Saving Money On Services
March 13th, 2010 by ComputerBob
Starting when I was a teenager, every dentist I ever visited pressured me into having my four impacted (but trouble-free) wisdom teeth removed, to prevent them from “causing problems later on.”
So, some time in my early twenties, I finally relented and had all four of my wisdom teeth removed.
On the same day.
But since I couldn’t afford to have “a real dentist” do the work, I went to a local dental school, where dental students did it for a fraction of the cost.
Apparently, the students who administred the novacaine shots were not at the top of their class, because every time they gave me a few shots and then tried to pull one of those wisdom teeth, I screamed out in pain.
So they kept giving me more and more novacaine shots.
It took 32 shots of novacaine before my jaw was finally numb enough that they could extract all four teeth without me suffering too much discomfort.
It took them 3-4 hours, and they finally finished the job some time in the early afternoon.
But my entire face and mouth were completely numb until 1:30 PM, the next day — more than 24 hours later.
And little shards of broken teeth worked their way out to the surface of my gums for several months afterward.
After that, one of my cousins (a dental hygienist) told me that those dental students must have squirted their novacaine shots everywhere except into the nerves that they were supposed to be aiming at.
Several years later, my wife and I had a delicious, expansive, all-you-can-eat, gourmet dinner at a local culinary school, for only about $7 apiece, on the day that the culinary students all presented their final food projects for the semester. That meal included everything from shrimp appetizers to fresh breads and pastries, meat dishes that I can’t even pronounce, and a couple of dozen desserts, including an entire wedding cake.
Would I go the dental-school route again?
Not unless I had absolutely no other choice.
Would I go to another culinary school buffet?
In a heartbeat.
But I’ll leave you to decide for yourself, Are student services cheaper and better?
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