I wake up quite sick one morning. I feel terrible and I’m coughing a lot. I suddenly remember that I have a dentist’s appointment first thing in the morning, so I call the dentist’s office.

Receptionist: “Hello, [Dentist].”

Me: “Hi. I have an appointment this morning but I’m quite sick, and I wouldn’t want to get anyone sick, so I need to reschedule.”

Receptionist: “That’s fine, sir. Just so you know, we charge a $50 fee for same-day cancelations and missed appointments.”

Me: *Pauses* “Okay, then I’ll just come in for my appointment.”

Receptionist: “I’m sorry, sir?”

Me: “I’ll just come for my appointment, then. I don’t mind coughing on people.”

Receptionist: “Please hold, sir.”

There’s hold music for a bit before the receptionist comes back.

Receptionist: “We will waive the fee this time. When would you be available to reschedule?”

I had a dental procedure done recently. My insurance covered half, and I paid the other half. A month later, I received a bill from the dentist for the full amount. I called them to figure out what was going on.

Me: “Hi, this is [My Name]. I’m calling about a bill I just received.”

Receptionist: “Birth date?”

Me: “[Date].”

Receptionist: “Address?”

Me: “[Address].”

Receptionist: “Name?”

Me: “…[My Name].”

Receptionist: “One moment.”

Five minutes of smooth jazz hold music later, she was back. 

Receptionist: “That bill is for your procedure done last month.”

Me: “Right, but I don’t understand why I’m being billed. I already—”

Receptionist: *Rudely* “Because we don’t provide free services. You—”

Me: “I already paid. I have the receipt for my half in my hand, and I have the statement from my insurance company saying it was paid off.”

Receptionist: “It can take up to sixty days for our system to acknowledge that insurance has been approved.”

Me: “Okay, but why are you billing me for the whole amount?”

Receptionist: “Insurance pays half, you pay half.”

Me: “I already paid my half, and that doesn’t explain why you want me to pay the whole bill.”

Receptionist: *Sigh* “I don’t know how else to explain this to you, honestly.”

Me: “Then get me someone else, because this is ridiculous.”

She put me back on hold for twenty minutes, probably either hoping I’d hang up, waiting for someone to be available to take my call, or looking for something to explain how I owed 100% of the bill.

Eventually, the office manager picked up. 

Office Manager: “Hi, this is [Office Manager]. I hear you have a question about your bill?”

Me: “Yes. I already paid my half, and I have a statement from my insurance saying they paid their half. Why do I have a bill for the full amount?”

Office Manager: *Confused* “You shouldn’t. Let me see.” *Typing* “Can you confirm a few details for me?”

Me: “Yes.”

We went through all of my identifying information again, adding my insurance company and the date of my procedure.

Office Manager: “I see what happened. Somehow, your insurance information is incorrect. I have updated it, and you’re all good. You can throw that bill away.”

Me: *Relieved* “Thank you!”

I still don’t understand how they were able to properly bill my insurance and then say it was wrong in the system, but it worked out. When I went in for my follow-up, the receptionist was very cold toward me. I suspect she had something to do with the mixup.

A long time ago, I was ten years old, and it was the Sunday before a school trip to the other side of the country. It was around 8:00 pm, and I was so excited that I decided to do a somersault on a very old couch.

As you can guess, it was a very bad idea, as I was somehow able to get the braces on my teeth stuck in the fabric. My parents were able to free me, but unfortunately, not without breaking my braces.

I was crying my heart out. It wasn’t out of pain — I’m pretty sure I was fine — but because I realised I would miss the school trip.

I don’t remember if my parents first tried to call a dentist, but even if it was the case, they were unsuccessful; we were living in the remote countryside. So, ultimately, they called my school teacher, who was the school director, too, and was probably already under a lot of stress because of the school trip.

It happened to be a good decision because he was able to put my parents in touch with a dentist a few towns away who agreed to take us as an emergency — on a Sunday evening around 10:00 pm for a “non-medical” emergency.

Thanks to this school teacher and this dentist, I was able to take my school trip against all odds.

I have taken my one-and-a-half-year-old to a pediatric dentist for a routine checkup. This is her second time going to the dentist but her first time at this practice. She is being wiggly during her cleaning, and I am trying to distract her.  

Me: “She can be a little resistant for us, too.”

Hygienist: *Shooting me a look* “You’re the parent.”

Once the hygienist is done, the dentist comes in and starts doing his exam. She is curious about what he is doing, so I try to distract her again by singing to her. He is not patient at all with her. 

Dentist: “You need to stop making this fun. And I want you to use a minty toothpaste so she doesn’t like it.”

Me: *Scooping up her up* “We’re done here.”

The dentist mumbles under his breath, most of which I can’t make out, but I catch something about “teen parents”.

Me: “First of all, even if I was a teen parent, you shouldn’t be treating your patients or their parents this way. And second of all, I’m twenty-five, but thank you for thinking I look that young, I guess?”

The hygienist, who has overheard the entire conversation, follows me. 

Hygienist: “You can schedule your next appointment at the front desk.”

Me: “You are out of your mind if you think we’re coming back here.”

At least the receptionist was apologetic. Apparently, the dentist we saw was filling in for the regular dentist, but we decided to go back to the previous practice we had gone to, which was twice the distance but worth the drive.

My daughter is five now and loves brushing her teeth and the fun prizes she gets at the dentist.

I grew up in the Midwest of the USA and moved down to a southern state in 2018. It was 2019, and I hadn’t found a dentist yet. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I then chipped two of my front teeth. I have small teeth due to a genetic disorder.

The office was nice, and I loved how the paperwork asked if you had dentist anxiety. The dentist himself was weird. This dentist would not stop smiling. It was creepy.

Dentist: “You have no enamel in your teeth! You grind your teeth while sleeping, and your teeth are small because of it! You need twelve crowns and Invisalign right now. I cannot fill your chipped teeth because of everything.”

I questioned this right away. I had just seen my dentist back home less than a year before this, and he never said I had no enamel in my teeth. I felt like the dentist was trying to buy his next car.

I left the office and never came back!

I found a different dentist who told me that I might need ten crowns in the far future and that I still had enamel in my teeth, and he filled the two chipped teeth! He also took the time to research my genetic disorder. He did recommend Invisalign, and I did end up getting that.

I still see this dentist to this day and recommend him to all of my friends!