... my new dentist best not be scamming me.
Here's the thing ... she and I started off on the wrong foot (or would that be "the wrong tooth") a year ago when I showed up in her office and asked for my twice annual cleaning, covered 100% by my insurance.
Her reply: "Nope, sorry, you need a deep cleaning!" after which she wrote up a treatment plan that included time spent in each quadrant (because that way you can bill four times) and a wish list of crowns and things she'd like to put in my mouth, despite the fact that there's not a trace of royalty in my genealogy.
My reply back then: "I'll call you when I'm ready to get started.".
Fast forward to this week (just about a year later), when I knew that I couldn't put it off any longer, as a lost filling was causing occasional sensitivity issues. So off I went for another consult, and this time, in addition to the quadrant work, there's now a root canal or two which she's added to the crown plans. And because she's rolled it up into the crowning activity, she's charging me 40% instead of the 10% I'm supposed to pay for root canals and fillings, as per my insurance.
Here's where it gets tricky. I did two quadrants, and discovered that I was paying 20% of the cost out of pocket. Problem is ... my insurance covers that task at 90%. That means she's getting an extra 10% from me and, despite what's on the treatment plan sheets I sign, and extra 10% from my insurance.
I go back in two weeks to finish the other half of my mouth, and she'll get one chance to correct her billing mistake. Otherwise, I think that's tantamount to fraud, and I think that's worth a call to whomever would care about that kind of office-keeping.
One last thought -- she will be in my mouth with very pointy objects, so I'll probably wait until AFTER the completion of the deep cleaning to bring up this discussion point. Seems safer, don't you think? (to be continued ...)
CAN YOU SAY, "RED FLAG"?:
http://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/10-signs-your-dentist-is-ripping-you-off.html/?a=viewall
UPSELL ME FRIES, NOT DENTAL PROCEDURES:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/dentist-ripping-you-off
WE AREN'T ALL *THIS* GUY YOU KNOW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjIL3fDxSZQ
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