OMG! I just got a verbal "financial" responsibilty smkdown from DA. Updated post 50

[momrek06]

Wow, OP, wow.


I really like my dentist. BUT last year I was in the process of getting a 'crown'. The office called me to come in as the lab had returned the premanent new crown. Great. Went to my scheduled appt. Arrived and they apologize all over the place that they called me inadvertently and it was not my crown. Fine. I leave.

They call back a few days later to say "its here". Ok, go back a few days after that call. Arrive at the office and they proceed to tell me the EXACT SAME THING. Now I am mad. Its about a 30 min commute with the traffic. SoCal has allot of traffic. I was really mad now. I asked WHY they did not verify this before calling me and that this is my SECOND time here for this. The office asst. starts to tell me that they called my home this morning and attempted to reach me. I said WHEN? I was home up to 30 minutes ago and NO ONE called my home. She decides to suggest that my answering machine does not work.

NOW I GET LOUD. Another office personnel comes out of some back room and says directly to me "shhhhhh, please, we have patients here". AT THAT I SCREAMED BACK …. "I AM A PATIENT HERE. DID YOU FORGET THAT"? I actually felt good saying that right back to her.

Out comes my dentist …. he apologizes over and over again as this has never happened with this lab …. blah blah blah it what I am hearing …. AND then he offers me a $300.00 ZOOM procedure for my inconvenience. I smiled and said great and that was that.

(p.s. … They did call me home. Call came in at 11:10am and my appt was at 11:15am.)

 

[swilshire]

I probably wouldn't have left without talking to the dentist about how insulted I was my his staff member.

DS17 is scheduled to have his wisdom tooth removed in a couple of weeks. It's over $2300. You can be sure I ask pertinent questions about the insurance coverage before I agreed.

This is my third kid to have this done, but I still have my own at age 54. Is this just a fad to get money out of us? Is it really necessary?

Sheila

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

That was really rude. You should call and lodge a complaint with them. That's no way to treat your patrons.

 

[starry_solo]

I probably wouldn't have left without talking to the dentist about how insulted I was my his staff member.

DS17 is scheduled to have his wisdom tooth removed in a couple of weeks. It's over $2300. You can be sure I ask pertinent questions about the insurance coverage before I agreed.

This is my third kid to have this done, but I still have my own at age 54. Is this just a fad to get money out of us? Is it really necessary?

Sheila

I suspect it's a fad to get money out of unsuspecting patients. I didn't have my wisdom teeth in when I had braces at 12-14. They came in a few years after that. That was when the dentist started pressuring me to have them removed. I refused. Every yearly check-up, the dentist asked. I said, are they going to grow anymore (it's been 20 years since they first came in). Dentist said no. They I am told horror stories about how I could lose my molars because of the impaction and leaving some space for bacteria, etc. to grow. I get my teeth checked and cleaned every 6 months. If something really bad happens to them or the surrounding teeth, THEN I will get them removed. Tthey aren't growing anymore, they are close to the molars but not quite hitting them and are still underneath the bone/jaw so they don't pop out over the gums.

 

[ConnieB]

I took my son and my niece for their routine 6 month dental checkup this morning. We've been patients at their dentist for over 10 years. the entire family goes. Anyhoo, I drop kids off, sitting in the waiting room chatting about Disney with 2 of the ladies who are also going this year.

Kids come out and the new dental assistant says Josh (my son) has 2 impacted wisdom teeth that should be removed. I said ok, ask a few pertinent questions like are they hurting him? who will do the surgery? etc etc.

New girl ask "do you want me to call and schedule the procedure today"? I said no, I want to check with my insurance and see what's covered, I'll call back.

She said to me, "humph, people have money to go to disneyworld but don't have money to get their kids teeth fix"!!

Holy Crap!! I'm sorry to say I simple frooze, actually every one did. we couldn't believe she said that. I couldn't think of a thing to say. I'm still stunned (my appointment was a 9:30 this morning).

The other girl who I see all the time quickly defused the situation but believe me, I will be calling and lodging a complaint. I know I should have spoken up then and there, I was just really shocked. WoW!!

