<p>The dentist I go to is part of my dental plan, and in my neighborhood. Next closest is about 10 miles away and gets just as lousy reviews online. </p>
<p>I know my dentist is a BSer - she is always coming up with “something” that sounds urgent at the time (except for the time she thought that at 55 I should get braces; not so urgent) and is always trying to sell me some antibiotic gel treatment for a mere $125. Every time I go in, my D and I play “what is the urgent treatment this time?” I go 4x a year for cleaning (I’m a plaque builder) and adore the hygienist. When I went last week, dentist wasn’t in, so had my usual cleaning with the hygienist and at the end I asked him, “tell me the truth, should I get the antibiotic?” He leaned in and whispered, “no need” - </p>
<p>But of course we are beholden to the almighty dentist, just as we are the almighty plumber, electrician and auto sales/mechanic.</p>
<p>I’ve been dentist shopping since our insurance changed a few years ago and no, I don’t like any of the 3 I have tried. The upsell is SUPER annoying (and I mean upsell on cosmetic-only stuff - whitening, invisalign, etc). It makes me not trust him (her in one case) when I’m told I need to replace fillings or whatever.</p>
<p>The dentist I like and trust doesn’t take our new insurance :(</p>
<p>I occasionally have a patient that wants to leave because we are “not on their insurance”. They trust me, so hand me their list of dentists and ask me which one I would recommend. If it’s a low end insurance, many times the list is a rogues gallery of corporate owned clinics (where employee dentists are frequently on quotas), dentists I know to do substandard work and others who have actually had a history of malpractice or substance abuse problems. I tell them I understand why they want to use their insurance, but don’t personally know any on the list to recommend. They may want to try someone out and we will welcome them back if they are unhappy and wish to return. Many do, sometimes right away (I have had them come back directly after another appointment) and sometimes when they either lose their insurance or get a freedom of choice plan.</p>
<p>You see, dentistry is not a commodity, it is a highly personal and technical service. As a patient, you honestly do not have the expertise to judge. Poor dentistry can often do more damage than not having the work done at all, to say nothing of unnecessary dentistry. Dental insurance maximums have barely risen since the 1970s, rarely even covering any type of extensive work and should not be the deciding factor in choosing a dentist IMO. Some plans are actually pushed to participating dentists by telling them they will lose money on the front end, but have the opportunity to "upsell’. </p>
<p>A patient is really paying for the dentist’s care, skill and judgement. It is important to find one that you trust and respects your time, values, and places your needs above self interest.</p>
<p>Agree–I only want medical professionals I trust. We are happy that our dentist is on our medical plan, so insurance pays a portion of the bill, but I would probably go to her anyway. For years, we were seeing H’s Jaycee’s buddy, who was undoubtably a good dentist in his day, but really ready to retire and kept telling us everything was great and our teeth were fine. The new dentist found a ton work that was deferred and needed attention, which I am glad we have had done to prevent more problems. We are happy with the new dentist and see her and her hygienists regularly.</p>
<p>I believe it’s like many other professionals–sometimes you have to work and shop to find one that you trust and whose personality matches yours. It is well worthwhile, IMHO. I have had to hire and fire 6 allergists before we found one that works well with us. Have also had to hire and fire 6 pulmonologists, an OB/GYN, and others. It is well worth finding folks you trust and can work well with, even if it takes some time and attention. I feel it’s much better to find them when relatively healthy than when in a medical crisis.</p>
<p>I have a small pet peeve with some dental practices and pricing…at several points over the past decade or two I have had to pay out of pocket for dental care as we have not had dental insurance. Calling around to get (pay at time of service) prices for basic things (cleaning, x-rays, checkup, possible filling) is, often, like pulling teeth :D</p>
I am reviving this old thread just to thank all of you for posting. When I read this two years ago, my only thought was “Thank goodness I don’t have to deal with that!” But, lo and behold, DS is doing a summer internship out-of-state and needed to have his teeth cleaned. I found a local dentist who could see him - $89 for the cleaning, and they’d throw in the x-rays and exam at no charge. What a deal!
Until DS called me from the dentist’s office this morning . . . the dentist found six cavities that need to be filled (three require immediate attention!), and DS’s wisdom teeth need to be removed ASAP! Total cost? $2,000!!! Thank goodness DS called me before having any work done. I told him to pay the bill for the cleaning, sign a release to have the x-rays and treatment plan forwarded to our regular dentist, and WALK OUT THE DOOR.
