Hi Didi,
Well, you are very welcome and thanks so much for the kind words~'.'~
I am very glad that your interpretation of my reply was so positive! I know you have alot going on with your mouth and I'm sure you were hoping to get a reply that said..... hey go ahead, do it a third time! But there is no way I personally would have suggested that you do that.
There is no surprise to me when a patient is not informed about the risks of dental procedures. This is the way dentistry has been for many, many years and for the most part, people accept it this way. Fortunately, there are people who are becoming self educated and they are asking questions! There are also dentists who are challenging their antiquated education and learning what they can from outside sources on the systemic health connection between the mouth and the rest of the body. This topic is not taught in any depth in any dental school believe it or not!!
Yes it's true......... any dentist can say he/she is a cosmetic dentist. The only time they have to produce a licensure for it is when they specifically specialize in it and they are known as a Prosthodontist, etc. Otherwise, many dentists go to a seminar or two and then practice their new techniques on their patients....... yikes!! Oh I could tell you stories that would make your hair stand on end!! Then you have many of these specialists who do full mouth reconstructive dentistry..... they are usually pretty good tooth carpenters but their focus is on the esthetics, not the dental health or the patients health.
As with your case, someone specializing in cosmetic dentistry would redo your crown work, but at what expense to you? Not just financial but at what expense to the health of your teeth and your overall well being?? Since they see the manifestations everyday from the risks they take, they automatically assume there will be issues and they deal with them as they occur. There is no preventive mindset that says hey, this is more than just tooth carpentry and esthetics.
If your dentist completed all of the work in 2007 and billed the insurance in 2008 with dates of service dates for 2008, that is definitely fraudulent billing. If she billed the insurance in 2008 for work that she completed in 2008, then that is legitimate billing practices. Some offices will do part of the dental work in one year and the rest in the second year as a courtesy to the patient to help the patient maximize their yearly dental benefits, which is fine. However, the work can only be legally billed on the dates it was completed.
I am glad that you wrote that office a letter. I would suggest that you send one letter regular mail and at the same time send a copy of it registered with return signature requested. This way they cannot say they never received it. This is how dental offices send out their collections letters to their patients! If you don't hear from them within 10 days, I would contact the office and let them know you are patiently waiting for a reply. Chances are the owner of the practice will contact you and try to negotiate a deal of some sort. If you stick to your guns, he/she will offer you some money back but will tell you they had lab bills to pay on your case and would like to deduct those lab fees from your refund. Chances are they will inflate the lab costs figuring you will not question them on it. Ask them to show you the lab bills which all offices keep or can get from the labs with no problem. Each lab bill has the date, patients name, procedure and cost to the dentist. I offer you this suggestion because this is how it's usually done from the other side of the spectrum and you have undergone permanently altering procedures that you are very dissastisfied with .......... that's putting it mildly ~'.'~
I think it would be wise to have someone fit you with a bite appliance to help alleviate some of the unnatural stress that you are feeling with that new crown work. I don't think this will cure your problems, but it could help to get you through this "crisis" period.
Thanks again for your kind words......... please do keep us posted on how you are doing!
Bryanna ~'.'~
Quote:
Originally Posted by Didi
Bryanna,
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my request for help. You were so very helpful and I certainly did not expect such a comprehensive reply. It is comforting to know that I can log on to a website and get objective advice and information from a source that does not have a vested interest in what the recommended course of action should be.
It's amazing that after my visit today with the 5th dentist I have consulted with, not one mentioned that it might be risky to perform crown replacement again. I am very disappointed in the dental profession and the regulation thereof, especially that any dentist, with little or no training in cosmetic dentristy, can adverse their services as "cosmetic".
When you addressed my concern over the insurance billing and indicated that some companies will accept the "preparation" work and the actual "installation" work be conducted in different stages. This dentist did all the prep and installation on two visits in December 2007, in other words all the work was completed in December but she billed the insurance company for 3 crowns and two veneers in December and 3 crowns and veneers in January 2008, which idoes not accurately reflect what was done.
Also, I appreciate your comments about what she should have discussed with me prior to the installation, even suggesting a mock up of what was going to be in my mouth prior to permanent installation.
She did not apprise me of any information prior......did not tell me she was altering the overjet or shortening the length of the teeth. She also did not discuss or mention anything associated with a mock up for me to wear. She made the temporaries from a mold made of my original crowns so what I wore for temporaries (the first time) only mimicked what was in my mouth prior to crown removal.
The second mock up was made upon my insistence, after visiting other dentists who said this should have been done. She only agreed to do this if I paid an additional $1700. 00 which I reluctantly agreed to pay but felt, at this point, hostage to the situation.
I have composed a letter indicating my dissatisfaction with this entire process and am asking for a total refund. I hope that I am successful with this request and, as you say, I will try to get "used to the new look" but I need the money to, at a minimum, get a prosthetic device made which will help me to relax my bite.
Do you know anything about these? A dentist that I visited today, who seemed to be more conservative, and not wanting to jump in with full mouth restoration, indicated that this may help with my tight bite.
Again, thanks so much for your comprehensive reply. You are performing a great service to all dental consumers. Your advice is greatly appreciated. I wish I could meet you! Didi
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