Dentists, Second Opinions, and Sons of Bitches

i've told this story enough times that it warrants a blog post. gonna try to start writing more again. you only get better at writing if you actually write.

MARCH 10th, 2009

It's embarrassing, but I will admit it here.

I didn't go to the dentist from 2003 until 2009. Gross, I know. Being a child that was raised in a "once every six months" household, this 6 year hiatus was a clear aberration. My roommate at the time had gone to a place that we'll creatively call CornerRock Dental in Knoxville and he found out that he had 3 cavities.

"Crap," I thought, "I bet I have 5 or 6 cavities... it's been 6 years since I got my teeth examined or cleaned by a professional."

So, I asked my roommate for the contact info of his dentist and set up an appointment for about 10 days later.

MARCH 20th, 2009

I walk into the dental office with my mind full of bad thoughts. I sit down with the dental hygienist who quickly asks, "Do you have any X-Rays on file?" My answer was No. Then she proceeded to ask me, "When was the last time you went to a dentist?" "Six years," I told her, shuttering.

She responded that we'd need to do some updated X-Rays and then she'd clean and floss my teeth. While cleaning my teeth she mentioned that she definitely saw a few cavities in my mouth.

"Great," I said.

Dr. X walked in the room and looked at my teeth for about 5 minutes and said, "James, we have some really bad news for you. You have 9 cavities."

"Nine?" I said. "Wow. Well, that's really terrible, but I guess we gotta get em fixed. How much is that gonna cost?"

Dr. X replied, "Oh, don't you worry. We can fix a few today and set you up on a payment plan for the rest. You'll have to talk to the receptionist about prices. Then just let me know how many you want to fix today. We have time to fit you in."

I quickly walked to the receptionist and she informs me that without dental insurance 9 cavities will cost me $3,000+ to get fixed.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" I said to her, "Well, I'm going to need a second opinion... I'm not giving yall any money today."

"Mr. Trimble, these cavities are really problematic. You need to get at least 2 of them fixed today." said the office staff.

"No thanks," I said. "I'll pay you for the cleaning and X-Rays and I'll take a copy of my X-Rays with me. I will call ya when I make a decision."

MARCH 21st, 2009

I was completely shocked. One, up until this moment I had lived my entire life cavity free. Two, I didn't have that much money because I was in-between jobs. Three, I didn't like the way they immediately tried to corner me into a payment plan. Something felt weird about the whole thing. I decided to wait til I got a new job, buy some dental insurance and go get a second opinion.

MAY 5th, 2009

Now, gainfully employed by the University of Tennessee... I decided to purchase Dental Insurance for $17 a month. After purchasing the dental insurance, I had to wait 30 days to use it... so I did. I had figured out that with dental insurance now in place, I could get 9 cavities fixed for about $1,200 in co-pays... which was way better than the $3,000+ out of pocket I had previously encountered. Next step was to find a new dentist and get a second opinion.

MAY 20th, 2009

I decided on Dr. Nick Showalter. No idea why I chose this man.

I also decided that I was going to tell Dr. Showalter that I hadn't been to a dentist in 6 years and that I needed to have X-Rays made too. I wanted a 100% honest second opinion, without him knowing that he was giving me a second opinion.

After the cleaning and X-Rays, Dr. Showalter came in and said, "Son, I've got some bad news for you."

"Shizzzzzzz...," I thought, "Why did I even go for a second opinion?"

"How many cavities do I have?"

"None. But the bad news is that you grind your teeth more than the average person and I'm suggesting you sleep with a mouth guard."

"So, I don't have any cavities?" I said.

"No sir. You've got some great teeth. I can't believe that it's been six years since you've seen a dentist," said Dr. Showalter.

"Dr. Showalter, can I tell you something? I actually went to a different dentist a few months ago and he told me I had 9 cavities. You sure that I don't have any cavities?"

This is the climax of the story.

Dr. Showalter, who was UT football player when he was in college, closes the door to the office with his foot and then reaches over and forcefully grabs me by the front collar of my shirt.... his face immediately turns bright red and he looks right in my eyes and says,

"Son, there are some sons of bitches (with loud inflection) in this world who are out to make money in any way possible. They aren't honest, and you've got to be on the lookout for them. Sadly, some of these sons of bitches are dentists. Whoever you went and saw last month is a liar. I've been a dentist for 30 years and I'm telling you that you've got great teeth. Now, if you'd just floss more and eliminate some stress from your life then you might not ever have to pay me for anything but check-ups and cleanings. You go and have yourself a fantastic day."


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If you ever have a weird feeling about what a car mechanic, doctor, or dentist tells you... make sure to go and get a second opinion. You might meet a gem of a human being like Dr. Nick Showalter.

