I'm currently reviewing and testing new dentists. Not particularly happy with the current one as the business changed and the dentists have changed. However, checking out new dentists isn't as easy as I thought.
Naturally I don't want to pay through the roof, but to complicate things even more, I'm thinking of getting rid of the health fund top extras we're currently paying for. The top extras is costing $1,686.88 a year (after the 25% government rebate) and frankly if I claimed everything available in a year the most that could be claimed is $16,000 for two people. The likelihood of claiming a couple of thousand a year is very low, and rarely do we claim even close to the money we pay. When there's something serious such as dental implants, you'll be lucky to get $1,200 back on $8,000-$10,000, so the limits really kick in.
In terms of fees one thing that always gets mentioned is the item numbers. Items such as 011 (first exam), 012 (periodic exam), 114 (clean), etc. Then you need to ask each dentist what they charge.
In addition, if you do have extras cover, some health funds have preferred suppliers where they have special arrangements. For example, for preferred suppliers, our health fund will cover the full cost of the regular preventative treatment such as examination, clean and any x-rays. If using a non-preferred supplier, you would only get 60% back, although there's some confusion as to whether this is 60% of the scheduled fee, or 60% of what is paid. So far as long as you're within your yearly limit, it looks like it's 60% of what is charged.
The additional problem with trying new dentists is the unknown, and in some cases extra cost. For example, using your current dentist means the exam is a periodic exam (item 012). Using a new dentist means a first exam (item 011) which is more expensive. Makes sense. The new dentist has to start the check from scratch.
One thing that is really disconcerting is many dental practices seem to deliberately avoid sharing the dentist's background. Some private practices are more than happy to publish at least some of the dentists' backgrounds, whilst other private practices however publish little more than a name. Doesn't quite make sense. You have no idea how experienced the dentist is. A recent experience at a new practice I attended locally showed just how much discomfort an inexperienced dentist can inflict. Came out with a headache and a sore mouth for days. Not going back there. It was free but cost dearly in other ways. I don't know, but perhaps some corporate dental groups hire less experienced dentists to perhaps reduce costs. Not really sure what's going on, but something doesn't quite make sense.
All I can do as a consumer is to check out each dentist until I find a dentist I am happy with, that charges fees I am happy with.
One site I found recently helped make sense of the item numbers and schedule fees. Now at least I have some starting information. That site has gone but here's another one. Just search for Dental Fee Schedule if the link doesn't work and you should be able to find something.
No comments:
Post a Comment