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View Full Version : Dentist----ripoff?



lilrick
08-07-2007, 12:38 PM
so I went to the dentist today for a scheduled "cleaning", and I ended up hearing a sales pitch for a deep cleaning that is going to cost me 1k out of pocket!! Is this a ripoff?

dmontzsta
08-07-2007, 12:39 PM
What kind of dental insurance do you have?
I have two good friends who are high paid dentists, I can ask their opinion.

hot_diggity_dog
08-07-2007, 12:40 PM
:D so I went to the dentist today for a scheduled "cleaning", and I ended up hearing a sales pitch for a deep cleaning that is going to cost me 1k out of pocket!! Is this a ripoff?
That's called prostitution!!!!! She must be Hot for that much! ;) LOL:D
HDD

lilrick
08-07-2007, 12:43 PM
What kind of dental insurance do you have?
I have two good friends who are high paid dentists, I can ask their opinion.
I have Delta insurance and they cover 80%

Outnumbered
08-07-2007, 12:54 PM
The deep cleaning is legit. It sucks and it is when they scrape clean and/or clean by sonic means to remove years of placque(sp?) build-up above and below the gum line. I blew the dentist off for a few years a while ago and I paid about $800 to have it done. I am a freak now about keeping up on all this stuff. Don't skip the 6-month cleanings;)

superdave013
08-07-2007, 01:02 PM
they just want to put you under the gas so they can finish your tatto. You know, change if from a Rat in a Flat to a Mouse in a Jet. :)

HM
08-07-2007, 01:04 PM
Dude...I got a bitchen dremel from home de poe. Come on over and I'll clean that shit up for $199. :D

Big Warlock
08-07-2007, 01:19 PM
ripoff!

boats&bars
08-07-2007, 01:29 PM
Its legit but they usually split it up into 2 or 4 Quadrants. it does soun a little steep.

djunkie
08-07-2007, 01:34 PM
Your going to the wrong dentist Rick. I'll try and dig up the card to my dentist. He works on a lot of Longshoreman and he knows how to work the insurance so it costs you almost nothing. You would have to drive to Pedro though. :D :D

lilrick
08-07-2007, 01:38 PM
Your going to the wrong dentist Rick. I'll try and dig up the card to my dentist. He works on a lot of Longshoreman and he knows how to work the insurance so it costs you almost nothing. You would have to drive to Pedro though. :D :D
you mean.....The armpit of the harbor???:D

djunkie
08-07-2007, 01:43 PM
you mean.....The armpit of the harbor???:D
Coming from the guy that lives in the city which gave birth to Snoop Dogg. :rolleyes: :D :D

voodoomedman
08-07-2007, 01:50 PM
so I went to the dentist today for a scheduled "cleaning", and I ended up hearing a sales pitch for a deep cleaning that is going to cost me 1k out of pocket!! Is this a ripoff?
My sister in law works for a corporate owned type dental office and not only do the dentists suck but everyone in there is required to upsell you on all kinds of crap. I go to a private dentist and he is awesome. Also they inform you about everything but no pressure. They will ask if you want porcelain or silver fillings and when you say you already have silver in the back so just do that, they just smile and say okay.

Dezertrider
08-07-2007, 01:54 PM
Ripoff!!!!!!!!!!
My X took my son to the dentist and told Me I needed to pay half of $800 for work he needed. He is 10yo.
They wanted to clean his teath a special way to prevent cavitys and his fillings needed a special de sensitzer. All not covered
So I called the insurance Company and found that they covered Sealants to prevent cavaties and the cleaning they proposed is for stained teeth. The special de-sensitizer was for sensitve teeth and Novacain was included.
I called the Dentists office and had all his services taken care of for about 60$. I was pissed. The X ended up paying about $200 when she went so they up sold her even after I got it reduced. I ended up paying her $30 for half of the needed services
Dentist are buisness people and they are trying to make as much as they can. They are the modern version of a car salesman trying to sell you the specail sealant you need for you car for 1k

KLEPTOW
08-07-2007, 02:34 PM
My dentist is great, takes my 80-20 for full payment.....I'm sure he's re-thinking that agreement to help pay for his new house in the refuge.