DS said the dentist showed him his x-rays, and he could actually see the cavities . . . but when I called our regular dentist, he agreed it’s highly unlikely that DS (who has no history of dental problems) developed SIX cavities in the six months since his last x-rays and exam! So what about those x-rays DS saw today . . . were they even his?
Again, thank you all for your posts - in this case, forewarned was forearmed!
Thanks so much for posting the update. One of mine is quite cavity prone. Six all at once seems a lot, but I might not have questioned it if a new dentist took x-rays and demonstrated the results. I will alert my adult kid to the possibility of this scam with a new, untried dentist.
Oh, I have no doubt that the x-rays that will be forwarded to our regular dentist will be DS’s x-rays. What I’m wondering is whose cavity-filled x-rays DS was shown this morning!
At my dentist, cleaning, exam, and X-rays are $300. The insurance never questioned that, so I assume that is a fair local rate. $89 sounds like a bait.
I agree with BunsenBurner. When you find a fee that’s too good to be true, it usually is. DH is a dentist, and your son’s experience sounds like he went to a practice like Aspen Dental. They are notorious for recommending unnecessary work. Your son isn’t a dentist so they could’ve shown him anything on his X-ray, called it a cavity, and your son wouldn’t have known that it wasn’t. He was very wise to call you. You were wise to tell him to get out of there.
I rather suspected he might run into something like this when I made the appointment - dental practice a bit too large, hours a bit too long (7 am - 8 pm daily), and appointments too readily available. I warned him, but apparently not strongly enough . . . and then got distracted this week and forgot all about it. Good thing, I guess, that they recommended $2,000 worth of work . . . had it been a more reasonable amount, he might have just gone ahead with it without bothering to call me.
On the wisdom teeth, are they partially erupted in useless positions? However, wisdom teeth, even if partially erupted in useless positions, are not generally an urgent matter.
DD saw a highly recommended dentist for her first visit OOS…for a cleaning. The introductory rate was $80. Included X rays. No bait in my kid’s case…the dentist is awesome. And her teeth are perfect.
So…that $89 first visit rate doesn’t sound “off” to me…at all.
If the X-rays your own dentist gets show no cavities…then there is an issue.
Re: wisdom teeth…my kids both had theirs pulled Christmas vacation freshman year of college.
A friend of ours who is a dentist once told me that dentistry was incredibly boring, that after you’d mastered a new technique or procedure or technology, it became really rote. So he was always looking for the next new thing and for a patient to try it on. Naturally, this helps them bring in more income to pay off both their student debt, as well as pay for their fancy new technology.
Now, when I need a new dentist, I ask neighbors what their experience has been and whether they get upsold a lot. Our new dentist is definitely a “let’s just keep your teeth healthy” guy. This has some drawbacks. My last one sold me a night guard called a TMI (yes, that’s what it’s called!) that I absolutely love because it’s tiny and low profile and really works. My new guy doesn’t have the technology, so he told me that when it wears out, he’ll have to send it to another lab. This, I feel, is a minor hassle.
I trust my dentist, so far I cannot argue with what he has recommended, my teeth were not in good shape nor were my gums (due to being pretty afraid of dentists since I was a kid). He will say what he thinks needs to be done now, and doesn’t pressure me into the things that could be done. On the other hand because dental insurance, even though they have networks of sorts, are not PPS or similar things (least the ones I have been in,ymmv) anything not covered by insurance they can stick you with, so whether the insurance pays something, or not, you end up paying for the total cost minus whatever insurance pays, and that can be very lucrative. You would hope that dentists like that would get a reputation for getting people to get things they don’t need, but most people don’t get second opinions and figure they have to grin and bear it (pun intented).
I do trust my dentist. I have been seeing him for 8 years now, and he has filled one cavity, (which I think is one more than my previous dentist of 17 years filled) I routinely decline x-rays and they give me no grief about that. I let them do xrays once every 2 years. Go in for cleanings every 6 months. No insurance. This thread makes me appreciate how important it is to trust your medical providers and how much potential there is for abuse!
My dad was a dentist, so I’m pretty particular when it comes to a new dentist. When looking for an orthodontist for my son, my dad came with me to interview 5 dentists. Even though not in our town, my dad liked the fifth, who went thru same dental school, worked summers at Catskills, and invented the newish bite plate. When we went on visits, this dentist would invite my dad back, let him watch him work, explain techniques, etc.
I only had dental insurance a few years. The X-rays showed that I had a cavity under a crown. The dentist doing the work was supposed to remove the crown to fix the cavity. He thought the X-ray was wrong. On visit to local dentist, it turned out I needed root canal because that cavity had gotten so bad. I didn’t save any money in those years.