Showalter W Nicholas Dds

6322 Papermill Dr Ste B, Knoxville, TN | Map it  

(865) 588-5761

Official Call Out to America

the 60% question. redefining success.

would you be willing to live on 60% of your current salary if it meant that your family was more tight knit and your friendships were more meaningful?

are you willing to spend 40% more time on your relationships and 40% less time on work?

obviously, i'm choosing a random percentage for drastic effect... but i wonder what we hope to get out of life by working ourselves to the bone? also, i realize that spending 40% more time on your friendships and family doesn't necessarily mean that it will yield a 40% happier lifestyle. just like working 40% more doesn't necessarily mean 40% more money or 40% more happiness.

whether we'll talk about it out loud or not, i think that every single person has a dollar figure in his / her head that looks like success to him / her. usually, that dollar figure is equivalent to what his / her parent's income looked like. if your mom and dad's combined income was $150,000 per year then you hope to do the same. any less will be different than you expected. if your mom and dad's combined income was $60,000 then you hope to do the same. any less will be different than you expected.

what if we redefined what success looked like?

what if we defined success as depth of relationships? not, number of relationships... but depth of relationships.

would you be willing to live on 60% of your dream salary, if it meant you spent more time with your friends / family?

what if you lived in a community of people that all had this common ideal? is that even out there?

these are the questions i am thinking about right now.








i google image searched "60%" and found this. funny.

quick decision guy

i have a gift.

it's the gift of getting excited easily and making quick decisions. the gift of catching lightning in a bottle and showing it to someone.... the gift of making someone's face glow... the gift of stirring the pot, and causing other people to take notice. my mind, it buzzes.

i have a fault.

it's the fault of getting excited easily and making quick decisions. it's the fault of stage diving into a crowd without looking first, the fault of taking on a million responsibilities and not delegating well, the fault of thinking i can rule the world. usually the TRUE fault lies in the fact that i don't think long enough about how my actions will affect other people.

in 2012 i pray that i find more, and more, and more balance in my life... and that i allow this gift of a buzzing mind to fully bloom by learning to better temper the buzz in such a way that great beauty, productivity, and fairness consumes my life.

there is always a middle way.

in all things, give thanks.
-1 thessalonians 5:18


currently listening to Coldplay's new album. so dang great.

confession:

it bothers me deeply when people talk excessively about wanting to be rich so that they can then give back.

sometimes it bothers me too much. that's what i'm confessing here.

don't get me wrong, i hope that one day i make alot of money... but i firmly believe that giving back starts now... not once you have a bunch of extra money to throw around from atop your safe landing that you've worked towards and accomplished.

the story of the widow's mite in the bible (Luke 21:1-4) is what rings out in my head... In the story, a widow donates two small coins, while wealthy people donate much more. Jesus explains to his disciples that the small sacrifices of the poor mean more to God than the extravagant donations of the rich. see also: the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector (Doug Banister preached a great sermon on this a couple weeks ago at All Souls in Knoxville)

does that mean that we should all try to be financially poor?

nope. not in the least. .. and in fact, i believe that this is backwards thinking.

i think that each person should focus on finding their calling and then using all of the gifts that god has given him/her to the best of his/her ability, for the glory of god.... and that means giving back now.

life is not about what we can acquire, or the name for which we can make for ourselves.

"The world belongs to the enthusiast who keeps cool." —William McFee

"The world belongs to the enthusiast who keeps cool." —William McFee

I agree with this statement. So I googled "William McFee" and found out that he was an merchant ship engineer, a man of the sea, and a sea novelist. He found an amazing work balance between a life of labor, science, and the arts.

More info about him can be found here:

http://allpoetry.com/William_M.P._McFee

attention: do not take caffeine pills

So, my mind is completely crazy right now.

Last night, I got really fired up working on some new songs and couldn't lay down until like 2am, and then I had to get up at 7am for a band business meeting this morning at 8am. After the meeting, Jenkins and I worked all day on music, which was VERY productive, and then I went straight to practice at 4:30pm. On the drive to practice, I was dragging soooo bad that I stopped in at a gas station to get some coffee. Upon entering the gas station I saw a product hanging on the shelf at the counter called "Yellow Jacket", an extreme energy pill.... and so I bought a pack of 2 pills and popped them both.

RETARDED.
http://www.bodybuilding-supplements-for-you.com/stacker/yellow-jacket.htm

In my moment of stupor, I neglected to read the back of the package which said that each pill contained 300mg of caffeine! Again, RETARDED.

That means that in one swallow I consumed 600mg of caffeine. To put that in perspective... The average cup of coffee has 75 - 100mg of caffeine, and a Mountain Dew has 54mg of caffeine. I just did the research because 8 hours later my entire body is still twitching and still in a cold sweat. I am pretty sure I won't sleep a wink tonight... which is just perfect because I have small group at my house in the morning at 7am with Doug and the fellas.

In addition to the alertness, twitching, and slight nausea, I have peed a minimum of 9 times in the last 8 hours. Why? Oh, that's right, because Yellow Jackets are the number one pill in America used by rednecks for quick weight loss. Basically these things just kill your appetite and drain all the water out of your fat cells... so you just lose a ton of water weight. RETARDED.

Ok. Done with that rant. I promise to God and country that I will never take a caffeine pill again.