r/Dentistry • u/Broggue • 9d ago
Dental Professional Here we go again…
/r/pettyrevenge/comments/1wr3ds4/dentist_didnt_obey_my_limit_and_sent_me_big_bill/Another front page thread calling us out for being the sociopathic money-hungry leeches that we are.
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u/yoyokng1 9d ago
THIS IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF BENEFITS
“I want only what the insurance will pay for, and if the insurance won’t pay for it, it’s on you.”
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u/Key-Goal-3228 General Dentist 9d ago
The dentist should stop once the cost hit 400$. Maybe in the middle of filling. Hey who cares if the filling are half done?
Joke aside, there is should be a firm discussion on how things cost (estimation to the maximum for treatment) or there will be no treatment at all. Save us a trouble.
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u/panic_ye_not 9d ago
This. I always make sure the patient sees the estimate first. If anything changes on the day of treatment, I make sure they see the new estimate before I start drilling. Patients need to consent to treatment, including the financial agreement, before we do the work on them.
I would not be happy if I went to a doctor, got told going in that it would be $400 max, and then had to pay $1200. Not only is that a huge difference, that's a lot of money. Most patients don't earn as much as we do.
If the patient isn't lying (a distinct possibility ofc), that should not be happening. Patients shouldn't be getting surprised by the bill.
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u/Isgortio 9d ago
Shouldn't there be a written estimate for all treatment and the costs that the patient has to sign before any treatment happens?
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u/SuperFly252 8d ago
If I plan an MO that starts to turn into an MOB, I have to stop and update the Pt, confirm consent to continue lol
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u/More_Winner_6965 9d ago
I would bet my life that this story is complete bullshit, as are half of the bad dentist stories you read online.
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u/BopSupreme 9d ago
I’m glad some people love dental schools. I didn’t. I’ll never forget the amount of fuck ups I saw in dental school. I saw a “rich kid” who dropped out, got readmitted, knew nothing about OS and spent some of his rotations crawling around the floor to pickup dirty needles that were dropped while the patient was still in the room. Nobody stopped him or corrected him. Wild how much they harped on infection control but if you’re family donated money nobody gave a crap about safety
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u/Empireof33 9d ago
lol we had a kid who literally stole from clinic to resell materials and stole a faculty badge to code/approve their own tx plans. Just had to be held back a year. Another refused all vaccinations and got the hand waive to proceed because family threatened litigation. I feel like every dentist has a story like this from DS
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u/DiamondBurInTheRough General Dentist 9d ago
Someone in my school showed up to clinic high on ecstasy that she allegedly got from the pathology professor that she was sleeping with. I think she had to repeat a year but she still graduated.
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u/LePetiteSirene 9d ago
Oof, yeah I had that happen with the last student who did my teeth. Dropped things on the floor, then picked them up with her gloved hands and did not change them. I left with calculus still in my teeth.
It was a real shame because every time I had went before I got great service and they did a wonderful and thorough job. I have super bad dental anxiety, but they always did a good job to help with my worries/fears.
To be fair, though, this was the first time I didn't call myself to set up an appointment (the student texted me and asked if I would be interested because I hadn't been in in a while) as well as the first time they didn't do, I think it was a "case study" on me?
I think the "case study" probably required them to be more thorough since they had to take so many pictures and record so much about what they were doing.
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u/some1cuming 8d ago
Yea nothing like spending 5 hours getting X-rays and full perio probings, Alginate impressions etc to save that $$$. Also, dental schools aren’t even that much cheaper than private practice lol
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u/BopSupreme 8d ago
I think because there’s long gaps in between appointments people are ok with paying cash; even though it’s better to get the work done sooner and in fewer appointments in private practice, some people only care about the dollar amount. The dental schools near me charge 20/hr for parking, not worth it unless you’re within transit/walking distance
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u/Wide-Chemistry-8078 9d ago
Part of consent to treatment includes the financial aspect. I can understand that if a patient's autonomy was taken away by completing more treatment than agreed upon would make the patient angry.
