Is this Dentist Trying to Scam Us?
@vera5d (4005)
United States
July 7, 2008 12:24pm CST
My son has different insurance than us and so because of his insurance I had to take to him to a dentist I've never used before.
He is only 5 years old and I like to think I make him take good care of his teeth. So imagine my shock when the dentist tells me he needs 2 root canals and crowns on his front teeth.
For starters, kids teeth fall out. The front teeth are usually the first to go. I lost my teeth in kindergarden or first grade, so I know his will be coming out soon.
Secondly, my son has NEVER complained of sugar sensitivity or cold/hot sensitivity. Being someone who's had quite a lot of dental issues myself I know there's no way you could not know your teeth hurt - he'd be screaming anytime he ate an ice cream cone or drank something cold. If your teeth don't hurt, how could you need a root canal? (I also was really mean and purposely put something cold on his teeth, and guess what? it didn't bother him!)
Lastly, I asked them if I could have a copy of his x-ray/chart. They WOULD NOT GIVE IT TO ME! I've had previous dentists give me the original, so I didn't think a copy would be that big of a deal. SHE TOLD ME THEY DON'T HAVE A COPY MACHINE!!! (I asked her, how did you copy his insurance card? She just repeated "sorry, we do not have a copy machine at this office") Then I asked well can I just have a look at it again? Then she pretended that she couldn't get that file back if her life depended on it because she gave it to the other girl. (Meanwhile it was sitting right there)
At that point I just smiled and said okay thank you and left. They're either incredibly stupid or I think they're trying to scam me. What do you think? Have you ever had something like this happen to you? Needless to say I won't be going back and will be getting a second opinion!
13 people like this
35 responses
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
I know. No copy machine. Yet the very first thing they say to you? "Do you have your insurance card so I can make a copy of it?"
What was she using? A mimeograph machine?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph
Will have to see what the next dentist says - I'm talking to mine tomorrow to see who she recommends or if she can try to join his insurance program at the suggestion of an earlier comment.
2 people like this
@chertsy (3798)
• United States
9 Jul 08
Wow, that dentist was trying to rip you off, along with your son's dental insurance to boot. At age 5 to age 12, the child's teeth falls out. So why would a 5 year old need 2 root canals and crowns all on his front teeth. My neighbors little boy across the street is 6, and nearly all of his front teeth fell out at once, so he looks really funny.
I would told that dentist to take his 2 root canals, and crowns and shove it up where the sun doesn't shine, because I wasn't going to pay a arm and a leg on teeth, that was going to fall out. I would also call the insurance company and report this dentist. This makes me wonder, how many other people this dentist has screwed over. They didn't want you to see the xrays, for fear of showing another dentist, or seeking a lawyer. Maybe canceling that insurance and putting him on yours, so he can go to your dentist, or asking your dentist of a dentist that deals with kids.
1 person likes this
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
9 Jul 08
I'm going to have to call his insurance company since i need to take him somewhere else anyway, so I'm sure this will be discussed!
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
I think it is outrageous to want to put a kid through that for a tooth that will be falling out! It was how they treated me at the end that made me really think they were pulling something shady. I will be talking to my dentist to see what she says tomorrow. I can't find ANYTHING online about kids getting root canals, so that kind of even furthers my suspicions.
1 person likes this
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
8 Jul 08
Run, don't walk to another dentist, preferably one who only deals with children. My daughter had to have one of her front teeth pulled when she was in kindergarten. She had fallen and bumped the tooth which caused an infection. The doctor pulled the tooth and told me not worry as the new tooth would soon replace it and sure enough it did.
As the very most, your son just needs to have his front teeth removed, but if they are still his baby teeth, the new teeth will soon come in. Doing anything more than that is a complete waste of time and money and too much for a five year old to have to endure.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
That is what I think. I can understand he might have cavities but it is just too much for a kid to have to go through 2 root canals and crowns, which I think would do more harm than good - if a crown doesn't fit right it could permanently mess up his other teeth and how would he know if his bite was right?
I'm going to ask my dentist about it tomorrow and see who she can recommend as I trust them - they've saved me from doing more than every other dentist said to do before a few times.
1 person likes this
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jul 08
Sounds like a true scam to me. Personally I would of insisted on seeing either the dentist, or an office manager and insisted on receiving a copy of the records. By law they cannot refuse to give you a copy of the records. Also, I would report this office to the American Dental Association, and I would seek a second opinion.
