Trailwinds Dental Beware
 

Trailwinds quoted me $800 for dental services, $385 payable by me, remaining payable by insurance. Paid $385 - after work done they said insurance didn't cover. I paid the difference plus $100 penalty for late. I tried to talk to them, they wouldn't return my call. Seniors against crime they did talk to but to no avail. Numbers were in black and white but they wouldn't stand behind it.

Sold me the deep cleaning package it's the same as a regular cleaning, only ins. doesn't cover it. I dropped them.

Thanks for the warning.

Time for small claims court, maybe get their dental license pulled and a fraud investigation started by the state atty general.

Why would you pay the $ 100 late charge?

My dental insurance requires a Pre-Treatment Estimate. The dentist and I get a paper confirming they will pay, and how much. The dentist accepts a reduced amount as the 'privilege' of accepting that insurance. An example: Cash for an implanted molar- $5,000. Insurance offers $3,500 and the patient pays 1/2 of the $3,500- not 1/2 of the $5,000.

Heard similar stories
 

This about the 3rd or 4th time I've heard such stories, and very similar, given quote, shown portion patient would owe, and then not until after the work, told insurance paid -0- and an added "late charge" added. Probably the answer is, take the dentist's own quote and detail of work, and contact the insurance company yourself ? Too late now, but a warning to others since this has happened to others here !

you will not fiend a good one her

Sorry for your bad experience at Trailwinds. I’ve been a happy customer there for over two years. Nevertheless, I’ll keep your experience in mind and thank you for sharing.

Contractually speaking, they made an offer and you accepted it. There is no doubt that you signed an agreement that you would pay what the insurance did not. The agreement was in the initial paperwork that most people do not read.

I know this sounds harsh, I'm only posting this to point out that you have no small claims case.

Basis of comment, four decades of contracting experience (writing contracts). To comment that you have a case with some regulatory agency is simply a demonstration of the Dunning Kruger Effect.

Many dentists are pushing the "Deep cleaning package". My dentist wants $3,500.00 for the medication involved and the cleaning itself. Nothing wrong with my gums, no bleeding, no pain, but they claim my "numbers" are too high. So when I ask for just a regular cleaning they refused, telling me that would be malpractice because I need a "Deep cleaning". Further, after the deep cleaning I would have to go back to the dentist for a regular cleaning every 2 -3 months for the rest of my life. Sounds like the dental profession has found a way to generate more income.

Definitely file your complaint with the attorney generals office.

As of late, there have been a lot of dental places around here that are "over-selling" dental work that does not need to be done i.e. deep cleaning, dental implants, etc. Beware.

Stuff the Dentists.
Let them all fall out, and then drink soup!

Not sure about the deep cleaning because no dentist has brought this up. I have had dentists tell me that the insurance paid portion is an estimate and there have been times where I either got a refund or I had to pay a few bucks more.
But, if you he dentist told me that insurance was covering a major portion of it, then it’s their responsibility to get close to that amount of money from the insurance company. It sounds like the dentist didn’t actually call me he insurance company and so they lied to you and I would not pay the insurance part. I always ask the dentist, or a doctor is this procedure is covered and how much is my portion and the dentist/doctor has always called the insurance company because if it’s not covered I need to have enough funds to pay for it or it might not be worth doing.
If this your case and you paid by credit card, call the bank to dispute the charge, then call your insurance company to see if they actually called and tell them that the dentist told you they were going to pay x dollars toward the bill and why aren’t they.
As for the $100 late fee, I would not have paid that unless you didn’t pay for a couple years and they kept adding late fees. There would be no late fee if you paid the bill once you got it.
Call the bank

Kathe..... maybe go to the state dental board?

Florida has a Board of Dentistry responsible for "licensure, monitoring and ensuring the safe practice of dentists and dental hygienists in their service to the people of Florida". While this role does not specifically include "fair" practice, I would certainly pursue your issue with them. Good luck.

Trail winds told me it would take a total of 2 hours for the deep cleaning. Total cost $2400 or $1200 per hour

Call Dr. Kevin Wallace: (352) 259-0822. He has been our Dentist for 12 years, since moving to The Villages. He and his Staff are excellent. He is very professional and very patient and caring. The practice is called the Marion Dental Group. The office is on 441.There are 5 or 6 Dentists in the Practice. So, if Dr. Wallace is not available-- you should be able to see one of the other Dentists.

Then why did you pay them?

Not sure I believe you

Penalty
 

I would NEVER had paid the late fee that is crazy. The cost of service you owed but not the late fee.

