On August 12 of this year I had a crown fall off (I believe the dentist actually called what I had an onlay). I disclosed with my dentist the crown was fairly new, and I was frustrated it would fall off. He had two suggestions for me:
1. Go back to my old dentist to discuss how to fix the broken crown.
2. Have a new root canal performed, and crown put on by your office.
Going back to my old dentist was not a choice I was going to make willingly as I felt extremely taken advantage of by him. Upon hearing my dentist from Coast tell me he didnt believe the onlay should have been performed, and there was little chance of it being affective, my mind was made up. I would be getting my procedure taken care of by their office.
I had my charges explained to me, we agreed on our price, and I had the procedures done. Almost 4 months later, I received a bill for $190 because the tooth wouldn't be covered by my insurance as they only cover the same tooth to be worked on every 5 years. I had disclosed to my dentist the tooth was only two years old. (Coincidentally this bill came 2 weeks after I informed my dentist I was switching insurance companies, and would no longer be going to their office.) Had I been explained the insurance wouldnt pay for my tooth, I would have gone to the old dentist one last time to get the work fixed. I was cutting my losses for what I believed to be an acceptable price. I was told it is my responsibility to understand what my insurance will cover. I can understand that to a point, but I don't believe I should need to call my insurance while sitting in the dentist's chair waiting for the procedure to be done.
I don't understand how this office is allowed to take no responsibility for their failure to communicate with the insurance company with what is and is not covered. What stops this company from misrepresenting the true costs of a procedure to the client? It's not as if, after I have the procedure done, I can have it reversed due to their negligence.
Because of this, I will never be able to trust what my doctor says. I will be forced to call the insurance, and have a three-way conversation with the dentist office, the insurance company, and myself.
0 comments