Baja Big Dog
08-07-2007, 03:10 PM
Algadones, Mexico....where else can you get yor teeth cleaned, cavity's filled and get laid in one weekend????:D
Great prices, great service, great work...fock the fat overpriced American dentists...legal theft!!

bohica
08-07-2007, 03:15 PM
I swear some dentists are worse than used car salesmen. Since they don't make much on insurance patients, they try to sell you everything from teeth whitening to mouth guards these days. I'd look for a new dentist, I know my dentist uses the ultrsound scaler as his standard cleaning tool these days.

Miss Managed Assets
08-07-2007, 06:33 PM
$1000 is a bit steep for just a deep cleaning. I work on some long shoremen from Long Beach (I'm an RDA in Brea) and yes your union ins. is good. I would check around for referrals in the area you want to go to for a second opinion and quote. Also Smilemaker on here is a dentist in Temecula.

Parker Dreamin
08-07-2007, 06:38 PM
Your going to the wrong dentist Rick. I'll try and dig up the card to my dentist. He works on a lot of Longshoreman and he knows how to work the insurance so it costs you almost nothing. You would have to drive to Pedro though. :D :D
they have teeth?

jjk94
08-07-2007, 07:08 PM
Delta has always approved for us

Mrs.Killer
08-07-2007, 07:34 PM
Delta Dental, deep cleaning......$12.00

Redwing247
08-07-2007, 08:44 PM
My dentist charges $210 per quadrant. Depending on how many quadrants you need to have done, should not go over $840. If you have a periodontal condition, I would highly recommend you do this now to prevent further bone loss and possible periodontal surgery or tooth loss in the future.
<-----------------Redwing247 playing Dentist on the net :D :D

djunkie
08-07-2007, 08:50 PM
they have teeth?
Surprisingly yes. Don't hate cause we make good money and have the insurance to have them fixed. :D :D

Sangerdude
08-07-2007, 09:14 PM
I dont want to get into it with a bunch of people who are "helping" you on this but I will try my best to help with this:
First of, I am a dental hygienist in CA. I have worked at this for over 7 years now and I can tell you that you must first explain a few things. Did they do a full mouth perio charting of the "pockets" around your teeth? What I mean, is did they poke at your gums all around your mouth is some systematic order meanwhile calling out a lot of numbers....3,4,3,4,3,6,6,4,7.....etc....If yes, then good. Now then, the numbers represent millimeters. They are trying to get a baseline as to where your bone levels are around your mouth. 6 doesnt seem so big but when you take into consideration that a root of a tooth can be anywhere from 14 to 23 millimeters long, you can see that a six millimeter pocket means that you are starting to develope some significant bone loss here. Did they take a full set of X-rays showing you the areas of vertical or horizontal bone loss? Were they able to show you the tartar build-up on the X-rays? Believe it or not, tartar that has been sitting on a tooth for a matter of year (s) can show up on an Xray...it is that DENSE!!! It is also going to be black in color due to the blood pigment staining the previously off white tartar as the gums bleed on a microscopic level. Nevermind the fact that the bacteria is also being transported in the bloodstream to other parts of the body where studies have shown that it can and does cause other "problems".
Now then, is this a NEW dentist in the office? Have you been missing a lot of appointments in the past? Did they hire a new hygienist who you might of seen at a recent visit? Did they get rid of a hygienist you used to see regularly, one who might of talked more than he/she worked? These are all good questions since I have followed in the paths of some really crummy hygienists and it was my job to restore some semblance of health to these people all the time not talking shit about the previous person...blah blah blah.
YES! Some dentists are shit head mofo's hell bent on raping you of hard earned cash. Good news is that most arent! A deep cleaning in my office consists of 4 appointments. First is a debridement...in this appointment I would see you and clean above the gumlines, that means all stain, plaque, and tartar removed...above the gumlines only! I would use an ultrasonic instrument and irrigate with a solution called Chlorhexidine...basically Listerine on crack! I would also use some hand instruments as well. The next 2 appointments would consist of me dividing your mouth in half from left to right. One apt. I would Deep Clean the left, the next time the right. I would numb the hell out of your teeth! I would again use the ultrasonic instrument and the hand instruments, but this time the ultrasonic would be set at a higher power with a different tip as well. OH....by the way, at the first appointment I would of hopefully handed you a SONICARE toothbrush too!!! They kick ass and are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better at getting rid of the plaque in the first place...thus, helping to avoid the need of a DEEP CLEANING in the future....I would hope! If the pockets are deep I might decide to get you to allow me to place a site specific antibiotic to the affected pocket...a derivative of Tetracycline...a low dose antibiotic placed in the nastiest of pockets to aid in healing called Arestin...At the last appointment, which would be 6 to 8 weeks later...I would recheck the pockets, reclean the problem areas, polish the teeth, and then establish a recall for you based on your needs...whether it be 3, 4, 6 months...Hell, I worked at a Periodontist office in Fremont where I had a patient that came in every 2 months for cleanings!!! Damn French dude that wouldnt speak a work to me and preferred that I didnt talk either, but later I found out that he really appreciated all my hard work on him!!!
So.....you say you have Delta Dental? I would be stupid to even claim to understand your insurance just as I feel all others on this site are doing you a disservice by pretending to know. All I know is that Delta Dental is a huge corporation and there are many "plans" and each is different and each has associated co-pays involved. Bottom line is do you feel comfy???? Do you think they are trying to rip you off? Or....better yet...do your gums bleed when you brush? Do they bleed when you floss? Does your significant other complain about your bad breath? When you slide the floss up and down the sides of your teeth do you feel little "clicks" or "bumps" with the floss? These are all WAAAAAAAAAAAY better questions for you....
What does this cost? Hell I dont know...I just scrape teeth! BUT!....what does health cost? Would you question a doctor that told you that you needed a quad by pass? You might want a second opinion, but you probably wouldnt question the costs??? Would you??? I wouldnt... I would do what it cost to save my life....in some small way, that is how I look at my job. I am doing my best to educate and save teeth, meanwhile, I am doing my best to make people healthier too! Shit, people on this site put more into polish and anodizing on their motors than they do into other important areas of their life...just my .02 and that doesnt go for everyone I know!!!
I think I am going to post this after all, but I will first click send and send it your way....who knows, I might piss people off, but I might just help too!
(This originally started as a PM to the thread starter.... :eek: :) )

