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

[HALEYSMOMMOM]

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.

You never really know- my dh still has impacted WT- no pain, no problems. They said there wont be now, at his age

 

[MineMail]

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.

It is a newer approach. One mom (a pediatrician herself) told me that jaw/gum area is softer in children, so extractions are easier and recovery faster.

It's the same thing with pulling teeth for braces vs. using a palate expander. The palate expander works better in younger children, which is why some kids are wearing braces at 7 and 8 while others have them put on at 12-14. It's a different approach.

To the OP: I give you credit; you're a better person than I. I would have told her off point-blank. You are probably cool-headed enough to have a frank discussion with the dentist. He needs to hear this story sooner, rather than later.

You're far more intelligent than she is if she thinks it's smart to do surgery without checking insurance. There's more at stake than just money. You might want to get a second opinion, just to be sure that the surgery's really necessary.

 

[pigletto]

Really , you couldn't think of one thing to say? I would have said alot and it would have began with , "get me your boss, you little twit "

I hope you call back and speak to office manager or Dentist asap.

While I completely understand being frozen in the moment .. you never have a comeback ready at a time like that because who expects someone to be that rude????... I'd like to hope I would have said what this poster would start with..

It has NOTHING to do with having the money to fix your sons teeth or vacation. Of course you check to see what will be charged and what will be owing and consider everything first. That is being responsible. I would threaten to leave that dentist office if they don't respond appropriately. That would make me LIVID.

 

[ConnieB]

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.

Call her bluff....next time she calls for an appointment and mentions the credit, ask her the amount. Then after she tells you, tell her that you would like a check sent to your address. By law she's required to refund you if there is truly a credit on the books.

Might be time to find another dentist. One that is using that kind of pressure tactics to get patients to come in sounds rather desperate to me. And that means that others have move on from his practice as well....which makes me wonder why! As for the conversation overheard about weekly goals.....it is a business and they do need to meet financial goals to pay their payroll, rent, etc. If they had had this conversation in front of you, rather than your overhearing it, I'd be concerned, lol. But sounds like they just aren't aware that their private conversation can be heard in the lobby (or whereever you were).

As for HIPPA....actually they can't dictate YOUR behavior under the pretense of HIPPA. And it makes no sense. If their concern is that their conversation is going to be broadcast over your phone.....well, they already got problems because YOU are hearing things you aren't supposed to hear. To comply with HIPPA they need to close the little window at the reception desk and to speak in a lower voice in the back. HIPPA is THEIR responsibility, not yours.

 

[ktlm]

1. If my child needs something like removal of wisdom teeth/ dental surgery, I would expect to hear that from the dentist, NOT a dental assistant. If the dentist doesn't have time to come talk to you about that, then that would be the end of seeing him/her for me. How do you know that is the dentist's opinion and not just the new assistant?

2. I have never heard of a dental professional being so rude. Any medical professional should know that when they tell you something like that, you might want to 1) get another opinion before agreeing to dental surgery 2) check out the dental surgeon/facility they suggest and decide if you are comfortable with that one or want to use a different place; and 3) as the opinion did not come from the dentist, talk to the dentist before scheduling anything. I would have flat out told the assistant that after such a comment. I also would have asked to speak to the dentist about this wisdom teeth recommendation right there and then, and he/she would have heard about the comment that was made at that time too.


A few months ago DD needed significant dental work done. As we had heard horror stories about at least one local dentist recommending a lot of unnecessary work on kids, we decided to get a second opinion before scheduling an appointment for the work. Neither the first dentist, nor the second (nor any of their staff) questioned it when we did not make an appointment for DD immediately upon getting their opinion. We did not tell either dentist about the other, or that we were seeking more than one opinion. Their opinions matched, we went with dentist no. 1, and everything worked out fine. How on earth could that dental assistant possibly know that you did not have other reasons that you just were not stating? I would be livid. Even as shocked as I would have been, I think my likely initial response if it wasn't to ask to speak to the dentist about the recommendation RIGHT THEN (which I probably would have asked before you even got to the stage where that rude comment was made, but certainly would have done after), would be the "Excuse me?" that Karenj2 mentioned!

AndreaDM, I sure hope you are finding a new dentist. There are red flags all over that one.

 

[Kay1]

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

Sheila, as it sounds as if you have dental, I'm guessing you have medical. Are you sure they won't pay for the surgery? I wouldn't butt in but you could save thousands. We paid a $35 co-pay for our sons.

 

[maggiew]

How rude.

Just FYI, my DD had her wisdom teeth out on June 15. My medical insurance paid 100%. So check with them. Although, when I brought DD in to the oral surgeon for a consultation, the receptionist took all my medical insurance information and had their estimated payment, etc. before we even left the office that day. She called the insurance and had all the information. Although, I had already called and talked with my insurance before making the consultation to make sure this oral surgeon (who was referred by my DD's dentist) was on our insurance plan.

Maggie

 

[Leajess99]

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!!

Wow, how rude.

Now, on for some financial advice or really insurance advice, check with your medical insurance to see if they would cover the surgical removal. When my son had his wisdom teeth removed, the medical part of the insurance covered it because they were impacted. This helped especially had he needed ansthesia.

I would also contact whomever is in charge and let them know that you are not happy with what took place.

 

[dreamin_disney]

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.

of course she could let it go BUT, the comment was very rude and unprofessional. if this new dental asst isnt talked to , then she will do the same thing to other patients. not good for business and not good for patients who have been going there for years.if she is like this with patients , i wonder what she's like with staff. i'm sure staff is o happy with her either!

 

[eliza61]

I actually did not have to call. The dentist office called almost immediately after and left a message to please call. Like I said, there were 2 older assistants in the office and they were just as mortified.

