Hello there. I'm hoping some of you have some advice for my situation.
I'm going to try and keep this as brief as I can. Basically I went to two different dentists in the last month and have gotten different stories from them about a few things. Let's start with "Dentist 1"
My experience with Dentist 1:
I went in for an exam because I want to have some cavities filled. Within a few minutes of looking at my teeth she tells me a "Deep Cleaning" is absolutely necessary before we do anything else. She tells me my fillings will be covered by my insurance but tells me the deep cleaning IS NOT covered. I ask about the price of a deep cleaning, expecting to hear something reasonable, but instead she tells me it would be over $500! After discussing this with her for some time, and telling her I'd need time to save up that kind of money to pay up front, I get her to "admit" that we can go ahead with the fillings without a deep cleaning. She tells me, however, that if I come back for the deep cleaning AFTER I have the fillings done, any newly discovered cavities or issues would NOT be covered by my insurance so I'd have to pay out of pocket. To me, this sounds like a scare tactic to make me frantically figure out a way to produce $500+ for the deep cleaning, which is what she's much more interested in (profit wise) than whatever my insurance would pay her for the fillings. Also, I know for a fact my insurance DOES cover a deep cleaning as long as I haven't already had one in the last few years, which I haven't. She blatantly lied about this to me, so I refused to even consider her for any of the work I need. A friend of mine had a deep cleaning done there, and has the same exact coverage I have, and it was covered... so I know for a fact this dentist is aware my plan covers the deep cleaning. (but I "look" like I have more money than my friend does, appearance/clothing wise)
My experience with Dentist 2:
He looks at my teeth and tells me I need the deep cleaning, but tells me my insurance WILL cover it. (which I already know, but I'm glad he was honest about that unlike the previous dentist) He warns me, however, that after a deep cleaning I might have some teeth that are permanently "loose" after they are done scraping away whatever materials have been building up between the teeth and gums. I tell him I'd prefer to just go ahead with the fillings for now, and get those out of the way without a deep cleaning. He then tells me he refuses to just do the fillings because "they will all fall out right away" if I don't have a deep cleaning first. Even though the first dentist, who unfortunately was trying to scam me out of money, admitted that fillings COULD be done before the deep cleaning.
So, as you can see, I have gotten to very different stories. One dentist wants to scare me into paying her cash for a deep cleaning, but is OK with me getting the fillings first as long as I tell her I'm going to come back for the deep cleaning and pay cash. The second dentist admits right away that the deep cleaning is covered, but tells me I might have loose teeth forever afterwards, so when I say I'd like to skip the deep cleaning he tells me he won't do it because the fillings would all fall out.
Thoughts? Advice? Which dentist is the bigger liar/scammer here? What do I need to do in order to have some simple fillings put in WITHOUT the risk of a deep cleaning causing me damage I wouldn't have had anyway?
I'm going to try and keep this as brief as I can. Basically I went to two different dentists in the last month and have gotten different stories from them about a few things. Let's start with "Dentist 1"
My experience with Dentist 1:
I went in for an exam because I want to have some cavities filled. Within a few minutes of looking at my teeth she tells me a "Deep Cleaning" is absolutely necessary before we do anything else. She tells me my fillings will be covered by my insurance but tells me the deep cleaning IS NOT covered. I ask about the price of a deep cleaning, expecting to hear something reasonable, but instead she tells me it would be over $500! After discussing this with her for some time, and telling her I'd need time to save up that kind of money to pay up front, I get her to "admit" that we can go ahead with the fillings without a deep cleaning. She tells me, however, that if I come back for the deep cleaning AFTER I have the fillings done, any newly discovered cavities or issues would NOT be covered by my insurance so I'd have to pay out of pocket. To me, this sounds like a scare tactic to make me frantically figure out a way to produce $500+ for the deep cleaning, which is what she's much more interested in (profit wise) than whatever my insurance would pay her for the fillings. Also, I know for a fact my insurance DOES cover a deep cleaning as long as I haven't already had one in the last few years, which I haven't. She blatantly lied about this to me, so I refused to even consider her for any of the work I need. A friend of mine had a deep cleaning done there, and has the same exact coverage I have, and it was covered... so I know for a fact this dentist is aware my plan covers the deep cleaning. (but I "look" like I have more money than my friend does, appearance/clothing wise)
My experience with Dentist 2:
He looks at my teeth and tells me I need the deep cleaning, but tells me my insurance WILL cover it. (which I already know, but I'm glad he was honest about that unlike the previous dentist) He warns me, however, that after a deep cleaning I might have some teeth that are permanently "loose" after they are done scraping away whatever materials have been building up between the teeth and gums. I tell him I'd prefer to just go ahead with the fillings for now, and get those out of the way without a deep cleaning. He then tells me he refuses to just do the fillings because "they will all fall out right away" if I don't have a deep cleaning first. Even though the first dentist, who unfortunately was trying to scam me out of money, admitted that fillings COULD be done before the deep cleaning.
So, as you can see, I have gotten to very different stories. One dentist wants to scare me into paying her cash for a deep cleaning, but is OK with me getting the fillings first as long as I tell her I'm going to come back for the deep cleaning and pay cash. The second dentist admits right away that the deep cleaning is covered, but tells me I might have loose teeth forever afterwards, so when I say I'd like to skip the deep cleaning he tells me he won't do it because the fillings would all fall out.
Thoughts? Advice? Which dentist is the bigger liar/scammer here? What do I need to do in order to have some simple fillings put in WITHOUT the risk of a deep cleaning causing me damage I wouldn't have had anyway?
Last edited: