OK,i am a bit pissed off

Message

#1 Post by **SamanthaClavier** » Tue May 02, 2006 10:20 am

we just got the bill in from my husbands teeth(eight pulled)and it more than what they told him,as far as i knew it WASN'T A QUOTE like braces are GRRRRRRRRR,its $245 more than what they told him JEEZ $1700 is alot to even begain with but put another $245 onto it WTF grrrrr they must think we are made of money! i put what was SUPPOSED to be half $850

oh and they are closed today WHY?!?!?! its a tuesday

#2 Post by **sjsarre** » Tue May 02, 2006 10:51 am

Blimey.. Were they normal extractions?? I had four teeth pulled and it cost Â£120

#3 Post by **x3trinity** » Tue May 02, 2006 1:48 pm

I had 4 teeth pulled and it cost me $730 with my insurance. The total cost without my insurance was $1300.

Before I had my teeth pulled I searched the net to find out info and I learned that the cost depends on which tooth is pulled. Molars are more expensive.

But I can still feel your pain!

#4 Post by **Carmella** » Tue May 02, 2006 3:06 pm

x3trinity,

That blows! I had 8 wisdom teeth, (aren't I lucky) they were impacted and I had to have them surgically removed, when I got my itemized bill from the insurance co, they had billed "difficult extraction" for 2 of my teeth @ +$250. each!! It added an extra $500 on to my bill. I feel your pain.

#5 Post by **SamanthaClavier** » Tue May 02, 2006 3:31 pm

as far as i KNEW it wasnt an esimate...heck they left him in the room for an hour (i guess to think about the cost)and then they came and got me,we thought about it then i wrote the check,THEY SEEN who had the check book if there was any other charge(s) that i didnt know about they should have said something,i need a molar cut out as well and if they dont take the other $245 off they wont get me,GRRRR

this is what the bill says

therapeutic/inject'n 55.00
limited oral exam 55.00
deep sedation 30min 260.00
impact partial bony t#32 255.00
impact partial bony t#17 255.00
surgical extraction t#5 175.00
surgical extraction t#12 175.00
deep sedation 15min 105.00
deep sedation 15min 105.00
deep sedation 15min 105.00
erupted tooth/root t#29 100.00
erupted tooth/root t#21 100.00
erupted tooth/root t#16 100.00
erupted tooth/root t#1 100.00
payment/ck/1231 -850.00

only thing i can see is that they charged for deep sedation 15min x2 to many and limited oral exam wtf (ower ortho office was RIGHT nexted door he had all the exrays and had it x'ed off on what he needed to pull

#6 Post by **missingu** » Tue May 02, 2006 7:19 pm

Did you ask to speak to the billing/finance manager for an explanation? Sometimes these problems can be cleared up with a simple phone call.

I don't understand why you'd go back under any circumstances for your tooth, as it sounds like the whole experience was pretty bad.

#7 Post by **Flora2006** » Tue May 02, 2006 7:30 pm

The prices always depend on what is extracted and how easy the procedure goes. I know that I had to pay double, almost triple, for a complicated extraction of a 2nd bicuspid...

I agree with others, can you call and ask questions to whoever did the bill? Have them explain each price? That is a lot of money for extractions...so I really recommend you call and inquire more about the bill.

Good luck.

#8 Post by **SamanthaClavier** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:46 am

well i woke up this morning and all the bills are due GRRRR,my husband just called and is calling again they said because he was out for 68min and not the 45 the said WTF so they charge $245 more b/c he was out for an extra 23min,I KNOW for a fact that he wasnt out for that long b/c i talked to my mom on the phone for 40min to pass the time then i sat for 5min and asked he is he ready yet b/c the nurse said he would be done by 11am (my appointment) so we where out of the office (and i mean both out at 11am) but no1 told me he was going to be acting that way so i missed my appt

sorry everyone this is just costing us a BUTT load of money and i am already tired of it,i feel like i just wrote a check last week and now i am sitting here writting another

#9 Post by **missingu** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:57 am

I'm confused.

What do you mean by he was "acting that way?" Were there complications that kept him in the chair longer? Why did you miss your appointment?

If you are in doubt of the time he was in the chair (not just sedated, but actually in the chair because that is time charged regardless of its purpose) then ask them for documentation to indicated when he was sedated, and when he left.

If they don't have some way of documenting and tracking that he was in the chair longer than the expected time (expected clinically and financially) then think you would have a case to escalate the bill to the Finance Manager for review.

