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Open wide… and say ka-ching!

64 Comments

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Let me preface this post by saying I’ve always had good teeth.

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I’ve never had a cavity, a filling, a chip, a crack, or an abscess. My teeth aren’t loose or sensitive to cold. I’ve never had a root canal or bridge work and I still have all my wisdom teeth. So when my orthopedist PA said I needed dental clearance before they could do knee replacement surgery? I thought sure… no problem.

Never having issues, I admit it’s been a while since I’ve seen my dentist. Long enough for him to retire and close his practice apparently. But no worries … since I just needed a quick letter of good health I booked a free first appointment with the chain I would otherwise avoid, Aspen Dental.

I figured a quick in and out.

But I was wrong.

They took 18 X-rays, and found no abnormalities. Matter of fact they kept commenting to each other- she has all her teeth! (Kudos to my ancient and decrepit body for providing them with that surprise.)

After the X-rays they poked and prodded and tried to wiggle but found nothing wrong. Thinking I was about to walk out the door with my clearance letter, I was more than a little surprised when they told me they couldn’t sign off.

Couldn’t sign off until they scheduled me for a deep root cleaning and scaling saying I had some tartar buildup on my back teeth. Big deal, doesn’t everyone? I began to protest which is when they launched into this long winded speech about possible infection under the gum line that can lead to periodontal disease.

I wanted to argue but really couldn’t as they held the power of the pen and I needed the clearance to get my knee replacement surgery date… which they damn well knew.

A week later, scraped, cleaned and found to have no infection… (who knew? I did. 😡)… I had my letter.

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And a very expensive letter it was.

Are you sitting down?

Because I walked out of there $3,500 poorer.

Three thousand five hundred dollars. For a glorified tooth brushing that took all of a half hour.

Holy crap on a cracker!

I felt ripped off, and upset for people who can’t afford such nonsense.

And my teeth?

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They don’t look one bit brighter.

Boo to that.

😡

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64 thoughts on “Open wide… and say ka-ching!”

      1. I can’t even begin to imagine! That tops the list for the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my whole lifetime. A rip off for sure, designed to put you in a position where you couldn’t refuse.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. As I was reluctantly forking over the money, I kept thinking about the people who wouldn’t be able to pay that. Does that mean they’d never be able to have knee surgery? It’s just… wrong.

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  8. WTH??? Scam!!!
    But I’m glad that you got clearance. I didn’t have to get dental clearance, just medical. Then again, for every dental issue and procedure that you mentioned, my answer is the opposite…. cavities, abscess, chips, tooth knocked out but hanging by 1 long strip of… gums?? Fillings, wisdom teeth removed, tooth at the abscess pulled, root canals, crowns, bridge (shoulda done an implant!), braces (twice), perm retainers, deep cleanings, and laser whitening (NEVER AGAIN!!).

    Do you have a surgery date? I STRONGLY recommend getting a Cold Therapy Machine and one of these soft braces: https://a.co/d/07ekipQG

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  9. Ha, mine was moved up, so I am getting ready for surgery!! Lots of hoops including phone calls but no dentist. Unfortunately, I do need a crown but I have a good dental plan, so it is not too bad.

    Finding a dentist you trust is hard. On the other hand, I am happy to be on my way, so if you don’t hear from me for awhile, I am in the hospital or PT!

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      1. Thank you! Lot of sign offs on information received from PT, vitals checked, x-ray. I have a dental discount plan from AVS Dental which helped immensely and went into effect the same day. My dentist recommended it and the price difference was over $500. Good deal.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. That is outrageous! My husband had to get signed off by our dentist for his knee replacement too. But it was his normal cleaning and the cost out of pocket was $100. $3,500 is unbelievable. FYI, I have your perfect teeth too. My dad was a dentist and he kept me in fluoride treatments.

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    1. I mentioned my surgery in the Pre Op to the PA and when they would do the crown, asked if there was a problem and he said, no. Perhaps there is a connection between the knee and the teeth. My surgery is tomorrow morning, early! I am so glad to be almost there.

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      3. I looked it up and the restrictions have to do with germs traveling from your mouth through your bloodstream and settling in your new artificial joint. I had no idea that was the reason.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. I agree. It’s genetics and I take good care of mine, too. My mom never had a cavity and neither does my brother. Then, I floss with Dr. Tung’s Smart floss twice a day. It’s the best floss I’ve ever used and it’s on Amazon.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. that is crazy. But that is what corporate dentistry is like. I almost went to Aspen when i needed something done because they could fit me in. But i dodged a bullet when there was a scheduling issue and it fell through. Ended up back at my old dentist – better service and less expensive. I’m really sorry that happened to you.

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      1. like trying to get in with your GP -impossible. So you are basically forced into the corporate medicine market and at there mercy. which is bad because many of them are not very nice. sometimes i fee as though I’m held hostage by the system. sorry, I will stop venting – you just hit a nerve

        the important thing at this point is you got the clearance for the knee surgery. I hope it gets scheduled soon and it all goes smoothly.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Luckily we never have any trouble with our primaries. I usually get seen the same week I call. Specialists are a whole other thing. 6 months wait for an orthopedic appointment.
        😩

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  12. $3500 for teeth cleaning?! Mine have been covered by insurance for so long I don’t know what they cost. And all your teeth! I haven’t had all my teeth since I was about 12. Too many teeth, too little mouth. I’m 8 short of what you have and I don’t know where I’d put 8 more.

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  13. Aspen Dental is notorious for recommending unnecessary dental work. A friend went in for a regular check up and cleaning, and they wanted to replace three intact molars with crowns. She refused, but fortunately she didn’t need them to sign off on any paperwork. I am sorry this happened to you! I hope after all this, your surgery goes well.

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  14. Wow! That’s just crazy. And obscene. How can that be justified?

    it’s probably my biggest bugbear – corporations / companies simply ripping folks off. It’s bad enough you have to pay that, but as you say, many will not be able to afford it. And what if they are in pain?

    I hope the knee op is ‘on the house’ and is a success when it comes around.

    🤞

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    1. That was my first thought. If you can’t afford that usurious fee, you can’t fix your knee?
      I’ve never needed dental insurance so don’t have any. And they don’t pay for much anyway.
      It’s a bad system.

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  20. What the literal hell!?! I had a deep clean and scaling and with insurance I only had to pay $378! This is a rip off because these doctors work together to get patients to each other. Believe me I worked at a medical school and plenty of doctors would tell me this. Ugh so frustrating 😡

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  21. I sure as hell didn’t want to like this. I wouldn’t have been able to do what you did—I’d have found a local yocal to give me a cleaning and clearance.

    They ripped you off—-it should be illegal!

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