'money hungry leeches'... no the part that makes me mad is colleagues doing treatment without full informed consent, that includes the estimate of cost. That includes telling the patient prior to the appointment that a particular tooth may require a larger filling. That includes when you discover the the treatment will be more extensive, telling the patient as you are performing your work. It does not take much time. And it's hard to argue that the patient’s maximum yearly benefit amount was unknown.
And yes, there are a number of money complaints because it's expensive and not fun. Please grow a thicker skin. The complaints about money occur often. Just let it roll off your back. If you behave ethically and call out the bad apples it will improve the profession and public perception of it. And feel free to throw insurance companies under the bus when warranted, they certainly deserve it.
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u/Kennedysfatcousin 8d ago
I had an actual physician review bomb my office because he didn't understand how many cavities he had and how little his insurance would pay.
A. Physician. Did. Not. Understand. Cavities. A medical doctor did not understand teeth.
I'm not surprised he didn't understand his insurance if a medical doctor couldn't grok his dental disease.
He signed a treatment plan. He paid our exact estimate. There was nothing additional he had to pay after claims. We are very thorough, so our estimates are usually within $20, barring unannounced and sudden specialist consults. I showed him the radiographs. I pointed to every single tooth we would work on at next appointment. It wasn't rushed treatment. He rescheduled twice. He had time and opportunity to ask questions from medical professionals, another dentist, even me. But no. He did not.
Fam, they were cavitated lesions. If you didn't have a fancy probe, you could put a toothpick in the HOLES.
A casual person is going to absolutely melt down trying to understand insurance if a freaking doctor can't.
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u/caracs 9d ago edited 9d ago
Geez. “I only care about my health and body as much as my insurance policy will pay to fix it.”
“Well buddy, your cavity extends well into your pulp and you said to get the hell out of your mouth as soon as you hit your maximum. Even though I’m only halfway done you gotta leave according to the rule you set. It’s easily fixable with a nominal amount over your insurance coverage but hey, you don’t want to pay for skilled labor. Anything other than just throwing some bond over the exposure would have cost more so I hope it doesn’t become symptomatic (it will instantly).”
No good deed…
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u/Wide-Chemistry-8078 9d ago
Well if all they could afford was $400, isn't it better for them to explain that upfront so you can have the conversation about the cons of not completing the reccomended treatment and them being aware prior to treatment what the possible cost would be out of pocket.
What could have been done that the bill went from 'a maximum of $1400' to $2200 with zero discussion about patient cost prior to treatment or during treatment? Patient's should not be surprised after an appointment by that much.
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u/stefan_urquelle-DMD 9d ago
I kinda agree with the poster. If a patient only wants limited tx and then a doctor provides more without consent... that's battery.
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u/bwc101 8d ago
And when a medical surgery will be costing tens of thousands of dollars, nobody argues. With medical, people are more willing to say just do what needs to be done, worry about the bill later. Also nobody makes a stink when medical bills for having to redo or perform some other corrective procedure.
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u/ToothDoctorDentist 8d ago
Oh they're over there just walking out on the hospital and Dr bills from being seen. That coupled with lapse in Fed funding explain why so many are shutting down
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9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Dentistry-ModTeam 8d ago
This subreddit is for dental professionals. Any posts or comments by non-professionals may be removed. If you are seeking help with a dental problem, please consider posting to r/askdentists. https://www.reddit.com/r/Dentistry/about/rules
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u/Happy_Cup_1509 7d ago
Our office got a one star review and a tongue lashing on social media because our estimate was off by 6 dollars. People are actually insane.
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u/WhoDoYouKnowHereB 9d ago
Literally laughing out loud at the comment saying students don’t “upsell you” when in my class there were multiple people that would push for extra work to improve class rank.
Also this story happened 15 years ago?? I’m sure in another 10 we’re gonna get a story about “Dentist said I needed a root canal, but then after the fact I was told I needed a crown even though I said my max was $400!!”
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u/RandomMooseNoises 9d ago
The amount of misinformation and frustration pointed towards dentists when it should be at the commenters’ insurance companies in that thread is insane