Yes, you should've been told about it when you moved your appointment.

I always ask about whether a dental appointment for a procedure will be covered. So I agree with Sushipup. The responsibility lies with the person who has the insurance although most providers will be happy to check for you when requested. But they can't be expected to check every patient's records at the time of booking the appointment.

I am right in the middle. I paid and will voice my displeasure by changing my dates that we have currently booked and bump them up by two weeks. This way, I will be protected because should my husband take care of it (whew, had to take a break from all that laughing), or if I forget (which is likely) at least we are covered, literally.

My dentist ,as well as other doctors, will let me know if I am too early. It doesn't seem to take long or that they are going out of their way to look up this information.

Lesson learned. At this dental office, you are on your own!

Side story that still infuriates me: My oldest had her ears pierced at the dermatologist's office. She was there for an appointment and so we also scheduled the piercing. My youngest wanted hers done too and started to cry! I asked if they could also do hers. Sure! They charged me $250 because that is what they charge per appointment and hers was not linked with a medical appointment.

In my experience, that snafu would have been completely avoided by the professionals at the dentist's office. That appointment should have caused an immediate flag by their computerized booking program.

Next time, I'm sure that you will verify coverage for every single procedure for each family member beforehand, but it's too bad that you have to be vigilant.

sushi, I politely disagree.

My doctor's appointment makers always coordinate with insurance. And since they knew on the back-end, they should've known on the front-end is my thinking.

I believe we each need to be responsible for ourselves as much as possible. Nothing wrong with being vigilant when it comes to financial affairs. However, when doctors' offices are aware and able to let us know that we are inside the 6 months (or 1 year), it's really helpful. But you cannot count on that. And I'm not sure the dentist office is the one to say if something is covered. Wouldn't that question need to be directed to the insurance company? Sorry you got stuck with a costly expense, Cookie.

I feel they should have known.

Wow! I would be getting a new dentist! Mine tells me up front if I will be getting charged extra for anything and I have coverage. I actually can go to my insurances website and see what my dentist is requesting for me so I know what I have to pay ahead of time (I need 3 crowns, my share of EACH crown is $650!). My cleaning 2 weeks ago was only $14 after the insurance paid their part, which included a full checkup and xrays.

That was pretty low of your dentist. What if you were in a bind and didn't have the money? Then what?

Doctor offices have (sometimes) wonderful computer systems. My dentist office had a much simpler system (archaic). Rob, I don't think that dentists and doctors operate under the all the same rules.

Hm. That is sad to hear. I'm pretty sure most stuff in Nashville is fairly archaic, but we're still ahead of the curve. SAD! We all need to get up to date.

If you had some unusual insurance plan that had a different mandated duration between covered checkups than every other plan in existence, or if your previous appointment was at a different dentist's office, then they may have some excuse for their incompetence. However since neither of those seem to be true, I think it is entirely and completely on the dentist's office, and they should eat the fee entirely.

I needed to move a scheduled appointment several years ago because it would fall in the middle of a month-long cruise around the Caribbean and suggested a date 2 week earlier, they instantly determined that the date I suggested was within the 6-month window, and offered a different date three days before departure that would be covered.

Our optometrist, dentists and orthodontists check to see what is covered ahead of time. Medical is not so good. They always say let's see what is covered and then send it off. They have a glitch where we will be billed later after the fact. If the claim is turned down, it can be for a substantial amount. The pharmacy is the same way.

So insurance may not cover this particular dental claim. See if the dentist will write off some of it. See if they have a special rate for those who don't use insurance.

I think they should have looked to see when the kids were in last BUT I don't rely on them(or any doctor) anymore to not make that mistake. I just called this morning to make my 6 mth. Dental cleaning, but looked in my record book to check the last date first. I do that with mammograms too.

I was told part way through my son's appointment. I didn't even stop to think to tell them to stop extras for the cleaning - such as the flouride, which was an extra $40. I will go in person to the office, to make it a little more assertive (I will be polite and respectful, of course), instead of a phone call. Thanks for the input.

