Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Always call before you make an appointment for a cleaning and X-rays. Ask what is entailed. The latest scam involves two separate appointments for a cleaning and exam. Traditionally, a cleaning and exam is held on the same day. The patient gets a cleaning done and then a dentist will examine the mouth and diagnose if any future work is to be done on a separate appointment. However, some dentists will make you come in for two separate appointments, one for the cleaning and the other for the exam, and if you need additional work, you will have a third appointment. Ask the dental office in question if they do the exam and cleaning on the same day.
Are you saying that it will cost you less if the cleaning and exam are done at the same appointment? Or is it just more convenient? Lately I've been hearing that they are only done separately but I never thought about why they would do that. Interesting...
Quote:
Buy dental insurance. It will save you an incredible amount of money. It can also protect you against unethical practices like overcharging. If a dentist doesn't accept dental insurance, it's usually a bad sign because he or she wants to be able to charge whatever fee they desire without being limited by a dental insurance plan. This is the most important thing I can stress.
I agree. I have Regence and some dentists like Kris Swanson and Mark Dire don't accept it because they charge high fees and Regence doesn't want to pay as much as other insurances.
I think most of the problems I have w/ finding a good dentist is the STAFF, though I've encountered several dentists who were incompetent crooks. They can be so unprofessional and obnoxious with not only what they say but how they say it. They turn the conversation into an interrogation to see if i am worthy of their practice instead of me trying to find out if they are worthy of me, the customer. Hello? I feel like they hate their jobs, have no class, no education and have a huge desire to exercise their power. Like I don't want to stereotype but I've had many negative experiences. Here a few questions: is it appropriate for a receptionist to wear hooker heels? is it appropriate for a receptionist to call me when I am driving to my appointment to tell me that she wants me to be there 10 mins early? is it appropriate for her to call me when I'm driving to my appt. to discuss finances? is it appropriate to ask WHY i left my previous dentist? is it appropriate to ask what my profession is during my 1st appt. scheduling? is it appropriate to give me a health questionnaire on the phone before my 1st appt? like so hypothetically if i have a heart problem they'll want nothing to do with me?
Are you saying that it will cost you less if the cleaning and exam are done at the same appointment? Or is it just more convenient? Lately I've been hearing that they are only done separately but I never thought about why they would do that. Interesting...
It is more expensive because many dentists charge a fee for an office visit regardless of the service being provided. By splitting one appointment into two, they can charge two separate office visit fees. This is the reason they split the cleaning and exam. It was a way for them to make more money. Traditionally, the hygienist sees you first and performs any X-rays and then performs the cleaning. After the cleaning is done, the patient remains in the chair and the dentist appears and examines your mouth and looks at the X-rays and determines if any additional work needs to be done.
Quote:
I agree. I have Regence and some dentists like Kris Swanson and Mark Dire don't accept it because they charge high fees and Regence doesn't want to pay as much as other insurances.
If more patients purchase dental insurance, those dentists will be forced to accepting insurance. As of now, many people lack dental insurance and thus dentists can get away with not accepting insurance plans.
Quote:
Here a few questions: is it appropriate for a receptionist to wear hooker heels? is it appropriate for a receptionist to call me when I am driving to my appointment to tell me that she wants me to be there 10 mins early? is it appropriate for her to call me when I'm driving to my appt. to discuss finances? is it appropriate to ask WHY i left my previous dentist? is it appropriate to ask what my profession is during my 1st appt. scheduling? is it appropriate to give me a health questionnaire on the phone before my 1st appt? like so hypothetically if i have a heart problem they'll want nothing to do with me?
They can ask those questions. Dental practices vary with their service. If the service is bad, you don't have to be seen there and you can rate them on anonyous sites like mdratings (it includes a section for dentists) Just like a dental office can refuse to see you, you can refuse to see them hence the reason you shoud ask them questions over the phone like
(1) Do they accept your dental insurance
(2) How much is a cleaning, X-rays and exam cost
(3) Is the cleaning and the exam done on the same day
Honest dentists will charge between 100-200 for x-rays, cleaning and exam. Many unethical dentists can charge $300+
(4) Do you use Panoramic(expensive) or Digital X-rays(expensive) or plain film X-rays with bitewing and periapical views(cheaper)?
I don't know what insurance you have. It also depends if you're looking for general dentistry/ortho/periodontal/endo/cosmetic etc. I was looking at the top dentists in the Seattle Magazine with the top dentists from the eastside for 2009 (not willing to drive to Seattle :
General Dentistry (a lot offer costmetic though)
I would advise caution with seeing general dentist who wants to specialize in cosmetics. Cosmetic dentists are general dentists. Unlike physicians who specialize in plastic surgery, there is no official ADA sponsored dental fellowship called "cosmetic dentistry" So unlike orthodontistry, endodontistry, periodontistry, pedodontistry etc., cosmetic dentistry is not an official field. Any general dentist can do cosmetic procedures and label themselves as cosmetic dentists. These general dentists are not required to do a residency or fellowship to become a cosmetic dentist. Most of these dentists pay for weekend seminars to learn procedures they are not familar with.
