Thursday, January 7, 2010

Saving my pennies


I just got the look. You know the one. That look you get when you are making a budget-friendly decision and the rest of the world thinks you are crazy. Maybe you don't know that look. I get it all the time.

I got the look the other night when I made a comment about buying second-hand linens. I've gotten it for not pitching in "enough" for a group gift. Today I got it for refusing to pay for white fillings.

I had to go to the dentist today to have 3 cavities filled. I checked in with the receptionist and she told me my bill was going to be $195.
Me: "Aren't I covered for this?"
Her: "Yes you are covered at 100% for the work but you have to pay for getting white fillings instead of silver."
Me: "I haven't discussed with the dentist whether I wanted white or silver fillings"
Her: "We prepped for white fillings, so we'll have to get things set up differently for silver"
Me: "I think Silver will be fine"
and that's when I get the look.

Now look...I'm not crazy. If my cavities were in the front of my mouth, I would have paid for the white fillings. But they aren't; my cavities are on my molars. And, as I told the doctor, if I've got my mouth open wide enough so you can see my molars, my overall attractiveness is already compromised. And I already have silver fillings on my molars from previous cavities, so I'm just making them a matched set. So I don't need the crazy look people. Apparently my choices were shocking, though, because they had to repeat "she wants silver fillings" in hushed tones to each new person that came to work on me.

So here I sit. I've got silver fillings on my molars and my mouth is all numb which makes it hard to talk. I'm a vision of loveliness to be sure, but at least I've still got my 200 bucks in my pocket.

2 comments:

  1. I always go with white on the bottom teeth and silver on the top! Its weird that your dentist didnt discuss it with you first -- mine always gives me the option.

    Tory

    ReplyDelete
  2. SO, remember how I said I check in here when I need a pick-me-up? Job well done.
    PS - who buys towels secondhand???

    ReplyDelete

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