Yeah, I'd say she was out of line for many reasons! First...from what you wrote, you never said you weren't going to get the kids teeth fixed nor that you "couldn't afford it" or anything of the kind. You said you were going to look into what was covered, etc before making a decision.

Second....she had every right in the world to feel that way, but to voice it was simply uncalled for. If you decide to spend the money going to Goofy's Candy Factory for lunch instead of getting the kids teeth fixed that is YOUR business and her comments won't change it, besides being rude.

Perhaps a good comeback would have been "I guess some people don't have enough work to do that they can listen in on other people's private conversations".

Now, all that said, who cares what she thinks. Obviously her job depends on patients spending their time and money in her office, lol. BUT....I would mention it to the office manager or the dentist so that they're aware and could counsel her on not making disparaging comments to customers. The dentist may feel the same way, folks spend their money on vacations and fancy clothes for their kids instead of on his services, but if he wants to stay in business, he's wise to keep those opinions to himself, lol.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Wow. Not appropriate at all.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Our medical insurance covers wisdom teeth removal. It has to be pre-approved first.

And you definitely need to say something about her comment. It's the only way she's going to learn.

 

[nrpofp]

If that assistant was on my staff, I would want to know. I think it's appropriate to report the statement to her superior.

I would just let it go. We all say things we wish we hadn't. Why get someone in trouble over something so minor. The comment may have irritated you, but it really did not cause you any harm. I can't imagine getting upset over something like that life is way too short.

 

[ospopo5]

If that assistant was on my staff, I would want to know. I think it's appropriate to report the statement to her superior.

I agree. I would not let it ruin your day but follow up so that it can be a learning moment. Maybe she was just having a rough day? But will definately want to learn from the mistake so it doesnt happen again.

 

[princessmom29]

I suspect it's a fad to get money out of unsuspecting patients. I didn't have my wisdom teeth in when I had braces at 12-14. They came in a few years after that. That was when the dentist started pressuring me to have them removed. I refused. Every yearly check-up, the dentist asked. I said, are they going to grow anymore (it's been 20 years since they first came in). Dentist said no. They I am told horror stories about how I could lose my molars because of the impaction and leaving some space for bacteria, etc. to grow. I get my teeth checked and cleaned every 6 months. If something really bad happens to them or the surrounding teeth, THEN I will get them removed. Tthey aren't growing anymore, they are close to the molars but not quite hitting them and are still underneath the bone/jaw so they don't pop out over the gums.

My mom thought the same thing and refused to have mine removed. I ended up in so much pain I wasn't sleeping at night and made more than one tearful phone calll home from college before she was convinced that mabye she was wrong and they needed to come out. Two were so impacted they had to be chiseled out of the jawbone, and i couldn't open my mouth more than a slit for 2 weeks. If they had been removed as recommened it owuld have been much cheaper and less painful.

 

[GinnyEmma]

My mom thought the same thing and refused to have mine removed. I ended up in so much pain I wasn't sleeping at night and made more than one tearful phone calll home from college before she was convinced that mabye she was wrong and they needed to come out. Two were so impacted they had to be chiseled out of the jawbone, and i couldn't open my mouth more than a slit for 2 weeks. If they had been removed as recommened it owuld have been much cheaper and less painful.

Interesting. I had mine removed when they started giving me problems. It never occurred to me it could have been avoided.

 

[bumbershoot]

very unprofessional. I would definitely report her. It's a federal violation of privacy to discuss a patient in front of others

Oh gosh dentists offices ALWAYS do it!

My son's dentist has a sign saying that HIPPA means we cannot use our cellphones in the office, even in the waiting room. Uh, no. It doesn't govern our behaviour at all. They just don't want their conversations about patients with the parents in the waiting room to be transmitted outside their building...

Made it a real pain when hubby was taking DS to his appointments, but needing to consult with me while I was at home!

