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[23andme]

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[Mr.Smile12]

There are a couple things to consider with this: how much time are these procedures and follow-ups going to take away from your time devoted to studying in school?

My biases notwithstanding, I'd focus on your dental care first. If the school has access to a dental clinic, you probably need to be a regular patient first. It will cost less than a typical private dentist especially if you have no insurance coming in. But let's see if the students or AEGD residents agree with your assessment on what you need done before referring you to endo or ortho. Plan two years for an Invisalign treatment and follow-ups.

Lasik: how critical is this? Being out of commission if your surgery goes wrong will not be good for you as a medical student.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

This is just something small I am curious about -- hoping to hear from current students -- I have been accepted to a few schools, they all are big university health systems with dental and nursing programs as well. I currently have several different healthcare needs that are non-urgent but would be really nice to take care of before I start to have a family and start residency. AKA either now! Or during school.

I have pretty decent insurance now but everything would still cost me several thousand dollars and I am trying to save up for a car since most of these schools would require one. So the trade off here is huge.

I am wondering if it might be worth to delay some or all of this care until I am a medical student. If so, which care? I have heard it can be for dental work, but can be time intensive. Most larger schools associated with university or private health systems seem to have great options for medical students, but I don't know what the cost savings might look like. I also don't know how much more time everything would take compared to just paying myself. Also, at least one of these schools does NOT provide dental insurance in the student healthcare coverage (but does have a student-resident-attending dental clinic).

See my list of to-do's below with my own financial responsibility currently, after insurance, in brackets. Thank you for any suggestions!!!!

• Invisalign and/or retainer to fix or control some crowding, have had braces in past [$500 for retainer, $3000 for Invisalign]
• Potential front tooth surgery, cosmetic concerns here for that reason!, with endodontist and new crown *OR* extraction, implant, and new crown if tooth cannot be saved [$3000+]
• LASIK [$3000+???, but insurance covers 15% of cost]
• Laser hair removal, I have skin concerns when it comes to follicles and ingrowns [$3000+???, insurance doesn't cover]
• Accutane, no not at same time as laser! [$400]

Also, I totally cannot afford all of these lol regardless.

out of those things if I had to prioritize then I would say lasik can be the best investment you can make in yourself (depending on the person/surgeon obviously). I wish I had lasik before i started med school, but ended up getting it during clinicals and that was such a nice experience. Not having to wear glasses is great. When i was a first year in anatomy back in the day, i felt like it was a pain to see stuff sometimes during the lab practicals because my glasses werent optimized and it hindered me a bit. Now that im an attending i definitely look back and im happy i went through with it.

Nothing wrong with looking good, and ultimately improved dental care/propylatic care reduces risk for issues down the road. I would really just prioritize what is most likely to make a difference now and the near future. Usually lasik doesnt get much of a discount, but somehow I randomly got a discount on it a while ago because I did rotations at a hospital affiliated with it.

Laser hair removal seems pretty expensive, $3000 seems like a lot. Sometimes acne gets better with age depending on the severity, though I ill admit I did accutane when I was younger if i remember correctly and that seemed to work well and i didnt have issues after it.

I think being objective is important- which are big vs which are small issues?

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

This is just something small I am curious about -- hoping to hear from current students -- I have been accepted to a few schools, they all are big university health systems with dental and nursing programs as well. I currently have several different healthcare needs that are non-urgent but would be really nice to take care of before I start to have a family and start residency. AKA either now! Or during school.

I have pretty decent insurance now but everything would still cost me several thousand dollars and I am trying to save up for a car since most of these schools would require one. So the trade off here is huge.

I am wondering if it might be worth to delay some or all of this care until I am a medical student. If so, which care? I have heard it can be for dental work, but can be time intensive. Most larger schools associated with university or private health systems seem to have great options for medical students, but I don't know what the cost savings might look like. I also don't know how much more time everything would take compared to just paying myself. Also, at least one of these schools does NOT provide dental insurance in the student healthcare coverage (but does have a student-resident-attending dental clinic).

See my list of to-do's below with my own financial responsibility currently, after insurance, in brackets. Thank you for any suggestions!!!!

• Invisalign and/or retainer to fix or control some crowding, have had braces in past [$500 for retainer, $3000 for Invisalign]
• Potential front tooth surgery, cosmetic concerns here for that reason!, with endodontist and new crown *OR* extraction, implant, and new crown if tooth cannot be saved [$3000+]
• LASIK [$3000+???, but insurance covers 15% of cost]
• Laser hair removal, I have skin concerns when it comes to follicles and ingrowns [$3000+???, insurance doesn't cover]
• Accutane, no not at same time as laser! [$400]

Also, I totally cannot afford all of these lol regardless.

Not a current student but I actually had Invisalign last year and just got prk a month ago, and getting a tonsillectomy in February lol. I only did/will do all of them because I know I have the time and good insurance benefits now. If you're still in your 20s, you can wait for lasik. Although, recovery is quick, if you have a high rx like me, you won't know for 100% certain if it's lasik or prk that you'll get until the day of. my doc ended up switching from Lasik to PRK at the last minute to be safe. The PRK recovery is longer and day 3 pain is awful. But I'm very happy with my decision and healing well

I had laser hair removal in college- i definitely could had waited and saved money. (Still happy I did it though) The laser hair removal process has no down time but since you need a car, wait on this.

