Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Am I receiving proper dental care or am I being mistreated?

I've always been leery of dentists and something never felt right. I've had bad experiences but I need answers. I've been going to this dentist for 2 years now. I started going to him originally because the dentist I went to before packed a cavity, the filling fell out a week later, he repacked it sloppy while cursing up and down, 3 yrs later badly infected tooth. So this dentist I've been going to for 2 years starts by fixing my infected tooth and gave me a root canal. He was so friendly and polite, I trusted him. I never trusted a dentist before that. I regret it now. So after my first cleaning he puts this stick against my teeth that has a small red dot light on the end to see if I have cavities. He tells me I have eight!! So its now two years later and he has done 10-12 of my teeth, 4 of my husbands, prescribed me a night-guard (when I know for a fact I don't grind my teeth and there are no signs of me grinding my teeth) and before him I only had two cavities filled. Now before him those two cavities were silver fillings, he has done all my fillings since then and their all white fillings. A filling he did last year fell out of my back tooth this october. He got me in his office 24-48 hours later and filled it. I said, "This is the filling you did why did it fall out". He tells me, "I didn't do that filling!" Now I saved the filling when it fell out, I felt it, it was loose for a while. The filling was the size of a pin head. Now when he was drilling the whole I felt like he was struggling with it, or drilling it more than needed to be done. So I go home look at it my tooth is gone for the gum line to almost the bottom on that on side?!?! From a pin hole to that? Not only that, there is a slit the size of my nail (because my nail fits in there) of open space between my tooth and the gum line that's exposed for water and food to get in and it hurts. Now me and my husband never had tooth sensitivity before, but since he did our teeth it comes and goes no matter how much time passes. So from the beginning my husband warned me to find another dentist that this one is money hungry. And I ignore all the signs, saying, " He's a nice professional, has up-to-date equipment, and its hard to find a good dentist their all butchers." Boy, was I right! I really woke up with his attitude and the way he drilled this tooth. Then I look back at all the facts. Now his secretary is trying to charge a yearly deductible. My insurance says I have no "dental yearly deductible in or out of network". This secretary argues it being rude saying stuff like, "I could tell you were a tight *** when I talked to your over the phone!". That comment was in regards to her sending a FINAL notice to my house saying I owe $30 dollars from 7 and a half months ago? And that if I don't pay they have the right to start charging %20 interest and they'll turn it over to a collection agency. I never even got a phone call before that. Then she says its $60 dollars, then oh wait, no $30 again. Then she bills the wrong insurance trying to get a hundred some dollars. All the while saying stuff to me like, " Look, I don't need to hear you just pay what you owe, I know you called a week ago I didn't return it because you should just pay, Your a liar you didn't talk to your insurance company, etc." So I get an insurance representative to finally call her, she says" no we never asked her to pay a yearly deductible"!!!!!!! BS And this secretary just started this summer, the old one I never had a problem with. I always pay right away and on time. This new secretary accused the old one of stealing? I do not believe her because she's always changing her story. So my questions are, what kind(s) of action can I take? Did he mess up that tooth I was talking about because I feel its gonna lead to a root canal? Can anyone recommend a good dentist in philadelphia? I am so consummed with anger its not even funny. I've been crying and stressed out relentlessly. I feel I'm going to loose my tooth by the time I'm forty. He took my health for profit, you can't replace that. How cruel is that!! I do not deserve to be treated like that by him or his secretary! What can I do?
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wow... okay... first, you can never know for sure if you're grinding while you're sleeping. stress can cause you to grind while you're asleep. since you already have the night guard, i would just advise you to keep using it. second, sometimes, cavities can be overlooked. maybe when you went to this dentist, he found some cavities that were undiagnosed by the previous dentist. third, replacing silver filling with white fillings is good since the white material doesn't contain mercury. now, to the tricky parts... pin sized filling fell out? maybe a piece broke off as opposed to the whole filling falling out? but he shouldn't have drilled more... that's where my issue is. he maybe would've drilled for like 2 seconds, but not a lot. the secretary is a dumba*s. you need to report her to the dentist, the manager, the better business bureau. also, if you believe your dentist is doing unlawful and unethical things... report him to the dental board of your state. i don't want to justify anything he did, but after reading more into it, your story did start to seem like they were money hungry. but the beginning does seem right...
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need dentures or at least partials in front. no insurance?