#10 Post by **shinyam** » Wed May 03, 2006 10:55 am

$245 for about 25 minutes, that's $10 a minute. Considering many people have to work one hour to make $10, that's not a rip off, it's an outright scam. I would be pissed off too.

#11 Post by **jcdamon3** » Wed May 03, 2006 1:48 pm

I have never heard of someone charging based on how long someone was "out". That is very, very strange. Don't they charge by the tooth? Did they tell you up front that the charge could go up depending on the complexity of the extraction.

What a strange way of doing business.

#12 Post by **SamanthaClavier** » Wed May 03, 2006 6:41 pm

what i mean by hom acting that way was,that he was acting DOWN RIGHT STUPID(leaning over almost falling into the floor(hitting his head trying to wake himself i guess)

from what the lady told him on the phone the extra $245 was because he was "OUT" for 68min not the 45min the doc told him to begain with so i am guessing "they"gave him more (Deep Sedationn 15min($105)x3 they also gave him Deep Sedation 30min($260) so thats 75min of Deep Sedation right?

so what i am seeing here is the over charged to begain with on the 30min (if 15min is $105 then x2=$210 NOT $260)so thats an over charge of $50

THE MAIN PROBLEM IS-#1 they said $1700 right,well maybe it did cost more to have him sedated longer,but i dont see anywhere on the bill where i can subtract $245

does anyone else here see a place? i am so pissed we are prob going to pay ot off tomorrow so "I" dont have to look at it anymore (i pay the bills/hubby makes the money)i think $850 down and $136 amonth it to much when my ortho is letting me pay $135 @ $1000 down anyway

#13 Post by **missingu** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:28 pm

Bear in mind I think the whole dental community is overcharging us all, but I think I understand where they are coming from.

First of all, I think "sedation" is a euphamism for "how much time he was in the room." It's their best gauge of room time, which is really what you are paying for.

If the initial estimate was 45 minutes, that would have started with a $260 for only 30 minutes. I think the "initial" dose of sedation has to be stronger than subsequent doses because it has to "put you out" and the rest just "keeps you out" . Or so I understand.

So you have the base of $260 for 30 minutes and they estimate 45 mins, so add $105 for the next 15 mins of sedation (1st $105) to get you to 45 mins. However if he needed (which we will never know if he really needed or not) to be out for another 15 minutes (2nd $105), getting to 60 minues, we add in another $105. Now, since sedation comes in increments of 15 minutes for billing, and he was out for 68 minutes, the only way to cover that is with another 15 minutes since apparently they don't increment less than that. So, that is the 3rd $105.

My only guess about the mysterious $245 is that the billing lady may have thought they pro-rated some of the last $105, but it doesn't look like it. Either way, I think you're stuck with the bill.

It's kind of odd, but every dentist and doctor I have ever dealt with has charged interest on bills. I guess ortho's don't because otherwise they'd have no business.

I guess I feel for you on this one because I got royally scrwd when I had a hospital procedure and was in the OR longer than expected. Because my insurance does not pay 100%, even at 80% or 90% of the bill the differential in time in the OR practically bankrupted me. I fought it but lost.

I agree with you - get the bill paid as much as possible so it's not weighing on your mind. I hope the hubby is feeling OK after all the extractions and sedation.

#14 Post by **SamanthaClavier** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:51 pm

he ran out of pain pills three days ago.mon evening.he called and said he needed more (they gave him 16 oxycodone /apap 7.5-500mg)well i called at 3:30 and she said they closed at 4pm so we RUSHED to get to the office,we got there 5min before 4pm and the doc had already left.so she gave him an 1-800 emergncy #.ok well we SHOULD have got that in the first place.but sence he had to see the doc before he got scripes SO WE THOUGHT,we waited b/c i had left over(oxcodone/apap 5/500)(when i had my tonsils and adnoides out?!?!? cant spell it)well come to find out they are closed on tuesdays W.T.F who in this world IS CLOSED on a FREAKING tuesday! (sry this is just a new world of b.s i never knew about)

he is getting spacers in the morning and we will talk to them about it(ill ask if anyone has complained b/c i am mad)you know the ortho recmended him so i would THINK we wouldnt have b.s but i THINK to much

Thu May 04, 2006 11:10 am

He "tried" to explain why itcost $245 more.I dont know if anyone else has read my other posts.Justin was a "fighter" (meaning he was moving "ALOT" so they had to give him more sadation(then they had to give him ANOTHER drug to wake him up) thats how it ended up being $245 more.It would be EASIER for them to eaxplain to me BEFORE i even left the office that it was going to be more.She knew i pade half.

I just went ahead and paid it off today. I just dont want anything else on my plate i have to worry about LOL