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