I was referred over by my Primary to Dr. Hoffman for a root canal.
Nothing that required immediate treatment as I did not have any pain symptoms but my primary noticed some decay in the tooth which showed in my annual X-Ray
Upon arrival, the assistant started with your typical X Rays.
Here is where things started going wrong.
Dr. Hoffman came in and we reviewed that the tooth being referred over from my Primary via a short conversation. She started to proceed without even looking at the X Rays. 6 minutes into it, she stopped and the procedure was done. It was explained to me that she observed a previous root canal treatment done while she was doing her procedure and a temporary filler was put in place. I was advised she would confer with my primary and circle back on next steps of treatment.
A month goes by with no communication from the office and I call to schedule for my follow-up based on the supposed review that was to occur with my primary dentist which I presume should have taken no more than 10 business days. In week 5 since my last visit, it took multiple calls to request for Dr. Hoffman to call me back 6 Weeks after the initial visit. I was then simply advised over the phone that an extraction might be the better option as the success rate for a retreatment was much less.
I'm not not clear why my X Rays was never looked at before the procedure started or why it took 6 weeks for her to tell me something she could have told me after my 6 minute procedure.
My benefits was maxed out due to the claim submitted for this visit.
This could have easily been avoided had she had reviewed the X Ray. I mean isn't that why X Rays are done. This was a money grab visit that hopefully the next person who may stumble upon this review may avoid. The claim submitted was for a root canal retreatment and a * comprehensive consultation*.
No retreatment procedure aside being done, I'm not sure what the definition of a comprehensive consultation is. If I had to define it, it would have been the Dr. Reviewing the X ray, advising me of what my options were and the success rates, etc before even starting the treatment. I'm still quite shocked my X Rays were never even looked at until she was done with her 6 minute procedure and then decided to look at the X Rays post op to confirm her findings during the procedure.
Since I had a temporary filling in my mouth, I needed to find find a resolution regardless of my Benefits being Used Up.
I ended up paying OOP to my Oral Surgeon who is a gem. For my initial consultation, He spent a solid 90 minutes+ reviewing the X Rays, what he saw, what the procedure would entail, the multiple followups required as extraction to implant is quite the procedure in itself, the timeline from extraction to Implant and almost every detail involved in this procedure. Now that in itself was a learning lesson on what a consultation from a Dr. who genuinely has his patient in their best interest is. I was never pressed to do the procedure but I was given a full view of the diagnosis based on the X Rays, and the outcomes to be expected from procedure. read more
