Dental Forum - Dentistry.com®

Author

Topic: Full mouth debridement?

Earl Bradley

posted 10-26-2005 09:15 AM

And one thing I forgot to mention, although it should be very apparent in my previous comments, for those in the dental profession who may read my earlier post, get control of your "office managers"! They are literally running amok and it should be more about patient care than scamming the insurance companies and the patient.
Thanks, again.

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Lisa Vargas

posted 10-27-2005 03:54 PM

The State of Maine dentists are also doing this expensive treatment and they are making mandatory! I went to my 'new' dentist for my third visit and he is forcing me to get a FMD and scaling and rooting, the FMD is $157.00 (NOT paid for by insurance) and each quad of the mouth is $137.00. Plus novacaine (NOT paid for) and Application of desensitive meds at $36.00 (NOT paid for) and one cavity filling $222.00. I have called several dentists in Southern Maine and they are all forcing their clients to do the FMD's etc....Shouldn't this be up to the patient? After all we are hiring a service to be done. Now I can sign a waiver that says I won't sue my dentist in 10 years when my teeth fall out BUT he won't do any fillings on me or any other thing besides routine cleanings. My dentist told me that it is because I smoked for 25 years. Seems odd that my husband's dentist is recommending the same thing and my husband hasn't smoked a day in his life, or another family member who goes to another dentist who hasn't smoked a day in his life but has diabetes, his dentist told him his diabetes would get better with these procedures! We have cure for diabetes now! I'm really upset with the dental community and I will not stop until our dentists stop ripping us off!
Thanks for listening.

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Lisa Vargas

posted 10-27-2005 03:55 PM

P.S. What happened to dentures when we get old?

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Paula

posted 10-27-2005 04:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by David:
Ray, you have been taken for a ride. Almost the same thing happened to me. I now live in Florida and the dentist took boku x-rays, examined my mouth without cleaning and then said I need to come back for a debridement, which I get to pay $250 for because it's not covered by insurance. I won't name the insurance company, but my favorite color is blue. It seems they have a nice scam going between the dentist and the insurance company. The insurance company picks which dentist you can go to and then the dentist does a routine cleaning, only now he calls it a debridement which is not covered by the insurance company and he gets to charge three times as much. I have lived in many states and this is the first {Florida} that I have encountered this behavior.
It gets better! I called another dentist on this insurance plan and they told me anytime they remove tartar with a pick it is called debridement, cleaning under this insurance plan is just polishing your teeth. My first clue to the fraud was that the insurance company would let you join the dental plan and you were almost immediately covered, the catch is that you have to pay the insurance premium for the entire year up front. The first time you become aware of the ride is when you visit their dentist and almost nothing is covered because the dentist insist on renaming common procedures and performing expensive extras that are not covered and if you refuse to allow everything they want, then you can walk. But you still get to pay for the x-rays and the evaluation. Plus, the bogus insurance company gets to keep your money. I have written a letter to the Attorney General, I hope you will do the same.

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Jim

posted 11-02-2005 07:54 PM

I have found the trend in insurance conpanies to be toward preventing long term problems. If their subscribers go for regular cleanings then they pay less benefits. If a full tooth debridement really had long term benefits they would most likely pay for it. I read from dentists that they need it down to properly diagnose the problem. This doesn't seem logical to me, I've found that dentists can always tell the difference between calculus and tooth! I had a full tooth debridement and then a fine/planning. 6 months later I moved and visited a different dentist. They did a check of my tooth pockets and the couple that had showed 5 and 4 before showed up again as 5's and 4's. They again told me I needed a full mouth debridement but it seems to me that the first one had no benefits.

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sweettooth

posted 11-02-2005 10:58 PM

Maybe you should try brushing and flossing your teeth between your cleanings. If you have nasty chunks of old calcified plaque around your teeth and under your gums it will sometimes show up in your x-rays. If you think its all because we want to scam everyone, ask for the clinical proof of your treatment. I take intraoral pictures of my patients teeth and show them and then I will remove plaque thats old and stinky and show them and tell them why their mouth is like it is. Hey,I can show you a full mouth debridment after I have worked my butt off for an hour removing chunks and bloody necrotic tissue and plaque from some nasty mouth. Should the fees be the same as the patient who takes good care of their teeth at home and comes every 6 months with a spotless mouth? You have 4-5mm pockets and so you need to be cleaning 4-5mm below the gumline, so therefore you will have buildup that deep if you are not flossing out the food and bacteria that gets trapped down in there. The dentist and hygienist cant follow you home and make sure you are taking care of your teeth.

