I haven't read a bit of this thread. All I know is if went to the dentist and you didn't wake up after being knocked out with your pants undone and dreaming about gagging on a kielbasa then you are overreacting.
I am surprised how many people post on here about not going to the dentist for years at a time.
Am I the only one who enjoys going twice a year for a cleaning and checkup?
This was my HUGE mistake. Got my first ever cavity or even tooth problem at 28. Didn;t go back for two years. Not even for a 6 month clean, etc. So stupid. If I did a routine check up they would have caught on that I was getting cavities through an x-ray. I went back too late once I started feeling slight pain. Need root canals. Could have saved myself a lot of money.
My dentist is good. A family friend. He was the youngest dental graduate in Alberta at the time he graduated. Good dentist and thorough.
I am surprised how many people post on here about not going to the dentist for years at a time.
Am I the only one who enjoys going twice a year for a cleaning and checkup?
Every 6-9 months for the last 15 or so years an probably once a year before that.
I don't hate the dentist. I didn't hate getting my wisdom teeth out and didn't even go under for it. I'm not even a nazi about brushing or flossing either.
Just as a bit of a follow up to this thread I got my bill in the mail and it was in total 150 dollars. and my plan is really good. So I call back and they're like ooh sorry ya there's some mistakes here, let me re calculate. Ok 98 dollars.
me: Um... ya still kinda high I have people around me that did cleanings for pennies, some a few bucks.
them: Oh jeez ya I see more mistakes here hang on..
You should keep looking until you find a good dentist. I always thought that dentists had your best interst in mind but I was a fool.. my sister is a hygienist that works for multiple dentists and the quality of work and concern over patients is night and day between them.
To me a good dentist is someone that does good work and above all else makes you feel comfortable. Nobody enjoys being in that chair so to me the first job of the dentist is to make sure you aren't freaking out and understand what is going on.
I have had some shady dentist dealings in the past, and the best thing I ever did was try out a new dentist.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
i dont know what grinds my gears more. my dental benefits for telling me i have 100% coverage on cleaning and xrays, only to find out later they meant 100% of what they consider a fair price (they call it a "schedule").
or the dentist i used who charged scaling out at 78 dollars a unit, and the dentist my mom uses and ill be going to now charges at 67. 11 seems like a small difference but my insurance covers 66 and with 6.5 units of scaling it adds up.
then the x ray... overcharged again from what the insurance considers "fair" pricing. fata them both.
Best dentist ever. Great guy and I 100% trust him to tell me what I need vs. what is optional. He is a function over form guy for sure, he won't try to sell you on veneers etc.
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i dont know what grinds my gears more. my dental benefits for telling me i have 100% coverage on cleaning and xrays, only to find out later they meant 100% of what they consider a fair price (they call it a "schedule").
I work for health insurance, and most places will go by the Alberta fee guide, which is updated yearly to reflect inflation. There is no regulation for Dentists, and they can charge whatever they want. But the insurance companies will only reimburse within reasonable and customary charges (fee guide). I'd reconsider going to another Dentist, and ask if they charge within the Alberta fee guide as this will give you a benchmark on how much your bills will be, and give you an idea on how legit the Dentist is. Most should be charging within this area.
Another thing to add is if your insurance doesn't fully cover a bill, you can forward the Explanation of Reimbursement (the paper that says what was charged and paid out) from your insurance to your secondary insurance if you have one, your spouses plan, Blue Cross and they will reimburse the difference. If thats not available, you can write it towards your taxes next year.
Just sounds like a crappy dentist. As in poor "chairside manner". Those "checkups" are a friggin ripoff depending on how much of a crap your dentist gives.
And either thats a typo or you are getting ripped off on the root canal pricing.
Usually root canals are about 1500-2000 per tooth, depending on tooth and what needs to be done (Molar more expensive). About 800ish for the root canal, and about 800ish for the cap.
If your insurance covers the cost of checkups, I would find another dentist.
What exactly happened that you think it is a crappy dentist with poor manner? Checkups are vital.
Root canals are priced based on tooth and amount of work required to fix it. One tooth can have several root canals.
With a bill that is that expensive, I would consider a second opinion, but you may discover you need a lot of money to fix your teeth.
Never listen to dental hygienists/assistants. They don't know what they are talking about, yet they still love sharing their opinion.
The price of dental work varies between provinces. I'm not sure about Manitoba, but BC dentists are quite a bit less expensive than Alberta ones.
