Source
r/Dentistry•
Comowl

The dentist that I go to is terrible. It is like fast food dentistry, no individual attention, every person is nothing more than a dollar sign. I need to change but they're the only ones who accept my insurance. How much damage am I looking at if I pay for things out of pocket? Any insider tips?

Obviously it varies from place to place, but I'm just looking for a ballpark (for cleanings, fillings, etc...again, I understand that it varies)

I guess I'm also just wondering if anyone has any tips for me? Should I bother going to a new place if I have to pay out of pocket? I have very, very limited money to work with (read: basically, none) but I feel like this is such an important issue and I'd have to skimp now and pay for it figuratively later. I would have to get a credit card and put it on that and pay it off as I can. I know that's a recipe for disaster but so is continuing to get such sub par work done on my teeth. I feel pretty stuck and frustrated because of the money/insurance issue but I'd hate for that to be the deciding factor with something as important as dental health.

The dentist that I go to rushes everyone through. The dentists barely ever see you and when they do, it's an absolute rush job. I have gotten 2 fillings within the past year from them and both times the dentist drilled the hole super quickly and then some woman who was not a dentist took over. Both times she basically glued my teeth together so that I could not floss between them. The second time that I went (just last week) they didn't even bother to let the dentist check her work. They said "oh, he's good. You can leave now" and sent me on my way. I didn't bother to press the issue because the dentists never pay attention when they're in the room anyway. It wasn't until later that night that I realized that my teeth were stuck together...again. I went back and got it fixed but god, what the hell?

Anyway, I really want to switch and I guess I'm just looking for any kind of insight that you guys may have to offer. Thank you.

Posted May 12, 2014, 11:24 PM UTC

530
poohspiglet•

Call your insurance company and see what the process is for getting re-imbursed for out of network providers. I changed dentists, went across the border to Canada, and now I have a great dentist. The only caveat is that we pay for the services at the time, via credit card, and then file just a simple form to have the insurance reimburse us. I bring the form to the Canadian provider, their office fill it out with tooth and service performed, and I just tape the receipt to the form and send it in. Works like a charm. Don't forget to always make a copy of your completed form if you go this route.

3
ComowlOP•

Thank you, I will call and ask my insurance company. I am not holding my breath because it is medicaid insurance but I will try, at least. If not then I will probably just pay out of pocket (albeit, slowly) because the dentist is truly horrible.

1
Ttrishajoable•

More and more offices are accepting Medicaid. Because of the Affordable Care Act, many patients who once had insurance or who paid cash are now eligible for medicaid. In order for a lot of small practices to survive many are now accepting it even though they are paid roughly 1/3 of what they would normally charge for treatment. What is sad is that you were treated that way because 1) the dental office doesn't feel well compensated for their work 2) you are on medicaid so they know that you aren't really paying for it and will feel less justified to complain.

2
isaacyankemddsGeneral Dentist•

In michigan Medicaid expansion eligibility is under 16k a year income. How were those people paying out of pocket for dentistry before or affording dental insurance? I need more explanation because what you are describing in this thread about aca has not been my experience at all. Edit: and while the Medicaid expansion doesn't cover all procedures it covers a hell of a lot more than nothing and reimburses 3-5x what regular Medicaid did.

1
fakedoctor11•

Is medicaid Insurance in other states? In Illinois it just pretty much covers emergency extractions.

1
jeremypr82RDH•

yup, in NY it's fairly decent coverage.

1
DentalchickRDH•

I am curious if the woman who is not a dentist was possibly a restorative hygienist? Or is this an truly illegal situation going on here.

3
ComowlOP•

I really have no idea =/ I suppose I could ask what her official title is.

1
rspkt3•

In some states, dental assistants can place composite.

1
ComowlOP•

Yeah, I understand that. It'd be fine if she knew what she was doing but this was like, 7 months apart and she screwed them both up. I'm sure she had tons of fillings in between my 2 so she clearly just sucks.

It'd also be fine if the dentist would have taken a minute and checked to make sure it was done properly but he didn't and that sucks too.

1
danhook•

Please do not take this the wrong way but I feel I have to mention it since you said you have Medicaid. What about the dentist? If it is a corporate chain, they probably don't have a choice in the matter.

My friend has a Medicaid office that pretty much only does extractions and he has a hard time making keeping the lights on. He deals with the worst people and gets paid $27 for a tooth. Just the overhead is $15. Normally speaking this might be good if the training was similar to a massage therapist, but the training to become a dentist is 8 years and $200,000 in loans.