1 person likes this
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
That is not a bad idea. I am going to get my second opinion first but then probably be reporting them. To not let a mother see an xray is pretty nuts. And it's not like I would have really known what I was looking at (though I have seen enough of my own bad teeth to know a little more than average people i suppose!)
1 person likes this
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
I think it would probably be somewhere around $3000 to do what they want to do. The insurance would cover it, but I don't care - why put a kid through that kind of agony if it's not needed!?
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
7 Jul 08
Yeah, I wouldn't allow my child to get work done by that guy. I would get a second opinion and report the first dentist to the Dental Association and the BBB.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
7 Jul 08
Probably a lot of them! That is why you should always get a second opinion
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
7 Jul 08
It just seems so extreme! I will be getting a second opinion before going through with anything! This scares me though - what other doctors are saying "you need this and that" when you really don't?
@sunita64 (6469)
• India
8 Jul 08
It is really sad when those we trust to protect us harm us for money. I feel you must report this matter to the right authorities so that others do not suffer these scam people. It is really good that you have listened to your own gut feelings otherwise unnecessarily your son would have suffered.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
It is sad! I don't understand why anyone would do that to a kid, to an adult sure, but a kid??
@Cajunhellcat (2073)
• United States
11 Jul 08
Not really that is pretty common here but like ya say they will fall out but 90% of the kids here have them
@Cajunhellcat (2073)
• United States
15 Jul 08
I feel the same way that ya do about them falling out but all the kids here have them vut I feel that is just a way for them to make more money and it takes that long to get one here to
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
13 Jul 08
Wow, that is so strange...my dentist told me that they were being ridiculous! I will have to see what our 2nd opinion says when I take him in. (It takes about a month to get a dentist appointment around here!)
@suehan1 (4344)
• Australia
8 Jul 08
vera i would definately be staying away from that dentist.a child 5 needing root canal,i don't think so.as you said they would be his first teeth and they will fall out soon.i would be going some where else and getting another opinion and getting some one to check this other dentist out and put him into the authorities.cheers sue
1 person likes this
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
7 Jul 08
Sounds like a chop shop! My wife has perfect teeth and has never had a cavity, we went to a new dentist and he said she had two cavities but she didn't he was just trying to get more money from our insurance. We ended up going to another dentist and he said that it would have been unnecessary to mess up her perfect teeth. I would ask to talk with the dentist, sounds like an unprofessional staff, you did the right thing by trusting your gut and leaving. I would report them to the BBB.
1 person likes this
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
7 Jul 08
Aah, that is good to hear someone else has had this happen. I was wondering if I was being unreasonable. Root canals are so painful though, I hate to put my son through TWO if it's not an absolute necessity. Now I just have to find someone else!
@mscott (1923)
• United States
7 Jul 08
Wow! Times must be hard in the dentist business too. Root canals at age five makes absolutely no sense. I know from having two done this year those bad boys aren't cheap. by the time they do the drilling and them put on the crown you are looking at 1500 bucks a tooth, minimum. What made it worse for me was the dentist sent me to a specialist for the drilling. I had to have a consult for him to tell me I needed a root canal. That was another 130 bucks. I wouldn't have been there if I didn't need the root canal. I told him I did, he should have knocked off 130 bucks for me telling him!
The dentist is sort of like the automotive repair industry. If they say something needs to be fixed you are basically at their mercy. Who actually knows how much any of that stuff costs or what they are really doing. I guess if you are in a field that most people can't or won't do themselves you can basically write your ticket. Unfortunately for that new dentist of yours, he might have written the ticket a little too high and lost some business. Imagine what he will tell the next person to make up for your business being lost.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
You are right, it was like visiting a car mechanic shop. I don't know enough about teeth, that's why you go to the dentist. But what they are saying to me just seems ridiculous.
My dentist will have me come in "for a quick look" and then schedule an appointment if something is bothering me, but she never charges me for the initial visit, since it's usually only for about 5 minutes.
