@mommdc They would cover it medically but we start new insurance and new deductible. Which works out ok as the rest of the year all her medical will be covered as she will meet her deductible with this one procedure.
Oh yeah, part of the recovery instructions for my daughter was no strenuous physical activity for two weeks. She could go for walks and go shopping, lol, but no dance or sports.
I am waiting to hear what portion might be covered here. We don’t have dental insurance, but they were going to run it through medical so maybe. I had to pay a portion up front. For four impacted teeth, no sedation, the total cost was $1,490. Smaller town, though.
My S was one week after wisdom teeth removal and we thought he looked normal. He ran into someone he hadn’t seen in a while who asked him, “did you just get your wisdom teeth out?” We were floored bc he didn’t look swollen to us anymore. Go figure.
Re wisdom teeth, my son has always been early on the tooth milestones. He got his baby teeth early, started losing them early, etc. Wisdom teeth followed the same pattern. His came in when he was 15 and the dentist watched them for a while before referring him to an oral surgeon just before he turned 16. The surgeon agreed that all four would likely cause problems and could come out anytime. S had the extraction done the Monday before Thanksgiving of his sophomore year, and his recovery was really easy. He was even able to eat almost every dish available on Thanksgiving day. He didn’t use ice packs much, but he was diligent about keeping his head elevated for about a week.
I don’t remember whether I originally asked the dentist about S’s wisdom teeth or if she brought it up based on his x-rays, but I do know she watched them for almost a year before she decided they could cause trouble.
Insurance agreed all four teeth could come out and covered the procedure very nicely. I don’t remember the exact total out of pocket cost but it was less than $500. The same insurance company was incredibly stingy with my wisdom teeth removal years earlier, though that was in a different state. I paid about $2k out of pocket to have mine taken out back in 2001.
I am so thankful we never made any promises to our kids about paying for their college. DH and I put ourselves through undergrad and graduate school on work and loans…and always hoped that our kids would not have to take out student loans like we did. We are thankful that DS has put himself in a situation where he can earn academic scholarships to help. We will of course continue to work hard to support him through college as much as we can (we will not take out loans and his college fund, though filled with good intentions, leaves much to be desired) but we were clear from the beginning that his college choice would need to factor in the financial piece. Lucky for us, he is very frugal and practical and not hung up on prestige. For that reason, he did not apply to any reaches, but did apply to some matches that are financial reaches…with the clear understanding that if their big scholarships don’t come through, those will not stay on the table. I hope at the end of this he will have a few good choices that will allow him to be debt free (if he ends up going to medical school, loans will have to come into play at that point). I do feel a sense of sadness and regret that we aren’t financially able to promise him his #1 or #2 choice, so for those of you in a situation to do that, count your blessings and I hope it ends up being the right choice for your family.
As 2017 closes, I want to wish all of our Class of 2018 CC families a Happy New Year. We can all look forward with anticipation toward 2018 and the good things that are in store for our kiddos! I am thankful to have a place to celebrate and commiserate with other parents. Our paths may be different, but we all love our kids and want what is best for them.
Done, done, done! She did it. Even finished the one that is not due until Jan 15.
Sooo relieved to have it done, all of us.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and much happiness for all of our children at the end of this crazy ride
The financial consideration was always part of the discussion here too. In everything else we consider the overall value of whatever we purchase, and college is no different. S is unimpressed by prestige. He also doesn’t get caught up in the idea that he needs to be completely surrounded by brilliant people in order to get a good education or find his tribe. After all, in his high school of ~3000 students he’s a top 1% academic achiever and has no problem finding people who share his passion for learning. He’s got an array of friends who share his different interests (running, coding, robotics, biotechnology, gaming, political debate, etc). He already knows he doesn’t need an MIT-level freshman class to find friends or be intellectually stimulated.
As for job prospects after graduation, CS grads are pretty employable from most colleges. S shows no signs of entrepreneurial spirit, so he’s unlikely to need a fancy degree to impress venture capital companies. He doesn’t have his heart set on working for a globally recognized company like Apple or Facebook, so he doesn’t care which colleges are big feeders for those kinds of companies.
S really really likes UTD and feels at home there. It’s not a pipeline to Microsoft (although some UTD graduates do get hired by Microsoft and all the other big names) and it’s not a flashy “name brand” to impress people. But he will be intellectually challenged, properly prepared for a CS career, and he will have no trouble finding friends with common interests.
Adding all the pieces together, for S the value proposition of expensive elite just isn’t there. So college, for our family, is treated like our house and cars. We can afford the Mercedes but we like the Hyundai better, so we buy the Hyundai.
Well said @traveler98 just fyi I personally know UTD CS grads that are working at Intel 
Oh sure @3scoutsmom, UTD grads do go on to found startups and work for the big-name companies. I guess my point was that if a student is very focused on either start-up or big name companies and has the grades and means to go to colleges more known as pipelines to those goals, then the value proposition of a more prestigious college will be different for them than it is for my S.
Likewise certain fields/career focus really depend a lot more on the alumni network and name recognition of the college. Wall Street for example, or some areas of politics. For those students the value proposition of the elite college is also very different than our family’s.
Well said @traveler98! I’m like you except I can’t really afford the Mercedes. But, I could afford to buy the Hyundai!! D is in at UTD & has an AES in her back pocket & hopefully (cross-fingers) she’ll have the NMF option as well. We’ll see how the RD decisions shake-out & then she can decide.
She’s pretty practical as well, so we’ll see…
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE to everyone & I’m excited to share in all of our college adventures in the new year!! <:-P
My sent in her last 2 at about 4pm today. I asked her why so early as she has until 11:59…lol. But she is going to a sleep over so that is probably why.
I hope 2018 brings all our kids the acceptances and scholarships they need!
May 1st Final Decision Day is only four months away…
S18 struggling with final scholarship essays
D submitted an app today and still has 3 to go in the next two days. Weeeeeeeee!
Happy New Year everyone! Hoping 2018 brings great adventures to all of our kiddos as they launch themselves into the next phase of their lives, and peace of mind to us parents.
Back to the wisdom teeth discussion, my niece who is in dental school said that she was just taught that it’s better if you have your wisdom teeth removed before age 26. Evidently the jaw bone hardens up more, making it harder to remove the teeth.
Happy New Year, Everyone! May 2018 bring exciting acceptances and good news to all of these very deserving families.
In reflection, I am SO grateful for this supportive CC community on the 2018 Board that has taught me more than I ever could have imagined when I first stumbled upon it. Cheers to continuing friendship, support, commiseration and understanding as we head into the next phase of sending our loved ones on their exciting journeys. :x
S had about 4 days of swelling/discomfort with his wisdom teeth and then was O.K., although the taco salad I served 5 days out didn’t work out so well. He is fine now (10 days out).
Happy New Year!!! This is the year our Y2K babies turn 18, graduate, and leave for college!
Mine is pre Y2K (September 99) but I agree with the rest of the sentiments. 
Do you all remember where you were for Y2K? I was in the hospital, NYE, for emergency appendectomy. I remember watching the news as country after country rang in New Years WITHOUT economic or martial catastrophe. Dan Rather, in particular, seemed SO disappointed!
:))
And all those little stickers on everything, saying this or that was “Y2K compliant.” Remember those?
@apraxiamom , I was nine months pregnant and almost two weeks past my due date during Y2K. I was trying to ignore all of the warnings that the hospitals were going to shut down for lack of power.
You having the emergency appendectomy sounds even more frightening in that context!