Dental Issue

[Lookin]

I'm really beginning to resent being treated like a customer rather than a patient and politely told her this on my last visit.

 

Tell her you're in the used car business and have been looking for someone just like her to work the lot nights and weekends. http://www.boytoy.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

 

[+ sync]

I experienced some upsell at the office of the podiatrist I use. Tried to increase my twice-a-year visits to four times a year. Every time they try I just tell them I'll call to schedule.

[Bearofdistinction]

I have a dentist I like very much. Her office is a 5 minute walk from my place, she's professional, thorough and very pleasant. My problem is the upselling. I go every 6 months for check-up, x-rays and cleaning and she insists every time that I should come in every 3 months because there are some "issues", although she never specifies what these issues are. My dental insurance will not cover visits every 3 months; my 6 month visits are 100% covered. When I tell her this, she says, "We can make a deal with you. My office manager will be happy to make payment arrangements." I always decline. When I'm in the chair, she tells me all the things I could have done, most of them cosmetic, and again states that her office manager will make a payment arrangement with me for what is not covered by my insurance. I decline this as well. I'm 66 years old, I'm in excellent health, take no medications except low dose aspirin, have always had excellent dental hygiene and care and really don't feel the need to have bleaching, plugs, caps, fluoride treatments or any of the other selective treatments she suggests. I had braces in my 50s and wear retainers at night. She looked at them on my last visit and told me she could make new ones for me for $500. When I answered that the ones I'm using worked just fine, her laughing response was "You'll have to pay a lot more if your teeth go crooked again." I left pretty angry that day and considered finding another dentist. I'm really beginning to resent being treated like a customer rather than a patient and politely told her this on my last visit. Have any of you experienced this as well?

 

Oh yes I saw a highly recommended dentist I had an old filling which came out -- he tried to sell me a Crown for $1500 == I asked just to fill the tooth again -- He drilled and drilled and drilled then finally filled and warned of future problems 8 weeks later the tooth cracked -- I am sure he drilled out the tooth then under-filled it so it would crack -- It did

 

I had already secured other recommendations --- the new dentist confirmed my suspicions and put in a cap for $625 the same material the other dentist wanted $1500 for. There was another incident before this was the final straw

 

My partner at the time also went to him and had a similar sale and fail experience

 

Find a New Dentist!

[Rudynate]

I have also experienced this but not as bad as you. I just say no. I do trust my dentist so I will stay with him even if they try all the upselling. Too many crooked dentists out there so if you trust your dentist stay there and just say no.

 

That's very common. People generally have pretty good teeth now, so dentists don't make what they used to from restorative work, so they push the cosmetic work in order to keep the cash flow up. The assistants and hygienists are part of this effort also. A sales-oriented hygienist can turn a $100.00 cleaning into a $300-400.00 visit with stuff like unnecessary x-rays, etc.

[Phil_musc]

I think you guys must look too well-healed when you go to the dentist. Better to dress down and not look so prosperous. When my new (at the time) dentist suggested a few things - such as replacing old fillings - now why would I want to do that? - I owned up to my rightful age and said my fillings were just fine, thank you. Of course it doesn't hurt that I have very few fillings anyway. Good dental genetic stock. That pretty much ended the upsell nonsense and now he is fine with me. I did have invisilign braces back about 8 years ago, and they did a great job on my crooked teeth. Now I notice other people's dental imperfections sympathetically.

[Phil_musc]

Exactly, Rudynate. Just how often do my teeth need to be x-rayed?

[+ sniper]

My dentist did once suggest I switch to getting cleanings every three months to help with gingivitis when I was in my late 20s, and after less than two years she said it had improved and I could go back to every 6 months. She did offer to replace my silver fillings with porcelain and I said yes because I had some rather large metal fillings that I was self-conscious about and they were decades old anyway. But since then she hasn't done anything that could be characterized as pushing stuff on me. Of course she could just be waiting until my front tooth which is mostly veneer fails and then I will probably be a candidate for 4 implants because my top 4 teeth really don't match up that well...

[BabyBoomer]

I miss our resident dentist.

 

~Boomer~

[OneFinger]

My favorite optometrist of all time is located at a Costco in San Diego. She does no upselling.

Which Costco? Balboa / Morena or Fenton?

[Rudynate]

Exactly, Rudynate. Just how often do my teeth need to be x-rayed?

 

 

I normally spend less than $300.00 on the dentist in a year. This past year was a bad year -$1200 for a wisdom tooth and $2500.00 for a gingival graft.

[+ sniper]

Exactly, Rudynate. Just how often do my teeth need to be x-rayed?

Once a year is the standard. And there is stuff that can go on below the gumline that is serious. But most dental insurance is very close to a wash in terms of premium versus what it covers(annual limits are often low); if you are reasonably good about your oral hygiene you're probably better off putting the monthly premium into a savings account and paying out of pocket. The dentist will often cut you a deal to not have to deal with filing a claim with the insurance company which will pay less than sticker price anyway.

[+ azdr0710]

I'm a cash guy at the dentist/eye doc/main doc......my insurance only covers the big one (if it ever comes).....do you think that's why I never get an upsell pitch?

[TruthBTold]

Not sure where "actor61" lives but if possible check out medical school clinics. Many times the med schools have dental clinics that are open to the public.

 

I found out a couple of months ago that one of my teeth had fractured and that I would need an implant. I was given the name of a periodontist but my sister recommended a dental clinic of a large university that is not far from me. The procedure was done by a resident (someone who had already practiced as a dentist for 4 years) under the eye of a faculty member. So far it has been very well done and I really like my periodontist. It is not cheap but not nearly as expensive as I would imagine it would have been if I went to a private periodontist. At any rate, eventually I will go back to my regular dentist for the crown.

