Any dentists on Volnation?

[larjoranj]

I have a question. I have started using diazepam sedation anytime I get a crown or root canal. Makes me loopy during the procedure and makes the whole thing go a lot smoother. My dentist calls in my prescription - I pick it up at my pharmacy - I pay for it - and I take it 1 hour before my appt. With my insurance I think it cost me 89 cents the last time. My dentist has never charged me a fee for sedation in the past but this last time they charged me 300. I asked what exactly the 300 covers and they can't really give me an answer, just that it's a "sedation" fee. They don't monitor blood pressure or heart rate or anything like that. As far as I can tell nothing about the procedure is different for the dentist or his assistant under diazepam sedation or not. What does a dentist actually "do" differently to warrant a charge of 300?

 

[GroverCleveland]

Go in there next time without it and raise hell every time you feel something. Tense up, raise and slam your leg down, death grip the arms, just whatever.

Seriously, if they cannot explain what it is, I would not pay it. It has been rare, but have called out doctors/dentists before for b.s. charges and gotten them dropped. Generally, however, after I catch them doing that, I do not trust them anymore and move on to another.

The last dentist I had before the present one were constantly wanting to take xrays. I am not particularly crazy about being irradiated all that often and refused. Finally, the cleaning assistant that did my procedures said it was "required by law" to which I then asked "oh, what statute in Tennessee or Federal law requires me to be xrayed?" She fumbled around with that and it was the last time I graced their office.

Now, I do get routine xrays. but not every time I go in. Not going to do it.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

Go in there next time without it and raise hell every time you feel something. Tense up, raise and slam your leg down, death grip the arms, just whatever.

Seriously, if they cannot explain what it is, I would not pay it. It has been rare, but have called out doctors/dentists before for b.s. charges and gotten them dropped. Generally, however, after I catch them doing that, I do not trust them anymore and move on to another.

The last dentist I had before the present one were constantly wanting to take xrays. I am not particularly crazy about being irradiated all that often and refused. Finally, the cleaning assistant that did my procedures said it was "required by law" to which I then asked "oh, what statute in Tennessee or Federal law requires me to be xrayed?" She fumbled around with that and it was the last time I graced their office.

Now, I do get routine xrays. but not every time I go in. Not going to do it.

I was always told they only needed the routine x-rays yearly, and that's what most dental insurance covers.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

I have a question. I have started using diazepam sedation anytime I get a crown or root canal. Makes me loopy during the procedure and makes the whole thing go a lot smoother. My dentist calls in my prescription - I pick it up at my pharmacy - I pay for it - and I take it 1 hour before my appt. With my insurance I think it cost me 89 cents the last time. My dentist has never charged me a fee for sedation in the past but this last time they charged me 300. I asked what exactly the 300 covers and they can't really give me an answer, just that it's a "sedation" fee. They don't monitor blood pressure or heart rate or anything like that. As far as I can tell nothing about the procedure is different for the dentist or his assistant under diazepam sedation or not. What does a dentist actually "do" differently to warrant a charge of 300?

Yeah that sounds like a bs charge to me.

 

[Jxn Vol]

Not dentist experience. But my vet tried to pull a fast one on me recently. My dog needed some minor surgery to remove some stones in his urinary tract. They asked if I wanted to pay an extra $100 for a laser to reduce blood loss.

After some pointed questions I determined they were calling the electro cautery device a “laser”. I called them out on this scam. I’ve worked in and around surgery for 20 years. They knew I had them figured out and provided the “laser” free of charge. Those things only cost $5.

I was disappointed that they would try to screw me like this. But worse is how many folks they have done this to.

 

[Go aeiou]

Do you have dental Insurance?
Could be the sedation is covered and would not be if he just raised his price for the RC. $300 for phoning in a Rx seems reasonable.

 

[Sea Ray]

I am a dentist and that charge sounds like BS to me if all he did was write you a Rx and you picked it up at the drugstore. It's ballsy too. Maybe charge 50 or something that might get lost in the wash. Anyone's going to notice a $300 charge