Way off topic, I remember when I was 16 and out to dinner with my friends for the first time. We were at ChiChi's and the waitress came by to ask us if we would like to try the appetizer sampler. I thought it was free???? Inexperience, I guess. We barely had enough to cover the cost of our dinners because of the extra expense. I am sort of feeling a bit naive on the dentist thing, as with my youth experience, but I know we are covered for two cleanings a year. I didn't realize it was so strict with the six month limit.

If you have city water you don't need flouride treatments. But if you are on a well, you should get flouride treatments for the kids.

kathyg~

Not necessarily. Alot of cities are removing flouride from the tap water now. We actually live in a rural town, and they voted sometime in 2011 to take it out, so we don't have it in our tap water anymore. Be sure to check the water in your city first so you'll know for sure. Also check with your insurance about flouride coverage. Ours has an age limit of 19+, so if we want the treatment, we have to pay $20.

Some cities do not add fluoride to the water.

Kids need the treatments, because most kids do not drink enough plain tap water.

Our cities took a vote a few years ago, and most people opted for not having fluoride in the city water. Our water used to be fluoridated, and now it isn't. A lot of people, including dentists feel this was a mistake. Some parents are blaming that, for the cavities that kids are now having.

Fluoride has been banned in much of the world, and only about 2% of the population of Europe get it in their water. Back in the 1970s I read of a study undertaken by a university in the midwest that found fluoride caused sterility in the third generation. I wish I'd copied the details. I assumed a fluoride ban would follow--silly me. But it is banned in my family. I realize there's a trade-off (as there is with everything), but no fluoride for us.

In Days of Yore, my dentist would have fudged the date when he submitted the charges to the insurance company. Present day, my doctor's office would know in advance if I wasn't covered. (We have no dental insurance.) I'd guess your dentist made more money by billing you than he would have received from your insurance company's negotiated fee.

I thought any resistance to fluoridated water had been laid to rest decades ago -- everywhere except in Hawaii, where they have never done it, and where they have the cavities to prove it.

No, it hasn't been laid to rest. It comes up here every once in a while still, where there is a dedicated group opposed to the fluoridation in the water where they are then met with resistance by the group who wants it, group that includes the area dentists. It's an ongoing argument taking place at city council meetings.

My dentist does adult fluoride treatments after every cleaning unless the patient objects. What he says: "Fluoride helps prevent cavities and it's important to apply after a professional teeth cleaning. Prophylaxis (teeth cleaning) removes a protective layer of minerals from your teeth. Fluoride helps the body rebuild this protective layer. Having a professional fluoride treatment after this cleaning will jump-start the rebuilding of this protective mineral layer".

Our insurance doesn't pay for adult fluoride applications, many don't. My dentists office bills for all, removes the charge after the insurance payment has been made if the fluoride fee has not been covered. So its available to any who want it at no cost to the patient - which I think must point to how important he thinks it is.

I don't know, but think he would have 'fudged' on the date by a few days to have your sons appointment covered too, Cookie. I've never had reason to ask, but a friend of mine needed one more root canal when he had extensive dental work done in the same year and had maxed out his plan. His dentist (not mine but another office) did the work as scheduled, held the billing until the next calendar period where benefits were available. I'm not sure its all that uncommon.

Phoebe...my dentists bills $39 for the fluoride treatment, whether painted on or gel tray. Then when my insurance rejects it, he just takes it off the bill each time, twice a year.

My dentist office always confirms my insurance coverage and runs the numbers on my coverage and has me sign the bill amount before work begins, even basic cleanings. That way, no surprises! I would be irritated too.

"Fudging" on the date is insurance fraud.

On the other hand, for the most part, medical insurance is fraud.

My mother always railed against fluoridation of the Cincinnati area tap water on the grounds that she was allergic to fluoridated toothpaste, and therefore drinking fluoridated water would surely be bad for her. Further she would describe remembering when she was young that the very same fluoride-containing chemical that they proposed to add to the water was sold and used as rat poison.

She ended by saying something like "If you add fluoride to the water and if I then get cancer and die, I will sue you for every cent you have." They did. She did. and, of course, she didn't.