 

[princessmom29]

Interesting. I had mine removed when they started giving me problems. It never occurred to me it could have been avoided.

yep, that it the whole point behind early removal. If you get them BEFORE they impact, it is a much easier removal, and they don't ever get to cause you pain in the first place. They are an evolutionary holdover that most people just cannot accomodate in their mouths anymore without issue.

 

[AndreaDM]

I have been getting really annoyed at my dentist's office because they are always finding things that NEED TO BE DONE ASAP and want to schedule it on the spot before I have time to research it and make sure it's really something that requires immediate attention. I also once overheard the dentist talking to her office manager at a computer going over some numbers and she made some comment like, "ok, so this is what we need to reach by the end of the week", like a sales goal of some sort. I don't expect high pressure sales tactics when going to a medical professional. They've also been calling me repeatedly because it's time for my check-up, this last call I was even told I had a credit on my account. I'm calling BS on that, I would know if I had a credit somewhere! I was at work and told her I'd have to call her back, which I haven't, but I'm betting they're "finding" $10 or $20 in patient's accounts who are past due for an exam to get them in there.

 

[Bearshouse]

Oh gosh dentists offices ALWAYS do it!

My son's dentist has a sign saying that HIPPA means we cannot use our cellphones in the office, even in the waiting room. Uh, no. It doesn't govern our behaviour at all. They just don't want their conversations about patients with the parents in the waiting room to be transmitted outside their building...

Made it a real pain when hubby was taking DS to his appointments, but needing to consult with me while I was at home!

Actually the dentist is violating HIPPA by talking about patients in front of other parents. Unless the waiting room is empty. Trust me I know all about HIPPA with 5 specialty doctors, 1 pediatrician, and a dentist. Not to mention all the hospital stays and procedures.

Bearshouse

 

[englishteacha]

That is very, very rude and unprofessional. When I had my wisdom teeth out I was 27 (they weren't causing "Problems" before, so I didn't have it done, then they started messing up the rest of my teeth and causing headaches) and had major complications, lots of pain, missed a week of work, etc. It was a blessing that I had decent insurance and sick days. You can be sure that I found out how much it would cost to get my teeth out before I committed to anything, and planned it so that it would cost the least amount of money. I didn't want to pay more than I needed to. (and it's a good thing I checked, because insurance wasn't going to cover the XRays the oral surgeon needed unless I had them done on the next calendar year. Wait a couple weeks, save a load of cash? Yeah, I waited.)

I may think things about how other people spend their money (the big thing that irks me is when my students don't have school supplies but they have the most recent video games and gadgets), but I wouldn't say it out loud! Holy cow. Please let her supervisor know about her snide comment. That's not OK. If I said something like that to a student or a parent, I would hear about it from my superiors and there probably would be something put in my personnell file about the incident.

 

[Karenj2]

I always find that "Excuse me?!?! What did you just say??" is a great "go to" comeback when I can't think of THE PERFECT retort... Said in the right tone, it gets the point across.

 

[Lyric]

WOW. How inappropriate. You were not saying that you wouldn't have the surgery done, you were saying you wanted to check coverage first. I would think that just about anyone who is not independently wealthy would do the same.

With something like a non-emergency dental procedure, if I found out that I would only have, say, 50% covered, I'd probably hold off for a few months (if appropriate) and set some money aside. Call me weird, but I'd say that is being responsible with one's finances.

 

[dzorn]

Any possibility of just letting the comment go? I agree it was out of line but....
I would just consider that the dental assistant is new and the comment was not tactful but so what? Then I would stick with business, check with the insurance aspects of the procedure and make up my own mind about what to do and when to do it.

You should call in complain. No way would I let this go. If she is new she needs to learn how to be professional. If on one calls her on it how will she learn.

Denise in MI

 

[GinnyEmma]

yep, that it the whole point behind early removal. If you get them BEFORE they impact, it is a much easier removal, and they don't ever get to cause you pain in the first place. They are an evolutionary holdover that most people just cannot accomodate in their mouths anymore without issue.

Makes sense. I just never thought of it. So far the kids haven't been referred, but I might have doubted the need.