retiredHSmom Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 We just changed dental insurance and our former dentist is not covered under our new insurance. I didn't love her so I am okay with it. I co-lead a small homeschool group (approx 50 families) one of our member families is a husband/wife team that are both dentists. They are covered under our new plan. Is it a good idea or a bad idea to use them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I would go by recommendations of others who have used them before jumping in. We are in a HS Co-op with our primary care physician's kids and it has been fine, but we were his patients first and then part of a co-op together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I try to avoid those kinds of situations. Sometimes they can work out. But if things go sour, it tends to become very awkward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 No, no, no. It is one thing if you become friends after you start using them but another if you are friends first. IMO, it just opens the door to all kinds of boundry issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I would if they have good references and seem like reasonable people. If you don't have a complicated dental history you are good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 NO! If you have any kind of problems, it will be way more awkward to deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I went to church with our doctor and we were close acquaintances for many years and never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I would not do it. We made this mistake when we moved here and thought, "Oh, we'll go to the dentist that attends our new church." OOPS. It was all okay - he's a very talented dentist and the most gentle one I've ever been to - until his office made a clerical error and posted our payment to another patient's account - someone with the same last name but not kin. It was a simple error. Of course, then we got late payment notices. Despite the fact that I provided a copy of the canceled check, his very haughty accounts' receivable person who will not admit she made a mistake, got ugly, called here and reamed me out over the phone, sent us nasty letters, and then tried to turn us over to collections. I tried to straighten it out with her, but since she is ALWAYS right, and the patient is always wrong, she was unwilling to look at my documentation. I had to involve him which made the whole thing at church awkward. He did not apologize for the mix-up but said that he would get it straightened out and that we needed to understand this employee had been with him a long time, and she was valuable to his business because she was so good at collecting delinquent payments. There was no apology from her, and he was never really friendly again. Since we had to work with him in a volunteer ministry capacity at the time, it was very uncomfortable because he acted so aloof. We thought it would get better if we weren't his patients anymore, so we quietly transferred to another office. After that, he stopped speaking to us altogether. So, I'm not a fan of doing anything that involves bills, payments, and the exchange of money with people that I have to deal with in other non-professional settings. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retiredHSmom Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thanks everyone, I think that we will avoid this potential minefield and go with another dentist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I love seeing professionals who are also friends. I would do it in a heartbeat. The upsides are worth the risk of the downsides IME. I have had a plastic surgeon meet us at the er, three times, to sew up my accident prone youngest child, preventing serious facial scarring. I have had an er doc meet me at the er door and wheel me straight to X-ray for a sprained ankle, avoiding a several hour er visit when I had a newborn at home. I have had my primary care doc encourage me to call her cell if needed after hours. I have had a pediatrician have me and my child stop by his home on a Sunday for a sick child checkup instead of waiting to Monday. All those things, and many more, were made possible via personal relationships. Dh is a vet, and he does all sorts of favors for friends. Emergency calls, at home euthanasias, free phone advice any time, and he discounts or doesn't bill for many services, too. So, anyway, I love having personal relationships with professionals. I would check out the dental practice by asking around, and unless it looked sketchy, I'd make myself, just me, a routine appointment, and then transition the rest of the family if my personal experience was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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