and was about to run screaming.  Then they had me talk to the finance department and apply for assistance.