Can a dentist do what they want without asking parental permission when the insurance does not cover it?
I had to take my kids to a new dentist when our old one moved, and all records were transferred to the new one. They were going in for their routine cleaning, I was asked to stay in the waiting room with my other children. I then receive a bill for floride. I later find out floride is only covered once a year by the insurance. I called the dentist office to get some kind of explanation as to why i was not asked if i wanted this being it was not covered. Their answer was "we don’t get involved with the insurance, we do what we feel is in the best interest of the child". I still don’t understand how they feel it is okay to do something without at least asking if this is something i want, or can afford.
As a dental professional I cannot tell you how annoying it is to have our hands tied by insurance companies. And the worst part is that our patients listen to the insurance company and not the dentist!
There are certain procedures that are very important to do to help to maintain good oral health in a child. Fluoride treatments done after having their teeth cleaned is VERY IMPORTANT. But, insurance companies are only interested in the bottom line…. so your child is limited to the frequency of how often fluoride treatments are paid for. To get around being seen as deficient in care covered, the insurance company will say that they are not saying not to have the work done only that plan design limits the frequency of how often they have to pay for it. They do this with bitewing x-rays and full mouth x-rays too.
If you feel that your plan is not good enough… speak with your employer about upgrading your coverage. The plan is designed between your employer to give you some coverage at a cost that is not too high for you to handle.
Many dentists are getting very fed up with having to deal with insurance companies because they have their hands tied with the quality of care they can give to a patient… correction, the type of care that will be covered by the plan.
So, if you want good care for your child, stop being penny pinching! You can always find a dentist in your plans network that will do JUST what the plan allows and not what is best for your child.
As to your dentist not asking you about the fluoride, they probably didn’t know about the limitations of your plan. In the future ask them to pre-treat all work planned before you go to your appointment so that you will know up front what your costs will be. Just know that most good dentists want to give good care and to do that they have to say that they can’t be involved with the insurance and that, ultimately, you as the parent will be responsible for all charges for your child.
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