ck7684
08-08-2007, 04:53 AM
For what it's worth, I also had this done. It was about $800 and divided up into 4 sessions. Obviously it's a legit procedure and the rates seems normal. Maybe it is quite necessary, but I felt ripped off cuz all they did was scrape my teeth for about 15 mins each time and then gave me a fancy toothbrush.
It's not the sound of the dentist's drill that I'm afraid of...it's the damn bill!!!

GHT
08-08-2007, 04:58 AM
The deep cleaning is legit. It sucks and it is when they scrape clean and/or clean by sonic means to remove years of placque(sp?) build-up above and below the gum line. I blew the dentist off for a few years a while ago and I paid about $800 to have it done. I am a freak now about keeping up on all this stuff. Don't skip the 6-month cleanings;)
I agree, I spent 9.5 years in the Air Force and they didn't clean SH1T. So, when I finally got in the civilian world and went to a REAL dentist and they did a "deep Clean". It was legit and very painful. I try like hell to not skip my regular cleanings but then again it is something that is easily over looked..:rolleyes: I haven't had a good cleaning in a year.. I will get that scheduled today.
:D

SummerBreeze
08-08-2007, 05:47 AM
Bla Bla Bla
I have helped the dentist buy his ex wifes house and he lives in the big house on the hill with his new wife

Jetboatguru
08-08-2007, 05:54 AM
so I went to the dentist today for a scheduled "cleaning", and I ended up hearing a sales pitch for a deep cleaning that is going to cost me 1k out of pocket!! Is this a ripoff?
Maybe if you tried using one of these once in your life???
http://jamesburnsdesign.com/images/3DExamples/Toothbrush.jpg
It really is your friend Ricky:D

lilrick
08-08-2007, 09:05 AM
Maybe if you tried using one of these once in your life???
http://jamesburnsdesign.com/images/3DExamples/Toothbrush.jpg
It really is your friend Ricky:D
gee thanks tony....Don't you have a boat to ready?? Or do you have your monkey nutswingers doing it for you?