Later in college, I read a book by John Yiamouyiannis who was the father of a friend of mine, and who was widely regarded as the most prominent opponent of water fluoridation in the United States. As I recall that book asserted several claims:

• Sufficiently high concentrations of fluoride leads to statistically significant increase in a rare form of liver cancer in rats.
• Sufficiently high concentrations of fluoride in humans will discolor and weaken teeth, a condition called fluorosis.
• Before convincing communities to add fluoride to drinking water, ALCOA had to pay to dispose of the chemical (which is a by-product of manufacturing aluminum). Afterwards they sold it to those cities for a tidy sum.

The book cast ALCOA as a profit-motivated, amoral corporation (which, of course, it is) duping well-intentioned, but hapless and witless local bureaucrats into buying poison and intentionally adding it to the communities drinking water, through emotional arguments that boiled down to "But think of the children!"

My insurance allows a cleaning every 6 months. My dentist office won`t schedule an app`t before the 6-month period.

My doctor recommended I get tha updated pneumonia vaccine, which I did. I was then billed $161.00 because not enough time had elapsed since the prior vaccination. I had not given it a thought before I got the bill.

No one cares as much about my money as I do.

Thanks all for the flouride updates. Didn't know it was so controversial.

There's nothing controversial about or uncertain about the use or safety of fluoride to reduce tooth decay. The science is clear. Ask any dentist, unless you think they're part of a conspiracy.

Every medical office checks insurance prior to appts. I don't believe they didn't know. I juggle appts for a family of 5 and any office will tell me if there's an insurance issue usually when I make an appt, and rarely the day before. If this doesn't get resolved, I would never give them any of my business again. They are supposed to work for you, not against you! Why don't you call the insurance company and explain what has transpired? Maybe they will pay the claim. Dump this dentist either way. I think they made a mistake by not checking. They gave you a 'discount' and you still owed $150? I'd be curious enough to call around and see what others charge. If insurance won't help, go back to the dentist and complain loudly. This is ridiculous!!

Ask a dentist and that dentist will merely parrot forth what he or she learned in dental school, and what has been repeatedly reinforced by the salesmen that sell the fluoride dental varnish to the dentist for $0.77 to $4 per application.

This article gives 50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation: http://fluoridealert.org/articles/50-reasons/ while it is obvious that the website is slanted against fluoridation and some of their reasons seem weak, unsupported or specious, some are at least compelling. Such as:

11) Benefit is topical not systemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 1999, 2001) has now
acknowledged that the mechanism of fluoride’s benefits are mainly topical, not systemic. There is no need whatsoever, therefore, to swallow fluoride to protect teeth.

12) Fluoridation is not necessary. Most western, industrialized countries have rejected water fluoridation, but have nevertheless experienced the same decline in childhood dental decay as fluoridated countries.

20) The highest doses of fluoride are going to bottle-fed babies. ... Even the American Dental Association
(ADA), the most ardent institutional proponent of fluoridation,
recommends
that parents be advised that formula should be made with “low or
no-fluoride water.”

41) The chemicals used to fluoridate water are not pharmaceutical grade. Instead, they largely come from the wet scrubbing systems of the phosphate fertilizer industry.
These chemicals (90% of which are sodium fluorosilicate and
fluorosilicic acid), are classified hazardous wastes contaminated with
various impurities. Recent testing by the National Sanitation Foundation
suggest that the levels of arsenic in these silicon fluorides are
relatively high (up to 1.6 ppb after dilution into public water) and of
potential concern (NSF 2000 and Wang 2000).

42) The silicon fluorides have not been tested comprehensively. The chemical usually tested in animal studies is pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride, not industrial grade fluorosilicic acid.

So yes the science is clear. Topically applied sodium fluoride does reduce cavities and is safe as long as you don't swallow it. Adding fluoride to water has basically zero benefit, isn't well tested, and is safe ... as long as you don't swallow it. .

Your child's cleaning appointment would have been covered and then YOU changed the appt. Unfortunate, but lesson learned. To Debbie who needs 3 crowns, be aware of your maximum yearly coverage (mine is $1599). Once that is used up, you will pay 100%.

