Years ago, going to a dentist was straightforward. You sat upright in a chair while the dentist worked alone. Periodically, you got a paper cup of water and you rinsed and leaned over to a spittoon. [No hygienists, assistants, reclining chairs, or suction devices in your mouth]. When the dental visit was over, you took care of an affordable bill on the way out, or waited for the bill in the mail. Dental insurance was not in the mix.
![[dental logo]](zizicdental.gif)
Your dentist was affordable even if he practiced in Beverly Hills. Even if he had been invited to a presidential inauguration after one of his patients was elected to that job back in DC. Not to drop any names--did I?--but that's the sort of dentist I left, moving to Oregon in the 80s.
A decent Portland dentist seemed a challenge. One tryout's second appointment was cut short when the receptionist said, Someone forgot to write you in the appointment book. Want to reschedule? No, thanks.
I tried the husband of a co-worker we knew. Fresh out of OHSU Dental School, he assuredly wanted to give new patients the best care. A trade magazine on his reception counter featured an article, "How to Build a Profitable Dental Practice." My skepticism grew stronger when that dentist--in the name of cleaning--immediately plunged into deep root planing and was gung-ho about more treatments that would stretch my budget.
I next thought to ask a friend whose job was selling dental supplies to dentists. Surely, he had the insider's scoop. That recommendation evidently panicked, began rushing, when I mentioned my meeting later that day. The filling he did soon began cutting my inner cheek. I wasn't going back.
Next I tried across the river in Vancouver, WA. A dentist there I knew as a client where I worked. I'd talked to him a number of times, visited his office.
Technically, he was superb, but also entrepreneurial. He ran three chairs at once. Liked maxing out dental insurance benefits, postponing work until January, if needed, to get more of the insurance company's dime.
Needless to say, I came to have a mouthful of gold crowns.
While it took longer, I quit that dentist too.
I changed my insurance to Kaiser Permanente, an HMO where provider and insurer are under the same roof. No more gaming insurance. If the margin fails on a crown, it's not, You need a new crown. No, a Kaiser dentist repairs the margin of crown with an amalgam. Amazing. While I'll never get back to that personal comfort I had with my Beverly Hills dentist, at least I know Kaiser dentists won't act like a boat payment's due!
Image credit: google images: zizicdental.com
Read Charlie Dickinson's
story collection, The Cat
at Light's End, as an ebook in these downloadable
formats:
.mobi
(Kindle)
.epub (most other readers)
.pdf (for PCs)
Also, a flash fiction, "Ylena Thinks Nyet," is at Cigale Literary Magazine.
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