1 person likes this
@neilchua (888)
• Philippines
8 Jul 08
Hi vera5d, first of all i'm a Licensed Dentist here in the Philippines. what i will be telling you are facts and in no way am i telling you that your dentist is making a scam out of you for professional courtesy and ethics. first of all, we don't do root canals for primary or milk tooth. what we usually do if it is really badly broken down due to caries is we do pulpectomy which is fixing the remaining heatlthy part of the pulp before we cover it with permanent filling or if it is really badly broken, we do stainless steel crown. as you have said, your child is 5 years old. the usual exfoliation of a central primary tooth is 6yrs old. so you still have around a year before that primary tooth should normally exfoliate. he has actually a good point of retaining those teeth to prevent early eruption of the succeedaneous teeth( the one that erupts after the primary tooth was extracted or exfoliated)but unfortunately who am i to judge, i can't see the radiograph so i can't provide you with a diagnosis of his case. i don't know how it goes there in the U.S.. but here we usually let the patient see their radiographs or we actually give it to them upon request. hope this could help.
@neilchua (888)
• Philippines
8 Jul 08
just a follow up facts on why you don't do root canals on primary or milk tooth
1. root canals if done well will permanently retain the remaining structure of the tooth and its surrounding tissues. thus, if you want to save your permanent tooth but the pulp(the soft tissue inside the tooth) is diagnosed to be included, then it is the best treatment for you. now why would you want a procedure on a tooth that will eventually exfoliate after a year or so? bottom line - you're wasting your money.
2. i hate to be technical here but i'll explain to you in layman's term as possible. the Apical Foramen or the opening at the end of the root of a primary tooth is so big compared to that of a permanent. Significance - how can you actually create a perfect seal on a primary tooth which is actually the main goal of a root canal - to seal the apex of the root with a biologically compatible filling material that will prevent any microorganism from infecting the sealed canal.
3. the material used for root canals are non-resorbable. meaning it stays there inside the canal which is actually good because you don't need to have it replace again and again. now if this material is unresorbable, how can your primary tooth exfoliate properly if the material inside it does not resorb together with the roots? getting the picture?
Since you do have internet - might as well check on these terms PULPECTOMY and PULPUTOMY.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
9 Jul 08
I never had a dentist tried to scam me, but this one is trying to do that. I never had a root canal until I had my adult teeth and I had plenty of them. I have bad teeth, most of them are crowned and capped, and I have so much filling that I have to be careful when going through airport security, and when I was young, I got fillings, but no dentist has ever told me that I needed root canals, even if I had soft teeth.
I hope you reported this "dentist" to the Dentist Association, so they can pull his license. He is obviously a crook.'
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
9 Jul 08
My dentist said root canals on a kid is insane...I have to talk to the insurance co anyway since now we need to see someone completely different.
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
8 Jul 08
Hi vera, There definitely seems to be something wrong here. I would certainly suggest that you get another dentist. Everything you've said here makes me think that he is trying to pull a fast one. The fact that your son is only five years old means he will soon lose these teeth anyway. You are right to be suspicious. Blessings.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
8 Jul 08
I talked to my dentist today and she thinks its outrageous too...so we'll see - I am going to take him somewhere else next week :)
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
7 Jul 08
FIND ANOTHER DENTIST! No 5 year old should have root canals and crowns. There surely must be more than one dentist on your insurance list.
When my youngest daughter still had her baby teeth, they were rotten. The dentist said they had to be filled, and since I had insurance I figured that was a good move since she was only 4 and had a while to go before they fell out.
He wanted to drill them out and fill them without giving her anything for pain! He said baby teeth had no nerves. I told him either deaden it or we're leaving! Some people in the medical profession should be operating jack hammers or some other occupation. They certainly don't have the ethics and caring to treat people.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
7 Jul 08
I will be looking down the list soon here. I only had 3 to choose from in our area, but I think I am going to ask MY dentist what they think, since they are great to me. I'm going to see if they will call them for the chart, too, lol. I can't believe a dentist would do a child without wanting to give them pain! Though that makes for an interesting case - if they don't have nerves, wouldn't be it impossible to need a root canal?
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
7 Jul 08
I meant "something for the pain" not "with the pain, lol" - sometimes i type too fast :)
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
9 Jul 08
I agree with you, I would not return, either. I would not only not go back but report this quack!!
Good for you for being too smart for this idiot.
@welikemoney (383)
• United States
12 Jul 08
It sounds like they're just trying to get some money out of you. I would definitely be getting a second opinion! I don't see the point in doing dental work on young children when they're going to lose their baby teeth anyway, unless it's something that will effect the growth of their adult teeth. It sounds like unnecessary dental work and that office sounds like they're in the habit of scamming people! No copy machine?! Please.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
13 Jul 08
I am going to take him to another dentist for the 2nd opionion, will have to see what they say. But for them to say they don't have a copy machine is enough for me to think they're hiding something. Will have to wait and see.