[Rudynate]

I found out a couple of months ago that one of my teeth had fractured and that I would need an implant. I was given the name of a periodontist but my sister recommended a dental clinic of a large university that is not far from me. The procedure was done by a resident (someone who had already practiced as a dentist for 4 years) under the eye of a faculty member. So far it has been very well done and I really like my periodontist. It is not cheap but not nearly as expensive as I would imagine it would have been if I went to a private periodontist. At any rate, eventually I will go back to my regular dentist for the crown.

 

I have a friend who needed several implants. He had them done in Mexico for a few hundred dollars each.

[gallahadesquire]

I was privy to only part of my [dear, late, departed] Mother's implant experience.

 

What I remember is that, whenever I'd go home (once or twice a year), she'd always be going to "the dentist" to have her implants looked at. It took at least five years.

 

Another friend had an attempt at one; the bone graft didn't take; and I had to remove the stitches from his mouth.

 

I really, really don't think implants are worth the effort at this juncture.

[rvwnsd]

Which Costco? Balboa / Morena or Fenton?

Fenton Marketplace.

[Rudynate]

I was privy to only part of my [dear, late, departed] Mother's implant experience.

 

What I remember is that, whenever I'd go home (once or twice a year), she'd always be going to "the dentist" to have her implants looked at. It took at least five years.

 

Another friend had an attempt at one; the bone graft didn't take; and I had to remove the stitches from his mouth.

 

I really, really don't think implants are worth the effort at this juncture.

 

 

The alternative is dentures, bridges, partial plates.

[LADoug1]

After a visit with a dentist for a routine visit when the receptionist asked him how it went he replied “well it’s a start”. Made me feel terrible about my teeth. Never went back again. Regret I didn’t confront him about his insensitivity but he was such an ass I doubt it would have made a difference.

 

Happily I found a new dentist who is completely professional and never up sells.

[LaffingBear]

Compared to MDs, DDS is much more variable. While very little (although increasing) non-cosmetic medical work is uninsured, there's still a big portion of the population uninsured for dental. The variations have existed for decades.

 

After good dental health as a child, I guess I fared poorly as a late-teen. Had 11 cavities filled by student health services, college of dentistry, while I was a college freshman.

 

I moved around for my career in my younger years. After several moves, arrived in CA, found a local dentist through referral from coworkers, and was happy. He sold his practice.

 

New dentist who bought the practice had a (then) new technology.... put a camera in my mouth for the examination. Declared many many problems, and a need to replace all those old college fillings, about 15 years old at the time. I quit him, found another local dentist. After his exam, new dentist advised just monitoring the old work, replacing if it failed. That was 20+ years ago.... most if that old work is still doing just fine.

 

I'd forgotten that experience until reading this thread.

[+ Charlie]

I was privy to only part of my [dear, late, departed] Mother's implant experience.

 

What I remember is that, whenever I'd go home (once or twice a year), she'd always be going to "the dentist" to have her implants looked at. It took at least five years.

 

Another friend had an attempt at one; the bone graft didn't take; and I had to remove the stitches from his mouth.

 

I really, really don't think implants are worth the effort at this juncture.

Earlier this year, I finally finished an implant process for three missing or decayed teeth in the upper right quadrant of my mouth. The whole thing took three years to complete, because the initial bone grafts didn't work, and they had to be repeated a couple of times. The first implant also failed because of an opening between the sinus and the bone. I finally got two teeth implanted firmly, and the periodontist said she was reluctant to trust the bone for the third, so the last tooth is somewhat oversized to correct the bite. The whole thing was pretty expensive, but my insurance covered more than I had expected (partly because we were able to spread the claims over three years to get by the annual limits).

 

I was not a happy camper while it was all going on, because it was often pretty uncomfortable, and I worried about what to do if it never worked out. However, I have now had the implants in working condition for nine months, and I don't think about them because they feel so natural. I do have to consciously remember to chew on both sides of my mouth after such a long time chewing on only one side. Ultimately, I think it was worth the unpleasantness and expense, but at my age, I don't think I would go through it again.

[+ sniper]

About 12 years ago my then-employer's dental plan said they did not cover implants because with a 50% failure rate, they regarded them as still "experimental." My niece has one(one of her front teeth just was never there), but she is young and healthy so I suspect that improves the odds considerably.

[TruthBTold]

Luckily my one implant that I am having is going well (or at least my periodontist says so). I have always had fairly good teeth and have been much better at taking care of them. Unfortunately my regular dentist does try to push a small number of cosmetic dental procedures, e.g., straightening my bottom teeth. She has not really told my exactly WHY it has to be done. I continue to just say "NO." If it was because my mouth was being shifted or my bottom teeth moving one way or the other of course I might consider. But at this age I do not need to look "pretty." The implant I am having because the tooth fractured and it had to come out. An implant was a good replacement (or at least I am hoping it will be). Say your prayers.

[jjkrkwood]

Luckily, I got no more Dental issues...

 

[Rudynate]

I couldn't be more pleased with the gingival graft I had. You can't tell there was every anything amiss. It was a big bother, though. They leave the stitches in for two months after the procedure, during which time you can only eat soft foods.

[+ poolboy48220]

when the receptionist asked him how it went he replied “well it’s a start”. Never went back again. Regret I didn’t confront him about his insensitivity but he was such an ass I doubt it would have made a difference.

To play devil's advocate - my mother went through cosmetic surgery after they removed a large cancerous spot on her face. The first doctor was very nice, very professional in his manner, but after three surgeries that went from bad to worse, he recommended a colleague of his. This new guy had NO bedside manner, brusque and cold, but damn, one surgery later, you could barely tell my mother'd had a big chunk of her nose replaced.