I'd personally would prioritize the dental work especially because your school may not have dental insurance. Having straight teeth helps your oral health tremendously. If your dental insurance covers a portion of orthodontics, then definitely do it.

I agree with the above of approaching this objectively. (I got my car before the Invisalign and prk)

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

Not a current student but I actually had Invisalign last year and just got prk a month ago, and getting a tonsillectomy in February lol. I only did/will do all of them because I know I have the time and good insurance benefits now. If you're still in your 20s, you can wait for lasik. Although, recovery is quick, if you have a high rx like me, you won't know for 100% certain if it's lasik or prk that you'll get until the day of. my doc ended up switching from Lasik to PRK at the last minute to be safe. The PRK recovery is longer and day 3 pain is awful. But I'm very happy with my decision and healing well

I had laser hair removal in college- i definitely could had waited and saved money. (Still happy I did it though) The laser hair removal process has no down time but since you need a car, wait on this.

I'd personally would prioritize the dental work especially because your school may not have dental insurance. Having straight teeth helps your oral health tremendously. If your dental insurance covers a portion of orthodontics, then definitely do it.

I agree with the above of approaching this objectively. (I got my car before the Invisalign and prk)

Stupid question but im not super familiar with laser hair removal. Is there a certain thing people generally use it for? Im a little in the dark on this part.

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

Stupid question but im not super familiar with laser hair removal. Is there a certain thing people generally use it for? Im a little in the dark on this part.

Just to remove unwanted body/facial hair permanently* instead of having to spend time and money on waxing and shaving and to eliminate ingrown hair (for those who tend to get them)

 

[RangerBob]

Something to consider is that dental insurance is really more "prepaid dental dollars." Most will pay a max of about $1,000/yr. And many won't cover orthodontics for adults (and when they do, there's still usually a cap of about $1000). I'm not sure what age cutoff they use.

So while it would help you a little bit financially, I don't think it's going to be a huge game-changer and I would just get the dental work (and other stuff) done when you feel like it's easiest/best. Especially since dental stuff gets worse the longer you defer it.

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

Something to consider is that dental insurance is really more "prepaid dental dollars." Most will pay a max of about $1,000/yr. And many won't cover orthodontics for adults (and when they do, there's still usually a cap of about $1000). I'm not sure what age cutoff they use.

So while it would help you a little bit financially, I don't think it's going to be a huge game-changer and I would just get the dental work (and other stuff) done when you feel like it's easiest/best. Especially since dental stuff gets worse the longer you defer it.

Yea, mine was $1000 max and luckily covered adults.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

Just to remove unwanted body/facial hair permanently* instead of having to spend time and money on waxing and shaving and to eliminate ingrown hair (for those who tend to get them)

this does seem like it would be a game changer for women. Having to shave a lot seems like it wouldnt be very fun. You could argue this would save time in med school cause youd spend less time on self care. Investing in yourself never seems to be a bad investment. Also waxing does not seem like it would be very pleasant.

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

this does seem like it would be a game changer for women. Having to shave a lot seems like it wouldnt be very fun. You could argue this would save time in med school cause youd spend less time on self care. Investing in yourself never seems to be a bad investment. Also waxing does not seem like it would be very pleasant.

Oh, it definitely is!

 

[wholeheartedly]

I wouldn’t deleay the tooth issue/crown. i had to delay some dental workduring the pandemic and am oaying for it now by needing more extensive work then i otherwise would have.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

... still curious to hear if Med schools tend to have opportunities for reduced- or at-cost services for things like ortho, endo, LASIK, or laser hair removal

Dental schools yes because they run their own clinics, and dental schools still need to make money. Medical schools do not run clinics, which is why having a training hospital is important.

Lasik usually has to be done at a hospital or private practice (unless they let optometrists do it now... then check for your local Optometry School), so you would have to negotiate cost with insurance I think. Good lock with last hair removal... I can't see that you would get a discount as a medical student there.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

Oh, it definitely is!

for some reason as a guy, all im picturing is the idea of a laser near my pubic region which scares the hell out of me, lol.

For the car question ask yourself if you need. If you need one, then you dont have a choice. How reliable is your current car? I had to get a car while I was in med school because I didnt have a choice but I will say it sucks. It adds to your overall loan balance, so even though you may not earn too much interest on the car loan, your student loans are increased and these have compound interest at higher rates.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

That is what some people use it for! Women (and men) do it all the time. It’s supposedly not any more painful than waxing and more permanent.

I don’t have a car right now because I live in a major city. I think the car is a non negotiable for sure (based on the programs I’m in so far) but it would just mean higher car payments if I do this dental (and other) work. Sigh. It may actually make more sense to leave the dental work for a student dental clinic … that means $3000+ more towards car, lower car & loan payments, and the dental issue still gets fixed just a bit later

As an example one program I was accepted to has a competitive dental school with a student dental clinic that is typically 50% cost of private dental practice then Med students get another 50% (or more) off of those prices. Definitely cheaper than the rates I’m getting for the work to be done in my city now, even with dental insurance.

Yeah and when you start clinical rotations you will for sure want reliable transportation. If you know you need a car then it kinda is what it is situation. Its not the end of the world, and medical school is enough stress so you want reliable transportation

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Insurance covers “laser hair removal”

Guess you learn something new