Does medicaid allow second opinions for dentists?

[lynn]

My niece called all upset because her 3 year old went to the dentist and was told dd had 4 cavities. The dentists wants to put her dd to sleep to do fillings? Also, my niece cannot go back with her dd when they do this. I told her to not agree to this if she does not feel comfortable and to call her medicaid office and ask if she can get a second opnion. She is such a good mother and wants to do what is right. I think I may have given her more to stress about by telling her I would not do that to a 3 year old. Any thoughts or advice I can give her.

[Aggie]

I don't know about the Medicaid part, but I'm fairly sure all dentists will want to put a 3yo to sleep to do the fillings. There will be a little pain which will seem like a lot to the 3yo, and it's quite a long time to expect a 3yo to sit still.

 

2 dentists wanted to put my 8yo to sleep to do his fillings. I finally talked one of them out of it.

[celticmom]

I would definitely not have work done without a second opinion. I read somewhere that too many medicaid dentists do more than is strictly necessary so that they can bill more. If that is the case with this dentist then it is definitely not in her child's best interest. I also would not use a dentist that would not allow me to accompany my child especially if the child was going to be sedated.

[Mommyof4ks]

I would get a second opinion. It does take some time and frustration with medicaid, but she is probably used to that lol. We had foster kids that were on medicaid, and grrrrr is all I can say about that!

 

She is likely limited on dentists, so she may not have a choice of a dentist that lets her go back with her dd. We do not have a medicaid approved dentist in our area that allows that. It is a stupid rule if you ask me, but no body does. :glare:

 

If the dentist would knock me out to do filling I would be so happy, so if a dentist offered to do that for my kids I would jump on it.

 

I hope she is able to get the second opinion and her dd gets great care whatever the final decision.

[Dobela]

There are also different types of Medicaid with very different rules. Our dd is on a very different plan that our son because she was adopted from foster care. His is based on our income and even though we pay for part of it, he has way fewer options.

 

She should be able to call her local offices for Medicaid and ask for her caseworker. The case worker can pull the files and give advice and possibly recommend a different dentist for another opinion.

 

ETA: some of the pediatric dentists in our area will allow the parent to go back during proceedures like this and stay until the child is asleep. After the work is done, the parent is allwed back in the room so the child wakes up with familiar people. She may ask if that is an option as well.

[Renee in NC]

I would definitely not have work done without a second opinion. I read somewhere that too many medicaid dentists do more than is strictly necessary so that they can bill more. If that is the case with this dentist then it is definitely not in her child's best interest. I also would not use a dentist that would not allow me to accompany my child especially if the child was going to be sedated.

 

That has been my experience. My now 7yo had *6* cavities filled that weren't cavities at all. I specifically had their new dentist look on the x-rays to find them.

[SonshineLearner]

It depends on what type of fillings... as far as "knocking her out". My daughter had fillings when she was that age, and they were so small.... they did it with "no pain reducers". They said the shot hurt more than the filling. She did fine! They also did the "knocked out" on my son. I understand not wanting parents back there. Parents sometimes freak their own children out, by putting "negative seeds" in their minds. I would want to know that TWO adults will be in the room the whole time. Really, just that bothers me. I don't want the Dentist with my child by themselves.

Also, they might let her back there, after... they put her little one under. That way she can see what they're doing... but at a time when the little one is already "sleeping".

Really, though I see all these Dentist threads... I've had great Dentists and I've always trusted them. I think that without me has been fine! (But, I choose "safe" surroundings for them.)

 

:)

[RanchGirl]

Sounds highly suspicious to me, I think she is right to refuse treatment without getting another opinion.

 

If the child is not in any pain, and medicaid won't allow a 2nd opinion, I would wait 6 months and then go to a new dentist for a regular checkup and just see what that dentist comes up with (without telling the new dentist that another dds had advised umpteen cavities needed to be filled).

 

Also, I would ask for a copy of the xrays now from the current dentist. She may be able to just show those xrays to a dentist to get a 2nd opinion without having to have her 3 year old go through another dentist visit. If not, she still has evidence of what the teeth looked like at this time, which will be helpful if there is a complaint to file later.