Long in the Tooth

long in the tooth

Last year my husband and I were both told by our dentist that we needed crowns. In fact, I was informed that I had a crack in my lower left back molar as well as my upper right back molar. The hygienist went over the cost of the crowns, stating that we had great dental insurance that would cover half of the expense.

My husband had his done, and I only had them do the back left tooth. It was no picnic, that's for sure. But what was less enjoyable is that our dental insurer denied both of our claims, saying that the crowns had not been necessary. We went back and forth for months on this. Finally the insurer covered mine but not Jim's. He refused to pay the balance since they had inferred that they had gotten authorization for the crown. As it ends up, they did not. In the end, they waived the balance on his account, but we both decided to change dentists. The billing issue was only one of many, but it was the final straw for us.

We knew we were changing Medicare insurance companies beginning January 1 of this year, so we waited to find a new dentist until we were able to see who was in network. (The old practice was, of course, since we no longer wanted to see them.) Upon a friend's recommendation, we selected a female dentist who is in network and reasonably close to us.

We both saw her on different days last week. There are things I liked and didn't like about my visit. The paperwork could not be filled out online, and it was ridiculously long. Good thing I got there plenty early! The dental hygienist was pleasant and thorough. I had to get all new x-rays taken since they don't have access to my old ones. But the dentist barely spent 2 minutes with me, after dropping the bomb about all the cracks in my teeth. What?!? She then hustled out of the room.

The hygienist showed me the x-rays, indicating I have two crowns needed on the bottom left molars, and two on the upper right molars. Wait a minute! The back bottom left was just done last year, as outlined above. She said there is a gap in the crown where bacteria can get in, and it needs to be redone. I asked if it could just be filled or something. Nope. Then she kind of rushed me out to the front desk for checking out. The gal behind the desk said she has to submit these for pre-approval due to Medicare. Huh, that's probably what the prior dentist forgot to do.

At this point I'm not sure what I will do. Do I really need four crowns? Is the gap in the one crown really that big of a deal? All I know at this point is that I am obviously getting long in the tooth!

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

cemetery

The proverb where there's a will, there's a way is said to mean that if someone has the determination and desire to do something, they will find a way to achieve it. So, a strong will can overcome obstacles and lead to success. It seems to me that this applies equally well to a different kind of will - a last will and testament. Having one of those will help your heirs overcome legal obstacles and will help you succeed in making sure your estate goes to the people you intended without being tied up in court.

Today my community had a lunch and learn that discussed wills and trusts. We have had two wills done in the past - one when our first child was born, and the second as we neared retirement. They both were filed in Missouri, and it has been weighing on me that things might not go smoothly when one of us dies since we now live in North Carolina. The presenter today confirmed my fear. An out of state will is better than no will, but a death will be incredibly difficult for either one of us without complicating things having to go through probate.

The presentation was very good. I picked up some new information, and some additional things we should take into consideration when we update our will. Or go with a trust, which was not recommended by our attorney in Missouri. But years have gone by and we are in a different jurisdiction, so I'm not sure which direction the new document will go. The sponsoring organization offers a free one-hour consultation to Imagery residents, so I signed up to be contacted for that. This was just the motivation I needed to jump-start the process of updating our estate.

A Tropickle Vacation

Turks & Caicos

That's not a typo in the headline. We just returned from a pickleball trip to Turks & Caicos put on by Travel Shark, a local travel agency. They set up Tropickle Vacations to take pickleball enthusiasts to beautiful, tropical locations. This was their first trip, and it was held at Club Med, which boasts 10 dedicated pickleball courts!

I believe there were 24 in our group, which consisted of players who are rated 3.5 and above. We had folks from Alaska, Utah, Florida, New York, Connecticut, South Carolina and North Carolina. Most of them are in their 30s and 40s, and I had suspected that we would be the grandparents in the group. That was close to being the case, but we are used to playing with the younger set so it was no big deal.

While the Club Med is showing its age, you just can't beat the location. It is a short 3 hour flight from Charlotte, and the islands are gorgeous! I had requested a balcony ocean view room, and that is what we got. We could see the sunsets from the balcony, though we usually chose to go to the beach for a broader experience. The resort is on the small side, with only one swimming pool and a restaurant, though a bar called Sharkies serves a few items a couple times a day.

beautiful sunsets

Eight of the pickleball courts were installed on two tennis courts. While they are dedicated courts, in order to get that many on they had to orient the courts east/west. This makes it miserable in the early morning and the later afternoon as the sun is in your eyes. That is really unfortunate. The other two dedicated courts are properly oriented north/south.

The weather was nice and sunny, with the high hitting 78 degrees each day (the low was always 77). But the winds! Each day they were 20 mph, with gusts up to 25-27 mph. That made play very challenging, especially with the pickleballs being so light in weight. Sometimes you just had to laugh as you anticipated the ball being in one place and the wind would blow it to another. Generally the pros will not play if the wind exceeds 15 mph.

Tropickle players

We had some time to snorkel, which we always enjoy. They had a big party for the Super Bowl, and while I didn't necessarily care who won the game, it was fun to watch the game on the three big screens with a lot of other people.

Overall, it was a relaxing and fun trip. While I would definitely go back to Turks & Caicos, I would probably look for a different place to stay. Club Med was built in the 1980s and has only been updated once since then and it shows.

Hoping for a New Dawn

Sometimes when the world gets crazy and the news headlines make my heart beat too fast or shatter all together, I just have to take a deep breath and go outside to let Mother Nature do her thing.