Is your dentist performing treatments and making charges without first informing you?

Hi,


For those of you who have read my first post titled "My dentist charged me $12 for a single REGULAR 4x6 PHOTO (and I mean REGULAR photo, NOT x-ray), is that wrong?", this is the follow-up.


For those of you who have not, the short version is, the dentist was cleaning my teeth when he told me that a few pictures and xrays will be taken of my teeth. In the midst of all the pain, discomfort and noise from the sucking and scaling machines, I thought he was just talking about x-rays in general. Then when he actually took the pictures (again, I am talking about 2 regular pictures that you and I would take everyday), although uncomfortable, I just went along with it. Little did I know that they would charge me $12 for it later. Anyhow, being very tired and hungry, I paid up, but felt cheated after I got home. So I went on yahoo to get some answers. After reading everyone's response, I waited until today to call the office. Being me, I told them as nicely as I could about how I felt.

Is your dentist performing treatments and making charges without first informing you?
You are not being unreasonable and have a valid complaint. Be sure to call and write to your insurance company a complaint about how the dental office handled the photos. The go to yahoo white pages and write a review to warn others. (((hug)))
Reply:Ok. And they said...........?
Reply:they don't inform you ahead of time= it kinda ticks me off as im not prepared to put up the extra bucks


telling them may remind them to tell you when the x-rays will be taken again before you go in=also reminding the nurse when she calls the day before to tell you if you will be having any x-rays =that is your right to know
Reply:I could get on a roll with this one....I had root canals, crowns in the amount of 20,000 and when he was done he was polite enough to tell me I had periodintis?(sp) THEN 15 years later and another dentist took xrays of ALL my teeth when all I wanted was an antibiotic for ONE tooth. Amazing these dentists and doctors are, huh!!!
Reply:I'd really like to hear your dentist's side of this story.





Without knowing all the facts, let me say one thing on behalf of dental offices - most of us are honest and try to the best of our ability to inform patients when something will not be covered by insurance.





However.....we don't always know what will and will not be covered by insurance. There are hundreds of different plans and we can't memorize them all. The patients should know their own coverage.





Next, sometimes photos are taken for the insurance company. It's easier to get a claim paid if you send in lots of documentation with a claim. Insurance companies often stall, requesting more and more information, delaying payment as long as possible. Some offices send as much as they can, hoping to expedite payment.





A photo is often for the patient's benefit - helping the insurance to pay faster. Many offices take digital photos, so there is very little cost involved. But when it's a regular camera and film that needs to be developed, it is costly for the office. Twelve bucks doesn't seem like all that much if it helps YOU to get your insurance company to pay.





Remember, it's not up to your dental office to know what is covered by your insurance. But, you should be informed on what is being done, no matter what insurance you have or don't have.
Reply:Find a new dentist if you aren't satisfied with the service.



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