#1. Evidently new gal did not do her job, she was supposed to tell me the teeth may be impacted and that the dentist would be out in a few minutes to explain. She never got that far, only far enough to make the rude comment.

2) Other, older assitants must have ripped her a new one. When I called back and said who I was every one immediately began apologizing and put me on hold to talk with Jill the office manager. Jill, the office manager said that I can expect a formal letter of apology and wanted to know if I wanted to speak with the Dr. I said no, that I had full faith that she (Jill) had things well in hand with her staff.

3) evidently the young lady has a chip on her shoulder because she went to one of those "technical" schools that you see advertised on tv. She claims that she was told her certificate would enable her to do more and make more money. When she got the job she found out that what she actually wanted to be was a dental Hygenist which from what I gathered is more training. I'm not in the field so I gather there is a difference.

Thanks for all the clever, snappy come backs. I'll be seeing new girl again if she last that long.

I do want to say, that I am glad that I didn't cause a big argument in the office, so maybe my shock was a good thing. I would not wish unemployment on anyone but as another poster pointed out if I own a business I would want to know if my staff was running around insulting people.

 

[starry_solo]

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.

WOW! It's been 20 years since the dentist first told me to have them removed. I got another suggestion a few months ago. Finally, I asked, are the teeth going to move anymore? He said no, not anymore.

 

[ilovejack02]

I actually did not have to call. The dentist office called almost immediately after and left a message to please call. Like I said, there were 2 older assistants in the office and they were just as mortified.

#1. Evidently new gal did not do her job, she was supposed to tell me the teeth may be impacted and that the dentist would be out in a few minutes to explain. She never got that far, only far enough to make the rude comment.

2) Other, older assitants must have ripped her a new one. When I called back and said who I was every one immediately began apologizing and put me on hold to talk with Jill the office manager. Jill, the office manager said that I can expect a formal letter of apology and wanted to know if I wanted to speak with the Dr. I said no, that I had full faith that she (Jill) had things well in hand with her staff.

3) evidently the young lady has a chip on her shoulder because she went to one of those "technical" schools that you see advertised on tv. She claims that she was told her certificate would enable her to do more and make more money. When she got the job she found out that what she actually wanted to be was a dental Hygenist which from what I gathered is more training. I'm not in the field so I gather there is a difference.

Thanks for all the clever, snappy come backs. I'll be seeing new girl again if she last that long.

I do want to say, that I am glad that I didn't cause a big argument in the office, so maybe my shock was a good thing. I would not wish unemployment on anyone but as another poster pointed out if I own a business I would want to know if my staff was running around insulting people.

THat is great they are on top of things. I suspect she won't be working there long . If she paid money to go to school and STILL doesn't know the difference between assistant and hygenist then I stand by calling her a TWIT and would add IDIOT to that lol. That office needs to run her out the door as fast as they can.

 

[Colleen27]

It has NOTHING to do with having the money to fix your sons teeth or vacation. Of course you check to see what will be charged and what will be owing and consider everything first. That is being responsible.

Exactly. It doesn't matter if the cash is in the bank and you could cover the cost OOP on the spot - it only makes sense to ensure you follow the procedures required to get your money's worth out of the coverage you've paid premiums to have. Otherwise you could end up throwing money away needlessly, which isn't financially responsible by any measure.

We had a similar issue with a dental referral, but it was the dentist herself who gave me attitude so we go elsewhere now. DD9 had a baby tooth that was in bad shape though not bothering her. Dentist felt it needed to be extracted ASAP to prevent future problems and referred us to an oral surgeon, but I insisted on making the appointment myself after checking our coverage. Oral surgeon saw that it was a baby tooth, already a bit loose and not bothering her, so he advised against the extraction. At DD's next appointment the dentist made a comment about "cutting corners" on essential care and gave the impression that she didn't believe we saw the surgeon at all; we found a new dentist shortly thereafter and haven't been back.

 

[dwonderz]

How rude! At least the office took responsibility - maybe she should have looked further into the courses she would be taking before signing up ?!

 

[mrsklamc]

maybe she should have looked further into the courses she would be taking before signing up ?!

I am glad they apologized but I think it was a bit unprofessional of the office manager to share this part.

 

[princessmom29]

WOW! It's been 20 years since the dentist first told me to have them removed. I got another suggestion a few months ago. Finally, I asked, are the teeth going to move anymore? He said no, not anymore.

Some people don't have problems, I was one of the unlucky ones. My Dentist told mom it was not if but when I owudl have an issue. She didn't listen.

 

[SandrA9810]

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.

I haven't had mine removed, and I've asked a few different dentists their opinion on them. They don't bother me at all, they're not through the gum line, and I guess there's still enough room for them. I also still have one baby tooth with no permanent tooth underneath, so it'll be with me for a while.

I am glad they apologized but I think it was a bit unprofessional of the office manager to share this part.

I don't think a person's career choice or job position is privileged information. At least the manager is honest about the fact that this girl may not be the right person for the job, because it's not the job she wanted, or in her mind entitled to. You might not notice cutting corners on the smaller scale, but it sure shows up on the big picture. Her cutting corners made her wind up on a career path she didn't want.

 

[swilshire]

Sheila, as it sounds as if you have dental, I'm guessing you have medical. Are you sure they won't pay for the surgery? I wouldn't butt in but you could save thousands. We paid a $35 co-pay for our sons.

I wasn't very clear. That is the bill before insurance. Medical insurance covered my two older kids' and is expected to do it this time, but I do also hae dental insurance this year. I don't keep dental insurance all the time since it's so expensive, but signed up this year.

Sheila

 

[disneychic2]

Glad everything worked out and you can still feel good about your dentist. That's important!

 

[GinnyEmma]

I'm glad you saw a satisfactory ending tontje drama. The girl sounds like a dimwit. Who doesn't research before investing in an education ?