Short version:
1. I was deliberately charged for a panoramic x-ray that my insurance covered (because the insurance reimbursement to him was "not enough")
2. I was tricked into getting an optional treatment because he said it was "required."
3. He told my insurance company that I did not fulfill my financial obligations to him.
4. He filled two teeth that likely did not have cavities (although I have no proof).
5. He said I had two other cavities which needed filling, but my new dentist said that they are not cavities.
Long version:
I found Glenn Reit through my insurance website and went for a regular exam and cleaning. Things seemed okay at first, but the first clue that something was up dealt with x-rays. Previously, my insurance plans had always covered x-rays in full, but Dr. Reit said that I needed a panoramic x-ray which was NOT covered by my insurance. He said this x-ray was required by NYS law and that it would cost me $45. I thought this was peculiar because I had never paid for x-rays before, but I did not have any evidence for arguing this point at the time.
After a quick exam, he said I had four cavities, one in each wisdom tooth. Wow! This was surprising because, although I've had plenty of cavities as a child, I don't remember the last time I had one.
I chose to get two of the cavities filled that day, and would make another appointment to get the other two filled. He gave the choice of white or silver fillings, silver being covered by insurance and white not covered. I chose silver, but there was a catch. The silver filling IS fully covered by insurance, but the REQUIRED glass ionomer cement was not. This costs $79 per tooth. I stress the word "required" because that is how I was sold on it. He said that this is a necessary part of these fillings because it creates a strong bond and lets out fluoride to protect the tooth. Now, he did have me sign a form indicating that I agreed to this part and when I asked him again what this material was, he was very curt. He stated the long verbose name of the material rapidly and kept on saying how it was necessary. I signed reluctantly, again trusting this person with a professional degree to not steer me wrong.
So, he filled two teeth, drilling fairly deep and showing me how deep the "cavities" went. After this was over, I paid my bill ($203 total, $79 per tooth and $45 for the x-ray) and left. He gave me a credit card receipt but not an itemized bill of the work done.
After I got home, I was unsettled by the experience, so the next day I called my insurance company. They clearly stated to me that a panoramic x-ray is FULLY COVERED every 3 years under my plan. I didn't remember the name of the ionomer cement at the time, so they couldn't give me information on that. But, they said that silver fillings are FULLY COVERED by my plan.
I called his office, but he wasn't there so I voiced my concern to the secretary and she left a message. About an hour later, I received a call from Glenn Reit. He said that the extra treatment I got was the OPTIONAL ionomer resin that I signed for and that my insurance didn't cover. I told him how he stated that this was a required part of the silver filling. His rebuttal was that this is a required part of HIS practice because that is "his standard of care" and he only treats patients in the best manner possible. This story was different than the way he had sold me on it the day before. This is a breach of informed consent and utter dishonesty.
Now, the panoramic x-ray. I told him what the insurance company said. His rebuttal dealt with the fact that I had an HMO plan, which doesn't reimburse him well. He said "well, they say that it's covered but I don't think it is." So, he is committing insurance FRAUD by charging his patients for a service that is covered under insurance because that plan does not reimburse him well.
In the end, I received my money back, except for a $25 x-ray copy fee, which was fine. A few weeks later, I called my insurance company to change my primary dentist to a new one. To my surprise, it had already been changed. After that, I got a letter from my insurer stating that it had been changed "due to purported failure to fulfill your financial obligations to the office." What?!?!
Now, I took my x-rays to my new dentist. He said he'd be happy to fill the remaining two cavities for me, and that they are fully covered under my plan. So I gave him the x-rays, which he looked at, but didn't see any cavities. He said there are some cavities that can't be seen on x-ray, so he looked at my teeth. And he looked and looked, and as you can guess, NO CAVITIES. He looked again and again and told me honestly that he does not see cavities, but normal staining of the teeth. Now, I can never know if the original cavities that Glenn Reit filled were actually cavities, but I seriously doubt that I had cavities in those two teeth and he mistakenly thought the other stained teeth had cavities. read more