I am looking for resources, or insurance i can purchase that will cover me in getting either dentures or to get a partial to replace my top and bottom front teeth. I have no insurance as my job does not offer it, and living in arizona the public aid doesnt cover dental on anyone over 21. I have been in a car accident and have for real problems with my front teeth. Having them replaced would be a huge life saver for me. if anyone knows of any resources please help a sista out :p my preference would be to get partials to replace my front top teeth at least..
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You have four options with dental. 1. Visit a local dental school. You can get many procedures done for a reduced price if you're willing to let them practice on you. 2. Insurance - Depending upon the policy: cost $30-$60 per month. You pay a $50 deductible first, they have an annual maximum that they'll pay per year of $750 - $1500, they have a waiting period up to 18 months for major work and then you're paying 50% of the charges. Example - average cost for a full upper denture in my area is $1252. With insurance you pay $626 after paying 18 months of premium (around $800 or $900). Advantage - you can use any dentist with most plans. 3. Discount plans - Cost - $5-$12 per month. No deductible, no annual maximum and no waiting periods. Also, hardly any dentists will accept the plan and when they do you MIGHT get a 10% discount, which is about the same discount you can get by paying cash. Example - with discount plans you pay around $1125. Be very wary of these plans because most are scams. The people that sell these plans have little or no knowledge about health & dental insurance and do not need a license to sell them. The plans are not regulated by the state so you have no recourse when you have problems. Some states are starting to ban these plans from being sold. Here is an informative link http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/wes… concerning these plans. 4. Fee for Service discount plans - Cost $7-$15 per month. No deductible, no annual maximum and no waiting periods. Many dentist will accept the plan (check providers first before signing up with any plan). When you use the plan there is a set fee that the dentist will charge you. Example - with fee for service plans a full upper denture in my area will run as low as $518. I'm an insurance agent and my personal plan is the fee for service plan. I got mine here http://www.dpbrokers.com/default.aspx?lo… specifically the Aetna Dental Access plan but which one you get depends upon your area and comparing the fee schedule to find the best for what you need covered.
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dOG INSURANCE?

What website can you get dog insurance that covers sickness, accidents, yearly check-ups, dental, etc?
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theres also another place its called Care credit.com you can use it not only for yourself and your family but as well as your pets if the vet you go to accepts that type of card! GOOD LUCK
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How come my boyfriend pays so much more for health insurance than I do?

My boyfriend and I both just got full-time 40-hours-per-week 9-5 jobs. This is after 5 years of working in bars and restaurants while going to school. After I graduated we both got jobs and 3 months later our employee health insurance kicked in. I've never been covered by an employer before but I was surprised when I learned that it would only cost me about $1/paycheck for health, life, and dental. My boyfriend's health insurance kicked in a little after mine and his costs him $40/paycheck! Why does his cost so much more than mine? We both work for private companies, though mine is a bit bigger than his, neither are extremely big. What's the difference? Is his company just cheap?
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There are so many variables here. Generally speaking, if you are young, his insurance should be cheaper than yours because you are a woman of childbearing age. It sounds like your employer plays 100% of your premium, whereas his employer only pays a percentage of his. Or he may have better insurance than you do. Do you know what his or your deductibles are or what your co-insurance is? Like my deductible is $500 and my co-insurance is 20% of the final medical bill. Edit: Considering you are both healthy, a young man's health insurance is far cheaper than a woman's so the other posters are wrong about that. But if your boyfriend is on medication or has some sort of disease like diabetes or high blood pressure, then his will be higher. For example, my husband and I are 30, both healthy. His insurance is $90/month and mine is $390/month! Ok, then it sounds like either your employer just pays more (all) of your premium and his only pays a percentage of his. That or his plan is better meaning he could have a much lower deductible and lower co-insurance. It's good that you both have PPOs. His actually isn't that high. You just got an awesome deal. Consider yourself very lucky.
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What does my health plan mean by dentist number?

I'm applying for health insurance through my job. One of the options comes with a dental plan for a little extra which isn't a problem. It says to check the box next to the plan you want. Next to that it asks for a dentist # the box is not big enough for a phone number. So I'm a little confused. Do I try to fit a phone number in there and hope for the best, or do dentists have specific ID number.
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All dentists have a unique provider number which represents them, and their place of work. Your health insurance is likely asking for that number. If you give your dental office a call, they can provide you with the detail for your dentist.
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What is a good affordable health plan to get?

I am a single 25 year old healthy male. Are there any truly affordable health plans out there for me? And don't say that $300 a month is affordable, because its not. I don't need any major medical coverage. I haven't had insurance for 6 years and haven't been to the doctor in those six years. However, my eyesight isn't great, so vision coverage would be good. I also want dental coverage as well. Any suggestions?
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I think it's cheaper to pay cash, insurance is merely a coupon.
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Need help finding probability?

Ink Inc., a publishing firm, offers its 899 employees a cafeteria approach to benefits, in which employees can enroll in the benefit plan of their choice. Seven hundred thirteen employees have health insurance, 523 have dental insurance, and 489 have both health and dental insurance. (a) What is the probability p that one of the employees has either health or dental insurance? (b) What is the probability p that one of the employees has health insurance but not dental insurance?
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(a) let 'has health insurance' be Set A and 'has dental insurance' be Set B. --start with the 'intersection'; A?B = 489 --then consider; has health insurance but not dental; ==> A union B compliment A?B´ = 713 - 489 = 224 --also 'has dental insurance but not health ==> A compliment union B A´?B = 523 - 489 = 34 --lastly: A?B = (A) + (B) - (A?B) = 713 + 523 - 489 = 747 P(has health insurance or dental) = 747/899 ? 0.8309 (b) P( has health insurance but not dental insurance) = 224/899 ? 0.2491
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