dentist: crown

[redbird]

I went to the dentist this afternoon, and they did some uncomfortable things as part of creating a new/replacement crown for one of my teeth (which had cavities under the old crown). I currently have a temporary crown, and will be getting the permanent replacement in three weeks; it will be ready sooner, but that's the next available appointment.

I was pleased to see that my Lyft driver, the dentist, and the dental assistant were all masked when I first saw them. I told the driver it was nice to see other people masking, and I tipped extra because of it.

When I checked in, the receptionist told me there would be a $750 copay. I told her that I had been told that the crown was fully covered, and asked her to check. A few minutes later, she confirmed that I wouldn't have to pay anything. I do not understand dental insurance, including this dental insurance, which is an add-on to my Medicare Advantage plan; I would have paid the $750 if I had to, but I'm glad I don't.

I'd been planning to stop and visit some lilac bushes on the way home, but it was raining, which made that less appealing, so I didn't. I did stop at Lizzy's on the way home, and now have a total of five unlabeled pints of ice cream: three today, because a broken freezer meant I had to get the clerk to hand-scoop the ice cream, plus the two from Tosci's. However, I have blank sticky adhesive labels, which should make this easy.

Comments

[ranunculus]

There is a LOT of fraud in dental offices. M recently turned a company in; to both the insurance company and the company that referred him; for fraudulent billing on work he was supposed to get. They tried to charge him almost $2,500 for a procedure that was fully covered by his dental plan AND which they were billing the insurance for. Looking deeper they had charged the insurance company for an expensive scan that was never done, and never even ordered. So keep up with the excellent questions!

[redbird]

A good point.

At the same time, I’m not used to dental insurance covering that much, and this insurance is an extra thrown in with my current Medicare Advantage plan. When I was comparing plans, I didn’t even look at dental insurance, because I didn’t expect it to be worth much.

[yourlibrarian]

Hi, I have been trying to private message you regarding a 3weeks4dreamwidth activity, but you seem to have it turned off. Can I reach you some other way?

[redbird]

That shouldn’t be turned off; I have changed the settings so anyone with a DW account can DM me (it was set to “access list only,” and I have no recollection of doing that). Try again, please.