Last year in May I went to the dermatologist and he said he could remove a lump from my back that he said "was nothing" but had grown big enough that I was self conscious about it, I reminded him that he had, in the past, told me it would *not* be covered by insurance as there was no danger of it being cancerous. He said I must have misunderstood--it would be covered. I made the appointment for June 11th but on the way out asked the girl at the desk if I should wait until July when I would be getting medicare. She assured me it would make no difference. I was frightened about getting it removed and thought it best to just leave the appointment as it was and just "get it done."

The bill came afterwards $780! I called the doctor's office and was told then, had I waited until July medicare would have covered it I was also asked if I had recorded any of the conversations. I told them I have never recorded any conversation. So that is the story of how I learned that lesson $780--tuition. Oh and I went round and round asking for a no insurance discount or if I might pay the amount they would have received had it been covered. No.

bob_cville - an organization called fluoridealert . org is unlikely to be an unbiased source of information. My parents had three childen. My older sister and I were born in Pennsylvania with fluoridated water. My brother, the middle child, was born in Arizona with un-fluoridated water. My brother had a lifetime of dental decay issues. I'm a believer in the benefits of fluoride.

I agree. I'd probably go further and say that fluoridealert.org is almost certainly a biased source of information. They do at least provide references to external source for most of their claims. I am generally inclined to believe the CDC in matters of health so their statement "... that the mechanism of fluoride’s benefits are mainly topical, not systemic" seems compelling.

Furthermore my two brothers, my sister and I all grew up in the same house with the same water. I think I recall that two of us (the oldest and youngest) had many cavities throughout their youth, the other two of us had quite a bit fewer cavities.

"Ask a dentist and that dentist will merely parrot forth what he or she learned in dental school,"

I want health care providers, be they dentists or doctors, who paid attention in their professional training and who practice as they were taught to. Is a different outcome better?

Regarding the original post and issue here... Cookie8 said that the two kids' appointments were originally two days apart so she asked that the second appointment be moved up so she'd only have to make one trip to the dentist to take care of two kids.

That should have been a "ding-ding-ding" clue!

Cookie8 should have realized that there had to have been a good reason that the appointments were originally scheduled two days apart.

I would suggest that perhaps Cookie8 should call her insurance company directly to see if they can make an exception because there is only a two-day difference. Also, some insurance companies have a looser guideline on the six months thing -- that is, as long as you are within the month, you don't have to be at or after the exact day. After all, she took her child in on a Friday, which was "two days early." Does that mean that the six months would have been exactly up on Sunday?

I merely meant that dental school may have been 5 or 10 or 20 or 30 years ago and the understanding of the science involved may have changed since then. Therefore if the only knowledge a dentist (or doctor) has on a topic is what was learned in school plus information provided by salesmen pushing their product then they are not necessarily the authoritative last word on that topic.

It would seem one reasonable test of the currency of a given dentist's knowledge of fluoridation would be to ask whether it is safe, beneficial and recommended to make baby formula using fluoridated tap water. My guess is 90+% of them would say "yes, yes and yes" and wax on about how the systemic effect of fluoride will strengthen the still-forming teeth. When according to the ADA and the CDC they would be incorrect.

Sorry to Cookie for derailing your topic. At first I was merely recounting my memories of my mother's anti-fluoridation stance and my college friend's father's book, but as I tried to refresh my mind about the book, and encountered many alarmist websites about the evils of fluoridation, I became alarmed. (Strange how that happens) As I read more it seemed at least some of their claims have merit and the issue isn't as clear and settled as I had long thought.

No problem bob_cville. I also question many things. I do buy water without fluoride so I do the fluoride treatments. I pass on x-rays for my young children - not until they turn 15. My oldest was the first, and only, to get a cavity at age 15, no teeth crowding or structural issues so I don't see the need.

Lindsey, if it was just me doing the appointments, I would have noticed. My husband also does appointments so there is miscommunication. Usually I book two at a time, I only noticed the week before, when I changed it. Nope, I would have had no idea why it would have been booked like that except that they were booked like that because, well, another person was involved. All I know, is when I book, I will request a two week bump up so I have a window to play with in the future. Luck wasn't on my side when the appointment was moved to the earlier date instead of vice versa.