Was the Dentist's Bill Unreasonable?

Had all my teeth (32) cleaned by dentist. Charged me $70 which I paid without complaining. This is my complaint: My wife also had her teeth cleaned by same dentist (Because she wears full and partial false teeth, she only has 6 real teeth which were the ones cleaned.) and the dentist charged us $70 for her cleaning. Reason: His schedule does not differentiate for number of teeth cleaned.

Was the Dentist's Bill Unreasonable?
Most dentists do not change the fee based on the number of teeth that a patient has.





Sorry, I know that is not what you wanted to hear, but honestly the only time that a difference in fee is made based on the number of teeth, is on a deep scaling, and then the fee (and a different code) is used for 3 or less teeth in a quadrant.





You could try and call around, but I have never seen a dentist change his fees for a cleaning based on how many teeth a patient charges. WHY??? Well, in all honestly, the over head cost for each patient really doesn't change depending on how many or how few teeth they have. The hygientist still opens a sterilized pouch of instruments, therefore they have to be resterilized, she still uses a prophy cup and a prophy angle to polish the teeth, she still has to go through the same disinfection protocal for the room she used regardless of how many teeth that she actually cleaned. I have actually seen patients will only a few teeth, have a dirtier mouth than someone with a full mouth of teeth, so usually they just have a single set fee for a cleaning.
Reply:They schedule X # of cleaning per time period. Your wife reserved a slot. So you are paying for that time slot.
Reply:Are you for real? Rhetorical. The price was MORE than reasonable. I usually pay upwards of $125.00 for cleaning and X-Rays. You are paying for the dentist's time, NOT THE NUMBER OF TEETH! Geesh!
Reply:you shoud come to the UK....$70!!!!!!!!! for a scale and polish...
Reply:You are paying for the appointment more then the work done. Unfortunately even though the dentist had a much easier job with the work he did on your wife, he still scheduled her for the same process as you.
Reply:Although its unfair, he's entitled to this. Dentists tend to set their charges to earn a set amount per hour, working from the amount of time it takes them to do the procedure, like a time basis system.


However, all the dentists I've worked for have halved their prices or worked out a more reasonable fee if they are only treating a localised area, e.g lower teeth only.


I've known patients to pay £45 for a cleaning, often up to £150 in London but I'm not sure how this translates into US dollars. I'm afraid I can't relay my own charges as I dont, I treat patients for free on the NHS as part of my course.
Reply:Not unreasonable at all. As a matter of fact, if you have no dental insurance and all you paid was $70 per cleaning, I think you got a great deal. When people make appointments for cleanings, they don't ask questions like - 'how many teeth do you have', or 'how dirty are your teeth'. Some people take a little time, some take a long time, the bill is the same.
Reply:Sounds right. When my husband was a general surgeon, he charged $75 for an office visit. It was $75 whether the patient was there for 5 minutes or 45 minutes.





As with many physicians, dentists mostly charge by the procedure done, not the amount of time it takes to perform it. Many have price lists that they have made up %26amp; that is what the receptionist goes by to charge patients.
Reply:He is right to charge for the same as full mouth person. Seen a barber giving a discount to people going bald?
Reply:Dentists rip off everyone. If you dont have insurance its worse. I wish I was only charged $70 to even walk in the door of a dentist office.
Reply:Dentists absolutely do NOT "rip off everyone."





They are trained professionals who charge for helping patients keep their teeth healthy and pain-free for a lifetime.





If you resent what you pay at the dentist, keep your teeth clean, brush and floss often, and give the dentist no reason to "rip you off."
Reply:The fee of $70.00 is a very good one for teeth cleaning, most dentist charge over $100.00 for that service. The Dr gave you a fair fee.
Reply:Your wife may had reserved a time slot, but a shorter time slot since she was only having 6 teeth cleaned as compared to you. Dentists will take all the $$ they can and some do shoddy work.


Therefore you had 26 more teeth cleaned than her and took more time.
Reply:He's a dentist, not a mechanic. Dentist is in the clear.
Reply:Personally, I would charge less for 6 teeth - most of the time. However, SOME people's 6 teeth are harder to clean than some OTHER people's 32 teeth! If she is down to 6 teeth, it suggests that she might not be as good at maintaining her teeth as you are and she might have a lot more tartar on her teeth.