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Jim

posted 11-05-2005 03:31 PM

First,in reply to sweettooth, I of course was flossing and brushing twice a day. Also the dentist put me on a treatment with perio-check solution every day. What I am really hinting at is that there may be no solid research that shows this treatment has long term benefits on the average patient enough to justify it to Insurance companies. Maybe the average person doesn't take care of their teeth after this treatment and it would be required every 6 months at huge expense. Actually, for everyone out there worried about their gums and FMD, I was reading a brochure the other day at my dentists office. It pointed out that there are severaly solutions to gum disease that is somewhat advanced. One, is of course to remove the junk around your teeth with a FMD treatment. Another is to kill the bacteria that cause the problem. I found this to be much easier and my gums are now pink happy and wonderful with the pockets back to normal. I used over the counter Crest Pro-Health rinse which is anti-bacterial and anti-tarter. My wife uses a different brand and has also had success.

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patricia brown

posted 11-09-2005 09:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Brian:
I experienced something similar myself just recently. Any professional advice on the following?
I went for a cleaning and exam the other day, as a first time patient to this particular dentist. During the cleaning process (during which, I must candidly admit, much cleaning was done), the assistant doing the cleaning mentioned that I would, at some point, need what she called a "full mouth debridement", but that my insurance wouldn't cover it.
The conversation on that topic never went further than that. I had never heard this procedure mentioned before in my life. She did not ask if I wanted this procedure, and I did not give any form of consent for any such thing, not knowing what it was.
After the cleaning and exam (at which time I was told that I would eventually need scaling and a filling or two), when I went to settle the insurance and financial matters, I was told that I was being charged 100 dollars for a "full-mouth debridement". I expressed great surprise at this, as I was never aware that the assistant had actually done anything of the sort. Eventually, I went ahead and paid the fee, as I was unsure exactly what else I could do at that point. I cannot shake the impression, however, that I had just been taxied across town and back to get to an address only two blocks away.
It has always been my impression (as derived from other dentists I have patronized) that going in with a hook to scrape tartar and calculus off of the teeth was just part of the normal cleaning process. This particular dentist never gave me any impression to the contrary UNTIL all was said and done and ready to be paid for.
My question: Is there such an animal as a "full-mouth debridement" involving a hook and scraping tartar from the teeth that I have simply never heard mentioned before, or have I really been taken for a ride here?

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John C. Morrow

posted 11-11-2005 02:59 PM

I was surprised to find this post - actually by accident. I was on the phone to my dentist (honest!) when I found this.

I had a VERY similar experience with my Dentist (Dr. Angela Bauer, Waunakee, WI) - in that I thought I was coming in for a cleaning. I too (unfortunately) was one of those with a major cleaning due. I was in the chair for an hour and a half and at the end of the session the assistant handed me a brochure and said (I quote...) "Here is a brochure on the procedure you had done today".

I figured it was just information on cleaning - until I got home and read about "debridement". Then a week or so later I got a call from the Dentist office and they told me that insurance will not cover it - that I am liable for it. Since I only had the bottoms done - I immediately said NO to the top ones. Although I would guess that it is necessary, I was told by the person calling that $150 was what it cost. I do not wish to pay ANOTHER $150 for the tops!

I am totally disappointed and disgusted that a team of doctors would use this technique - and by that I mean.... don't tell the patient until they are done! What kind of place is this?

And why won't insurance companies at least pro-rate it, or pay for what a normal cleaning might cost, and the insured could have the option of picking up the rest? Just not good business... that's for sure.

I guess there are others out there that have had this same thing happen to them.

Thanks for letting me share!

J

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Jeffrey L. Wissot, DDS

posted 11-11-2005 04:48 PM

With appropriate documentation, such as a complete periodontal exam and charting, most insurance companies WILL cover debridement procedures (scaling & root planing).

You may choose to see a periodontist for a second opinion. Please visit:

/perio.asp

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BESUCCESSFUL

posted 11-12-2005 07:40 PM

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