I yucking ate my yeef...

Which was essentially what I said a few years ago while undergoing root canal on a bottom molar. I have AWFUL teeth. Case in point, that root canal is currently being retreated along with one on an adjacent tooth. Not to be left out, the tooth on the other side also decided it needed a root canal. Needless to say I am far above the $800 max in claims to be eligible for the dental rollover. I thought I'd get one of the crowns started this year so had been saving the $850 I had left of the $2000 eligibility for that. That isn't going to happen so instead I'm getting statements of services rendered that I hadn't submitted to use up the difference.

This was also exacerbated last week when the crown on the second molar from the right on the bottom broke while eating... an M&M. Perhaps that was my diet's way of telling me I shouldn't eat that. I got an emergency appointment earlier this week and a dentist reattached it. It lasted all of two days when, I think, the clamp from the root canal the specialist was finishing, knocked the crown off. Oops. So another appointment Tuesday. Because this crown broke as well as the one on the adjacent tooth (which had already broken twice before), I now know I need to get three crowns. Enter my excitement at learning how I can use my FSA. I'm going to use it to pay for the dental work that's over and above plan limits. 

Yes, I have $2k available in 2009 however crowns are covered at 50% out of network. I know the 30% "discount" in-network (although I looked at prices and it's not 30% because the out of network dentist is cheaper) and that it would then be covered at 60%, but I'm not changing dentists for the three teeth they're already working on. Maybe after the fact but I'm not changing mid procedure.

You know, it's not NYC rent that's killing me so much as my teeth!