dentist fraud and insurance

I've noticed before that when you go to a low income dentist or a dentist that takes medicare or medicaid they often find a lot of things wrong because they get paid more for certain things so they find cavitys that arent there and do unecessary root canals or other things. But when you go to a higher end dentist that does not accept those insurances they dont find anything wrong.

I've had this happen a few times. One dentist was a low income dentist and she would find and fill 7 cavities every 6 months. I didn't go to the dentist for 2 years because of Covid. I finally went today to a nice place that I knew did not accept my insurance because I wanted to avoid fraud. The dentist said my teeth looked great.

Does anyone know anything about dental fraud with certain insurances?

I could be wrong, but I don't think dentistry is as regulated as other medical professions. A year ago, I read an article questioning whether dentistry is even a science. Medical libraries are brimming full of scholarly articles and research on medical procedures, but there seems to be very little quality research done on dentistry.

According to the article, graduates of dental colleges often go straight into private practice and often solo and there seems to be little oversite of the profession compared to other medical specialties.

There are, according to the article, few double-blind studies done on the effectiveness of treatments.

Now if I recall, many dentistry professionals challenged that article and said it was not accurate or fair. So I don't know the merits and demerits of the claims made. But after reading it, I decided to seek second opinions before doing dental procedures. That, of course, is not an entirely satisfactory solution. Sadly, fraud exists in all professions.

I just located the article I read on the internet. It is called: "Is Dentistry a Science" The Atlantic Magazine. Author is Feris Jabr. I am not promoting the article since I don't know the truth value of the claims, but perhaps it would be an interesting read for those who might have had some bad experiences. If I find the responses of the dental establishment, I will cite those too in the interest of fair mindedness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed I've noticed before that when you go to a low income dentist or a dentist that takes medicare or medicaid they often find a lot of things wrong because they get paid more for certain things so they find cavitys that arent there and do unecessary root canals or other things. But when you go to a higher end dentist that does not accept those insurances they dont find anything wrong. I've had this happen a few times. One dentist was a low income dentist and she would find and fill 7 cavities every 6 months. I didn't go to the dentist for 2 years because of Covid. I finally went today to a nice place that I knew did not accept my insurance because I wanted to avoid fraud. The dentist said my teeth looked great. Does anyone know anything about dental fraud with certain insurances?

Oh wow I wonder if the difference lies in what state you live in. Here it’s very hard to find doctors that take Medicaid or Medicare and they reimburse at such a low rate only a few of them will do this. So they always have lines and lines of patients . The private dentists Will bill your insurance however dental coverage sucks in the US anyway and the patient is on the hook for money. So at least in my experience the dentist’s I’ve dealt with allow you to make payment arrangements and never force work on you.

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