Good Morning.
Post is coming a little late this morning because I had a dentist appointment. Again, I’m not sponsored or paid to write this at all (though I would in a heartbeat), but Aspen Dental in Barre/Berlin has a ad/coupon online you can print for a free x-ray and new patient exam. I triple checked before I went in, and free really meant free. I walked in and out of there and didn’t pay a dime.
Now, they also didn’t do a ton for me, no cleaning and no dental work, but that was to be expected. What I did get, was answers to all my questions, and peace of mind.
I have what are called “craze lines” on a few of my front teeth, almost imperceptible, hairline cracks in the center of a few teeth. I was worried that my teeth would more easily split in two, or cause other trouble, but it won’t be an issue for another ~20 years, and that’s if I don’t do anything about it.
They’re likely from clenching my teeth at night, because my back teeth and angled slightly inwards, and in order for my mouth to be comfortable, it rests a little hard. They suggested Invisalign for a longer term solution, but because of my financial situation (which is embarrassing to share because the world expects us to have money) they said trying and over-the-counter one might be a place to start.
At any rate, I no longer have to worry about my teeth falling in half, and it was free, which is more than I can say for my most recent medical visits. I don’t mind sharing, I had Lyme disease a few years back and was treated for it, and had another tick about six months or so later, so I went back (even with insurance, which is garbage) spend about 5-10 minutes in the office with the doctor to confirm what I suspected, they wrote me a prescription and I was on my way. Almost $500 later.
It’s pretty clear that while most healthcare professionals enter the field to help people, they don’t actually care about people having access to care. It was really positive for me this morning to have medical professionals answer questions, without providing much in the way of treatment, and do so for free, because they know it’s something people need, and that many Vermonters report not being able to access.
Almost 25% of Vermonters delayed “Routine Medical Care” in the past 12 months (data from 2018 Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey), and 37% delayed “Dental Care”. For the moment, I didn’t have to delay learning about it. I am delaying following up on recommended treatment because of cost, but at least I got to learn what my problems were, and steps I could take to try to solve them for a significantly lower cost than the treatment itself.
Why aren’t more people doing this? Well, it’s easy to guess because it doesn’t make them any money, and people are bound whether they like it or not to need money. There is hope yet. Even if it’s just one dental place, some people in this world are willing to give a little bit of time for something more valuable than treatment, peace of mind.
It’s fascinating to me how people believe so much in something, but don’t act in a way that aligns with their beliefs. This creates a psychological phenomenon called “Cognitive Dissonance”. It occurs when an individual believes one thing, but acts in a way that is contrary to it. Many people then rationalize their decision making so as to avoid experience the discomfort of cognitive dissonance. Money allows them to do this most easily, “I need money to pay my bills, so it’s okay that people who can’t afford care don’t get it.” It encourages us to strengthen our beliefs, no matter how harmful they can be.
It doesn’t cost a doctor anything to speak with you for five minutes. It cost them money to get through school, but it didn’t cost their teachers anything to talk to them for five minutes, or 60 minutes. If you follow the chain all the way down to the people harvesting the quartz sand to make the silicone used in the computers that the university bought, that employed the teacher who taught the doctor, nothing in our world costs anyone anything (really), except for time. This post isn’t about money, but at the end of the day, it’s a made up concept used for controlling human beings on a mass scale, and is not worth even a fraction of the objective, real, limited time that we have to be alive.
The peace of mind I got was worth more than anything I could’ve given the dentists. If they wanted, I’d gladly share with them some of my time, running a team-building workshop for them, which in the experience would be worth far more to them than what they would’ve charged for the service had I not had the coupon.
I’m going to quote Kansas again, because we all know the song, and it’s timeless wisdom, “…and all your money won’t another minute buy.” We need to start thinking of things, in the value they have in the experience for the individual using them.
Unfortunately, this isn’t something one person can start doing. One mental health professional or nurse could stop charging for their services, but sooner rather than later, they’ll need money again, because of everyone else charging for their services. If we all understand and agree that we all need what we all produce, or provide, then why are we all charging each other for it? I apologize, this has developed to be about money.
Maybe we can’t just stop, but we can offer what we can to those in need, just like the dentistry place is doing for people without insurance.
It’s worth so much more than anyone will ever make in their lifetime. We just need to start looking at it that way, and perhaps the change will follow.