Is the point of my comment to make you feel bad about your situation or the dentist? Not at all. Access to care is a serious issue. I would urge you to visit a dental school in the area where it doesn't matter to the student what they are making on the work. Many dental schools are setup to accept Medicaid and you'll get someone fresh and excited about dentistry without the cloud of the business side of things. Just my 2 cents. Again, please do not take this the wrong way. I would just like to see you have a pleasant experience at the dentist and I think you'll face this wherever you go unless it's in a dental school setting.

3
ComowlOP•

Eh, they may not have a choice for certain aspects but allowing someone who clearly doesn't know how to do a filling to do fillings is shitty no matter how you slice it. They take a shitty situation and make it worse.

I appreciate your input and did not think that there was a bad way to take what you said =P It wasn't rude at all. Thanks for the tip!

1
danhook•

Yeah, the filling situation is not good. Either way there are two sides to the coin. I feel bad for anyone working in a place accepting Medicaid and anyone in a situation that needs Medicaid for dental coverage. I see it from both sides.

1
KanzarGeneral Dentist•

Someone explain to me how people can have these kinds of patient outcomes and not get their asses sued to hell and back?

2
ComowlOP•

I don't really know. Maybe they do and use some of that extra money they're raking it to hire lawyers? I have no idea.

1
Ttrishajoable•

I believe that they have their patients sign liability waivers. My friend had her wisdom teeth extracted and they told her that she could die and made her sign off for it.

1
KanzarGeneral Dentist•

That can't be legal. There are reasonable expectations of possible side effects and death certainly isn't one of them.

2
LilLessWiseGeneral Dentist•

It's legal to have them sign it, will it hold up in court if there was negligence? Nope.

People can die from third molar extractions, even more risk (albeit still extremely low) with sedation.

2
ComowlOP•

Well, it is if you're put under, right?

1
ComowlOP•

Thank the lord I didn't have to get my wisdom teeth taken out by them. My insurance covered a decent place who only focuses on oral surgery. They were awesome and it went very smoothly. I do not feel like the outcome would have been the same had I gone with the shitty dentist.

1
Ttrishajoable•

It sounds like you went to Comfort Dental. I would call around. Corporate dentistry which tends to have an "assembly line" approach tends to be much cheaper. The downfall is the quality of work and the impersonal, rushed feel of your appointment time. Of course not all corporate dental offices are this way. It just often happens. Trying to do dentistry at such a low price means that more patients must be seen in a smaller amount of time. These offices use EDDAs (expanded duty dental assistants) to complete restorations. Some EDDAs are excellent at their job, others not so much. My advice is to call around. If corporate dentistry isn't for you, find a small private practice and tell them about your financial situation. Many private practices are willing to work with you on the price especially when they know that you are paying out of pocket. Many private practices are struggling due to the Affordable Care Act therefore should be more willing to come down on the costs and set up payment plans for a cash paying patient. I hope this information helps! Good luck and I am sorry about your bad experience!

1
ComowlOP•

It was Smilebuilderz, which, after reading some reviews, sounds a lot like Comfort Dental. Blah. The fact that this is becoming a "thing" makes me sad. Like you are saying, I'm sure they're not all bad...but Smilebuilderz sure is.

Thank you very much for your help! That's awesome. I will definitely start calling around and seeing if anyone is willing ot work with me.

5
cementicIesGeneral Dentist•

As a rule of thumb, I avoid places that pluralize things with a Z.

11
ComowlOP•

Jesus, tell me about it. That is a definite red flag.

3
Spraynard1979•

That's the actual name of the practice?

Wow. What adult is going to see that name and think 'yah, this is where I want to receive irreversible dental treatment.'

4
ComowlOP•

Right!? It is the worst. I would have never picked them had I not been essentially forced into it by my insurance.

3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
ComowlOP•

How awful. They treat you like garbage because they know a lot of people are essentially stuck with them because of insurance issues. It really sucks.

1
amalgamatorOrthodontist•

This doesn't sound like Comfort at all.

Unlike every other corporate chain, Comfort is a franchise owned by the dentist. The dentist hires and fires and runs the office. I have numerous friends that are Comfort partners and they have tremendous success and patient satisfaction. I think you are being unfair.

2
isaacyankemddsGeneral Dentist•

Aca hasn't hurt Medicaid in michigan, Medicaid sucked long before aca. Actually due to Medicaid expansion I have begun seeing Medicaid patients because reimbursement has gone up. To blame aca for Medicaid is incorrect. If anything aca Medicaid expansion has increased my income and patient population.

2