Interesting way to insult every single hygienist and assistant out there.
Just as a bit of a follow up to this thread I got my bill in the mail and it was in total 150 dollars. and my plan is really good. So I call back and they're like ooh sorry ya there's some mistakes here, let me re calculate. Ok 98 dollars.
me: Um... ya still kinda high I have people around me that did cleanings for pennies, some a few bucks.
them: Oh jeez ya I see more mistakes here hang on..
They stopped putting flouride on the municipal water supply in May 2011. The reason has more to do with money than anything else. The annual cost of putting flouride into Calgary's municipal water was around $750,000. In addidition to that there would have had to be about $6,000,000 in mechanical/system upgrades that would have been required to continue putting flouride in the municipal water supply.
Yes, also to add, the City isn't REMOVING flouride, they just stopped topping it up.
The water that feeds the rivers flows though the mountians where it picks up naturally occuring flouride, to about 0.3 mg/L (the city was topping up to 0.7 mg/L).
Many cities around the world do not add flouride, and have actually stopped adding after adding for years, due to various studies.
Flouride addition only helps toddlers with the erupting teeth, and is of far better benefit when applield topically, ingesting it is bad for you--read the tooth paste label!!!
Another thing to add is if your insurance doesn't fully cover a bill, you can forward the Explanation of Reimbursement (the paper that says what was charged and paid out) from your insurance to your secondary insurance if you have one, your spouses plan, Blue Cross and they will reimburse the difference. If thats not available, you can write it towards your taxes next year.
Why does GWL not do this? I am currently with Manulife and my wife with GWL. I go to the dentist, my policy covers 100% up to the schedule, and so does her companies policy.
The portion that is not covered by my insurance company is sent to my wife's insurance company, they reply back that the amount has already been paid to the max (although the didnt pay a dime). What is the point of having secondary insurance if this is the norm?
My wife had a problem with her dentist telling here that she had bad teeth and needed a tonne of work done. (I don't remember specifics). She decided to get a 2nd opinion and the new dentist told her nothing was wrong.
My dad is a dentist and reaching the end of a lifetime career. Without intending to boast he's generally known as an honest dentist doing honest work. And he makes a good living doing it.
He's quite negative about the dentistry profession these days. His thinking is that a lot of dentists feel the need to own the big house in the best part of town, the three cars, the boat, the Prevost motor home, the vacation property, etc, etc, and rather than working hard and acquiring it over years they want it now. Another thing is setting up a dental practice is VERY expensive! To pay for it dishonest dentists will invent cavities and other work. My dad sees it all the time when he's asked for a second opinion.
He's also not very charitable when it comes to the character of his peers, once telling me "Dentists are a-holes!"
Also not a fan of cosmetic dentistry, or their new revenue stream (in BC): Botox injections! On the flip side cosmetic dentistry only exists because emough people want to shell out big bucks for the perfect smile. More power to them, I guess?
Anyway, I mention all this because when what a dentist tells you doesn't seem right don't think "well he's the expert". Gather some recommendations from friends and family of other dentists and go get that 2nd opinion!
Last edited by BloodFetish; 08-16-2012 at 11:21 AM.
I am surprised how many people post on here about not going to the dentist for years at a time.
Am I the only one who enjoys going twice a year for a cleaning and checkup?
i dont know what grinds my gears more. my dental benefits for telling me i have 100% coverage on cleaning and xrays, only to find out later they meant 100% of what they consider a fair price (they call it a "schedule").
or the dentist i used who charged scaling out at 78 dollars a unit, and the dentist my mom uses and ill be going to now charges at 67. 11 seems like a small difference but my insurance covers 66 and with 6.5 units of scaling it adds up.
then the x ray... overcharged again from what the insurance considers "fair" pricing. fata them both.
Did you look into this before you went? You could have looked at your coverage and saw exactly what would be reimbursed. If you had questions you could call your insurance provider and/or bring it into your dentist's office. In a free market, I'd assume that not every dentist charges the same amount. I'd ask the questions before I had the work done.
I don't blame insurance companies for putting maximum amounts on coverage. Some dentists charge exorbitant amounts. I'd rather keep my premiums low as an employee and employer, and if people want the extra costs, they can pay themselves if they want to go to an expensive dentist. I went to the Eau Claire Market Dental Centre. It's definitely above the maximum amounts, but Dr. Vrbancic does amazing work. If I was a student still I wouldn't go there, as I would find some place that would be covered.
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