Sunday Dental Thread: Planning for the last catastrophe...

[PCIntern]

It ain't just our Security establishment - tell me if this sounds familiar...

1. Dentist treats patient episodically for toothaches, patient doesn't return for follow-up four times for four different teeth, finally lands at another dentist who tells patient to sue first dentist. Patient successfully sues and settles for 22,000. Dentist refuses to see episodic pain patients more than once EVER without follow up. Dentist gets sued again for wrongful dismissal and abandonment by ANOTHER patient, patient collects $15000 and dentist reprimanded. (Someone else)

2. Dentist assists patient in finding job, patient dismissed from job, patient mad at dentist for getting patient a job from which he was fired. Dentist no longer assists people getting jobs (guess who).

3. Dentist volunteers assistance for public health fairs, those who come with sad tale of woe angry that dentist won't 'cure' them right there on the spot "why didn't you bring your pliers and Novocaine? You knew you were going to see people in pain." Dentist no longer has patience for these patients. (Friend and classmate)

4. Dentist treats many TSA employees - generally nice people at least in this practice - most upset by having to perform progressive intrusiveness but are going to follow order b/c it is the job and they need the income and they're closely watched by management. Dentist commiserates with TSA employees as individuals, staff gets mad at dentist for siding with "the Man". Dentist pulls out what little hair he has. (Me again) (On edit: No, I think what they are doing is reprehensible and disgusting - the people I treat are almost to a man and woman repulsed by this, primarily b/c they don't want to touch random people period)

5. Dentist meticulously keeps notes and records of what she did on each patient - gets sued by schizophrenic patient, notes used against her because they were so meticulous that NOT mentioning an occurrence meant that it never happened, even if it did and she didn't note it. (Casual acquaintance).

6. Dentist treats receptionist for a broken tooth. Dentist is audited by insurance company and finds that he didn't charge her for the restoration and demands restitution for all patients awarded courtesy or fee waiver due to hardship or personal relationship (family, close friend, etc. Dentist angry beyond human comprehension. (Very commonly reported by dentists who participate with insurance companies)

All in a day's work...

[Turbineguy]

1. Bob,

Is that you?

[PCIntern]

2. No Bob here...

sorry.

[Turbineguy]

12. My next door neighbor is a dentist.

And he sounds a bit like you.:toast:

[WhiteTara]

3. you posted this at 6:19am?

what is going on with you? Having dental problems? Bad dreams? Not enough to do?

[enough]

4. Can't you see that the poster is a dentist or worker in dental profession who is

discussing issues that make it difficult for the practice to provide good care in a rational way at a rational cost?

[WhiteTara]

11. ah...downloading early morning

nightmares. No, I really didn't see their profession...good perceptive judgment on your part.

[tavalon]

5. And I always thought dentist had a high rate of suicide because looking in peoples

mouths all day was depressing.

[PCIntern]

6. Listening to horseshit all day is what is depressing...

[Mika]

7. Add this to the list...

Hi there.

I have a small/med size lab in my office. I do some of the porcelain work for my patients (I'm a 25+ years CDT too). Overlaying and shading some pressable crowns, etc. Now the Florida board of dentistry and the dept of professional regulation is requiring that every drop of liquid, every bit of body, incisal, translucent, glaze, stain materials, every single thing must be itemized in the patients lab records - with ISO #s, serial #s and batch #s of every iota of materials used - and that use of each material must have written approval from the DDS. Not surprising, the dental practice must now do the same thing. Now I'm having to keep duplicate records in two separate formats for every iota of materials used in the practice and the lab for every patient, plus the written authorization for each and every product used. All for the insurance industry to go thru w/a fine tooth comb in order to deny payments. (As in: we don't cover work done with {brand X/Y/Z} porcelain/metal/glaze/stain/cement/ad infinitum.) As you know, I don't run an insurance based practice (imo, it is the patient's insurance, not mine), but we do help patients fill out the technical aspects of their forms. Now everyone is looking at the list of the complex myriad of products used in the restorations and asking/challenging "what is this for? what is that for?". I have never been so flummoxed at such a useless procedure. The reason the state is forcing us to comply with this latest assault on small business is to accommodate the Chinese outsourcing dental labs that were using toxic products - the very industry that put my local hi quality biocompatible lab out of business.

Yes, I'm planning for the catastrophe too. :(


:hi:

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[NutmegYankee]

8. You chose to defend the TSA workers! Ouch

I made that mistake yesterday, and the doctor is still applying burn gauze and skin grafts to my rear.

But I commend you on your humanity.

[PCIntern]

9. I defend those whom I know...

some/most of whom I've known for far longer than they've been with the TSA. I don't suppose that supporting the working stiff here is seasonal....last week I was burned like you, for showing disrespect to a push-poll worker...now I'm singed by others (not you) for 'defending' people whom I've known for 20+ years.

[NutmegYankee]

10. I know one person who works for the TSA up here.

She screens bags at the security check point and has been in tears after work. The job usually invokes a lot of anger but it has become brutal in the last two weeks. She doesn't do the scans and certainly didn't approve the policy but she wears the uniform and is verbally abused every day for it. She's a single mother supporting her two children and can't afford to to quit and lose the health insurance for her children.

[mdmc]

13. ..