All I Want For Christmas........Is Teeth

This is the first year that we set aside pre-tax dollars into a flexible spending account for medical expenses. We reviewed our medical expenses for the past couple of years and basically decided to set aside half of what we've preciously needed because a)if we don't use it we lose it and b)Two of the last four years I have had babies, and one of those years one of those babies was hospitalized. So, needless to say our medical expenses have been substantial the past four years.

Thankfully, this year has not been so tough on the pocket book. There will be no new baby, hopefully no hospitalization, and as a whole we have been pretty healthy....or healthy enough to not need extensive medical care. Just a few days ago I mentioned to my husband that come December 31 we may be scrambling to try to find ways to spend the remaining money. We started talking about the designer glasses we'd pick out since we buy our glasses at a shop that doesn't take insurance and every frame is $40. Stylin'.

Well, fret no more. After my trip to the dentist today we will be lucky to have any money left over. Long story short, four fillings that I have had for years need to be pulled out and each of those four teeth need to have a new filling put in. Apparently, there is decay underneath the filling and the fillings are leaking....the dentist used a nifty little gadget to determine that, which was slightly reminiscent of HazMat determining the presence of chemicals. In addition to that piece of handiwork there are also two teeth that will require crowns. One tooth I knew was a possibility for two years. My previous dentist has been trying to baby it along. It can be babied no more.

When all is said and done there is 2,000 dollars worth of work that needs to be done to my mouth. Insurance will cover just under half of it, which means I am looking at 1,200 big ones just so I can have teeth and not be reduced to straw feedings.

Obviously, there are a lot of other things I would like to spend that money on, but on the other hand since it will be coming out of the flexible spending account it is unlikely that we will have to worry come December 31 what to spend any remaining money on....because there won't be any remaining money.