Sarah33
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I am the office manager of a dental office in Texas. I have a comment regarding #'s 5 and 6. You are correct in stating an office may choose a "cheap" lab to make their fixed and removable pieces...but an office cannot charge an insurance company " out the wazoo". Insurance companies set their own fees. A dentist IN network must use these fees, meaning- if an office charges $1000 for a crown but is in network for ABC dental insurance, the insurance company gets to say " you can only charge $600 for a crown." if the patient is lucky, insurance will pay half and they pay half. But most of the time insurance only covers 20% and the patient pays 80%...(once they've met their deductible, and hoping they haven't used their maximum payout for the year-usually $1000-$1500) I don't think it's the insurance company getting anything up the wazoo. Now, for out of network doctors, they get to charge their fee, and the insurance company still only has to pay 20-50% of their OWN fee! Meaning -crown is $1000, insurance pays $120, patient pays the$880 difference. In both cases the insurance company is NOT the one taking a hit. Insurance companies aren't stupid...offices filing claims have to submit a yearly fee list, so it's not as if a dentist can change his fees per patient. Furthermore...a crown can cost cost the doctor upwards of $500-700 out of pocket, from labs bills that can cost $300-$400, materials for the build up and the temporary, paying his assistant and office overhead for a 2-3 hour appointment, and one more appointment to place the crown. And this all before the doctor is compensated for his time and work. So a doctor choosing to be in network with an insurance is more than likely going to make very little to nothing on all that work. But many understand that if they didn't, SO many would choose NOT to seek dental care. It's sad that some dentists choose to go the cheap lab route because in the end it's the patient that loses...but the one constant I see day in and day out, is that the insurance company never loses! AND I can tell you there are some great quality labs overseas that abide by our guidelines, and some horrible, cheap ones right here in the U.S. In summation...patients should do their research before they choose a dentist. Don't just pick one because they accept your insurance. If you "REALLY want the best, and are willing to pay for it"...ask around, read reviews, and contact your state dental association for public records on disciplinary actions against a dentist. MOST dentists are good and honest! The ADA and state dental associations DO have tight controls on how it's practiced, but any human can make bad choices...I mean, it wasn't Michael Jackson's DENTIST sedating him every night...I'm just saying...