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Originally Posted by Gilda
Once I graduated and got a job, I had dental insurance for the first time. The dental insurance was set up in such a way as to actively discourage going to the dentist. First, on the day you signed the papers to sign up, you had to pick one specific dentist or dental office, or if you left it blank, they'd assign one from the network based on geographic location and availability. Being new, I left it blank. I had no way of knowing who was and wasn't any good, any pick I'd have made would have been just as random as what they did. I was assigned a storefront dental office named Plaque Attack. I was officially their patient for close to four years and never went.
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I suspect that you were in a program that pays the dentist (a pittance) whether you go to the office or not. Dentists who work with such plans love people like you. In fact, the arrangement doesn't pencil if patients actually show up.
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... She again asked when the last time I'd had them cleaned was, and I told her this was my first time. She said she understood that, but she needed to know when the last time I'd seen the dentist for a checkup was, and I told her, again, that this was my first time. I was beginning to doubt that I'd really want someone who was so dense that she didn't understand "this is my first time" to clean my teeth. "You have quite a bit of build up. Have been getting your cleanings regularly?" I was thinking, "Yes, of course, I go in every three months, which is why I just told you three times that this is my first time." It took another couple of exchanges with her rewording the same question in slightly different ways as if I were a small, developmentally disabled child who didn't understand her question before she finally understood that this was my first time.
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Some people in the dental field complete an entire career without ever seeing someone over the age of 12 or so who hasn't been to a dentist. If that explains her incredulity.
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As unpleasant as I'd expected it to be, it turned out to be worse. The worst part was that there was still a 30% copay but they waived that and took the 70% paid by the insurance as payment in full.
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Just so you know, that's called insurance fraud. Ethical dentists won't do it. The repercussions would not be large for you, but they can get very expensive for the dentist. He or she is financially foolish to take a risk that substantial.
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I've been once a year since for cleaning, and have been getting the same hard sell regarding going to the orthodontist every time. I wonder what he gets out of sending his patients there? A referral fee or something like that, perhaps? It's something I don't need, and I'm not going to spend whatever the copay was by then on a cosmetic procedure.
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With crooked teeth that catch food, and because you smoke, unless you change something, you will have gum disease by age 40. Your dentist is trying to prevent that.
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I'd rather go to physical therapy for my hand or the gynecologist than the dentist.
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Just pass that information along to the dentist, so he knows how to position the chair!
(Very old joke.)
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I think the eye doctor is the one I mind least, but that's probably because it's an "as needed" type of thing rather than something you need to do on a regular schedule. I've had my current glasses for four years now, and I'm seeing just fine, so no need for now or the near future.
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As long as you don't mind the possibility of glaucoma or some kind of retinopathy or other eye disease going undetected.
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What have your dental experiences been like?
Did you go as a child?
How often do you go?
Do you have any interesting stories regarding good/bad experiences with the dentist?
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I have never experienced pain in a dental office. Been going without fail since I was eight. I sure prefer the dental office over a colonoscopy, but I've had one friend die from colon cancer, and two almost die, so I deal with the unpleasantness.
Your dental decisions are your own, but you won't be happy with the long-term consequences.
My job now has close ties to the medical profession, if you were wondering. The only interesting story I have would probably be more suited to "Dear Penthouse."