Therefore, if a general dentist is trying to market him or herself as a cosmetic dentist, it means they are interested in earning a lot of money because cosmetic procedures are elective and not covered by insurance so it's very lucrative if a dentist can acquire enough patients seeking cosmetic work.
That being said, the majority of general dentists do perform cosmetic work, but there is difference between a dentist who tries to market themselves as a cosmetic dentist and a general dentist who is content with 10% of their practice being devoted to cosmetics. I personally would avoid seeing a general dentist with cosmetic aspirations for fear that they are preoccupied with money and would overdiagnose me or charge me too much for X-rays etc.
I think most of the problems I have w/ finding a good dentist is the STAFF, though I've encountered several dentists who were incompetent crooks. They can be so unprofessional and obnoxious with not only what they say but how they say it. They turn the conversation into an interrogation to see if i am worthy of their practice instead of me trying to find out if they are worthy of me, the customer. Hello? I feel like they hate their jobs, have no class, no education and have a huge desire to exercise their power. Like I don't want to stereotype but I've had many negative experiences. Here a few questions: is it appropriate for a receptionist to wear hooker heels? is it appropriate for a receptionist to call me when I am driving to my appointment to tell me that she wants me to be there 10 mins early? is it appropriate for her to call me when I'm driving to my appt. to discuss finances? is it appropriate to ask WHY i left my previous dentist? is it appropriate to ask what my profession is during my 1st appt. scheduling? is it appropriate to give me a health questionnaire on the phone before my 1st appt? like so hypothetically if i have a heart problem they'll want nothing to do with me?
Health questionnaire on the phone is not appropriate IMO and should be filled out at the first office visit.
When they schedule your first appointment they should tell you to show up 10-15 min early to fill out paperwork.
Asking your profession on the phone is not necessary. I ask people in the chair what they do for a living sometimes but that is just to make conversation.
Hooker heels? Hmmm, I guess that depends on what your definition of hooker heels is.
If more patients purchase dental insurance, those dentists will be forced to accepting insurance. As of now, many people lack dental insurance and thus dentists can get away with not accepting insurance plans.
There are so many types of dental insurance out there. Most offices do not want to accept PPO plans because some pay 60 cents to the dollar. HMO plans are much worse.
When they schedule your first appointment they should tell you to show up 10-15 min early to fill out paperwork.
Duh! That's even common sense. I wasn't going to my 1st appt. when they called me to tell me to get there EARLY. These low-lives think they can boss me around? Even if it was my 1st appt. you don't call someone to tell them to get there early OR ELSE WHAT? However, I do remember one time i was driving to a 1st appt. and they called me to tell me in a condescending tone WHERE the heck i was (that was 5 mins before my appt.).
Quote:
Asking your profession on the phone is not necessary. I ask people in the chair what they do for a living sometimes but that is just to make conversation.
I don't think it's appropriate to ask privates questions like that. If you just want to make conversation, you can ask how their day is going. If they want to open up and disclose that kind of information, then fine. However, you shouldn't even go there and besides not everyone likes to chit-chat, maybe they just want you to do your job and get the heck out of there.
Quote:
Hooker heels? Hmmm, I guess that depends on what your definition of hooker heels is.
5" high heels in a medical environment, i don't think so!
Wow, are you reading your own posts? I can understand why you can't find a dentist because you are probably scaring them all (even the good ones) away.
I HATE the dentist and seem to have a lot of dental needs. I fear nothing more than the dentist. Having lived in NYC and Dallas the last 3 years and just moving back home to SEA, I am so glad to be returning to the only dentist I have liked in my 20 adult years -- Heidi Hackett. She's in Greenlake. She is so gentle, kind and more minimalist in her approach that most other dentists. The one thing you have to do is be on time. She will not take you if you are more than a few minutes late. But she is truly a wonderful, wonderful dentist.
P.S. She's just my dentist -- I'm not related nor have any other affiliation to her.
Wallingford Dental Arts is fantastic. Every time I've been there, they've always taken a detailed look at my teeth, and have never suggested any unnecessary procedures (I have a small chip in my tooth, and they've always left it up to me whether or not I want to get it fixed). And this is a bit off topic, but they just got a little yorkie puppy that plays with all the people in the waiting room. Really calmed me down before my appointment.
My dad broke his root canal tooth and needs either: 1) A single tooth implant; or 2) A single tooth bridge; or 3) A redo of the damaged single tooth root canal to save what remains of the tooth; or 4) A single tooth denture. 4 potential solutions that we will need advice on by a professional. The dentist we saw only offered options 1 or 3 above and said lets start right away after we pick one (and he quoted a price of $3000, which it seems is not too bad for an implant). He was recommending the implant over the root canal redo. He did not offer the cheaper options 2 and 4, which I found upon online research. I decided to postpone treatment.
Both 1) and 3) would take months to complete and are costly. I do not think my dad will be keen to get jawbone surgery for the implant.
His insurance is so-so and will definitely not cover the implant or bridge as far as I know.
Any recommendations for decent out-of-pocket prices places that can do all of the above and will not give wrong advice just to make the most money?
Thanks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.