I had some questions about my services, with a different company, this is why I always call my insurance company before anything is to be done new.

Dental Care at Magnolia
 

Pretty much the same thing with Dental Care at Magnolia, I went in expecting to get a "regular cleaning" and exam. They tried to upsell to $60 Cancer Screening. Nothing wrong with my gums, no bleeding, no pain, but after exam and 41 x-rays they claimed my "numbers" are too high. So when I ask for just a regular cleaning they told me that would be malpractice because I need a "Deep cleaning".

Definitely the route to take...

I'm licensed to practice Podiatry in FL and during my continuing education classes, we're told that the #1 issue for patient complaints and actions taken are due to billing...

Same thing up north in DC and MD...

Go online to Florida Attorney General Consumer Protection for Senior Citizens and file a complaint. It is easy to do and your should get results.

I had a similar experience at another dentist office. And, the 2 hour deep cleaning was to be done by a hygenist, not the dentist. I never even heard about deep cleaning until I moved to The Villages. I have been going to a dentist in Leesburg for 5 years with no deep cleanings.

I thought they would stand behind their quote but they sent it to a collection agency. The extra $100 to get it paid so it wouldn’t damage my credit score.

Something is very off with this picture. My dentist back in NY charges $350 for deep cleaning and $150 for regular cleaning both 100% covered by the insurance.

Cheers!

Thank you. Good info I will heed your suggestion.

You don’t want the dentist doing any sort of cleaning for two reason: a hygienist will typically be better at it and, secondly, the dentist should be spending his/her time doing exams and restorative work. Root planing, aka deep cleaning, is appropriate when you have periodontal disease with deep pockets that can’t be reached with dental floss. It is a standard practice in dentistry. Whether you need it is another story. If you move and start with a new dentist who recommends this procedure and your previous dentist did not, then you might want to get a second opinion. There are essentially two possibilities: your previous dentist was remiss or the new dentist is recommending a treatment you don’t need.

Keep in mind, many if not ALL dental practices here and the surrounding area (Marion Dental) have hygienists working on COMMISSION. That's right, a commission basis verified by one of Marion Dentals own staff.
I go there since I went through 2 others in The Villages in 6 months. All of which wanted to literally rape my wallet. Estimates ranged from $4,800-$6,000 worth of up-sold "preventative " work. I called Bulls**t and went elsewhere. Marion was the only "fair" practice. Caution...they will not accept any form of Medicare insurance. Good luck. Most dental offices are jamm packed.

Your "numbers" may be the depth of your pockets. Once they get too deep, you can't reach them with dental floss and more frequent cleaning may be necessary to maintain them (i.e. not get worse). You may wish to consider getting a second opinion.

My own experience would also suggest that choosing a dentist outside of The Villages may be a good idea. Our dentist is well outside The Villages, after one not so great visit to a dental office within The Villages.

I agree that the hygienist may be better at cleaning, but, if they are charging more than $1,000 per hour, where is the money going? A hygienist makes about $40-50 per hour. The deep cleaning charge seemed very excessive to me. In my case, the hygienist made the diagnosis and was to do the procedure with no involvement with the dentist. My dentist in Leesburg has not recommended a deep cleaning.

Upselling for a cancer screening? That is interesting. My dentist does it automatically as part of the annual exam. They use a special light. I'm not sure I understand the reasoning for making it optional - either you need it or not, in their professional opinion.

I don't worry about where the money is going - not my concern. My concern would be a correct diagnosis and effective treatment. My wife practiced for 35 years and we have, according to her, an excellent dentist so we don't typically have any real concerns. Our dentist is not inside The Villages.

Did they chart the depth of any pockets? Do you have periodontal disease?

I never heard of deep cleaning until I came to Florida. The dentist want $800 and I refused. They cleaned my teeth for $94. Stand up for yourself.

They didn't give me a chart, but when I discussed it with my previous longtime dentist from Virginia, he said that I didn't need a deep cleaning, and my new dentist in Leesburg agreed. No periodontal disease.

I don't care where the money goes either, but I don't have dental insurance, and I certainly would not pay a hygienist 20 times as much as the average hourly rate for a dental hygienist.

Lack of periodontal disease at our ages is a good thing. Keep up the good home care.

You do realize that what the practice pays the hygienist is just the beginning of their actual costs of delivering treatment? I will have to check with my wife (retired for a while so perhaps a little out of touch with current fees), but I believe $250 a quadrant is a typical cost for root planing. I am lucky in that my wife practiced otherwise separating the wheat from the chaff could be challenging. Second opinions are good.