Dentist arguing to set up your next 6 month appointment.

I was getting ready to be transfered to another dentist and I had the feeling that it was going to happen. The woman who cleans my teeth was trying to insist on making my 6 month appointment and I would not let her. She tried to argue with me. The reason why I would not let her do that was to save a cancellation call. How about members? Have you ever had a dentist to argue with you about making your 6 month appointment after you tell them no because you were going to be transfered to another dentist?

I would just say you're not sure of your work patterns and you'll call them to make the next apt .. then don't lol .

argue with you about making your 6 month appointment

transfered to another dentist?

Arguing about setting up an appointment?? I doubt it. They probably wanted to keep you on schedule.

Transferred to another dentist?? What is this the army?

You go to the dentist you want to go to. If you don't want to make another appointment with a particular dentist because you don't like him, don't.

@Kermit79 - Can you clarify whether

a) you are being transferred to another dentist in the same practice, or

b) you are transferring to another practice entirely

If it was in the same practice, it might have been reasonable for them to want to arrange an appointment for you regardless of which dentist you expected to see.

My periodontist is so busy and organized (and so are his patients) that if I don't make my appointment before I leave, I won't get the next one in my exact three to four month time cycle. His patients know that and they all schedule before leaving.

First, it is your money and your mouth. If you want to change, it is your prerogative. The most you owe them is a reasonable explanation if they did something wrong but that is your option, not theirs.

Personally, I just switched Dentists for the first time in 30 years. I moved 25 years ago to another city 50 miles away and kept going an extra hour out of my way to see this dentist. My mother lived there so it wasn't too big a deal to visit while in town. Last year I decided to change to save myself 2 hours of driving. My old dentist didn't give me a hassle as they were friends of mine before I saw them professionally. They understood.

My current dentist is great but his hygienist pushes invisalign braces, night guards,etc and all these things a middle aged man has little interest in. She must get a commission because she quoted 10 times the going rate for a night guard and 100 times what a generic costs on Amazon. If I get the hard line up-sell next time instead of just a regular cleaning, I'm going to change dentists again and I won't reschedule. I dare them to be confrontational about it because I've walked out on better for less. LOL

The hygienist pushes invisalign braces because the dentist tells her to do that.

You don't understand the fees or the differences between the generic do-it-yourself sports mouth guard appliance on amazon or a night guard usually for bruxism and invisalign. They are all very different appliances. The drugstore do-it-yourself appliances are worth about as much as the bargain price you pay for them.

No. Nobody at my dentist's office ever argued with me. I decided it was just a money maker to get a clean/ck. every 6 months, so I didn't go for 3 years. By that time I had 7 cavities, needed 2 root canals and I learned my lesson. Now I go EVERY 6 months and get the fluoride treatment as well. (BTW, I DO brush and floss regularly).

I had TMJ and my dentist wanted an orthodontist to fit me with a mouth guard that cost $900. I bought a Dr.'s Night Guard at the pharmacy for $25., wore it to sleep in for 6 months and the TML was gone.

The hygienist pushes invisalign braces because the dentist tells her to do that.

You don't understand the fees or the differences between the generic do-it-yourself sports mouth guard appliance on amazon or a night guard usually for bruxism and invisalign. They are all very different appliances. The drugstore do-it-yourself appliances are worth about as much as the bargain price you pay for them.

I absolutely do understand the fee structure, the difference between appliances and I always assumed the minion/hygienist gets her marching orders from the master/doc but I'll bet she also gets a cut of the rather lucrative appliance markup. She simply pushed too hard. I've spent enough time in sales to know a hard sell when I give or get it. She kept saying I ground my teeth and needed a hugely expensive night guard. While I'm no dental or medical professional, I do make it my business to understand what is being said and asked of me and what is proposed as treatment.

As a matter of fact, I got a second opinion this week, on my dime, not insurance's, to see exactly what the situation was. The second dentist, an older gentleman, said a custom night guard should be no more than a few hundred dollars not to exceed $500. Another dentist, a maxillofacial guy up the road only charges $1,000 for his best TMJ appliances. So, a night guard I wouldn't use for double the TMJ appliance is never going to happen. The second dentist took measurements and pictures to compare next time but said my wear looked consistent with a man of my age. My bite isn't perfect but I'm not losing any weight because of it.

My work schedule is not predictable to 6 months, so I ask my dentist to send me a postcard (e-mail would work) when it's time for my next appointment. She usually sends it 2-3 weeks before the first day allowed by my insurance, so there is plenty of time to find an available appointment.

I have seen several different dentist in the last 20 years and the one I really liked is just too far away once I moved. I tried out several local ones over the years and I think I've finally found one that doesn't try to upsell on the appliances. I just need a good cleaning and oral health check.

I've had the hard sell too and I have no problem saying no or hell no. They are taking advantage of people in a vulnerable position when they do something like this.

I just found out my insurance covers 4 cleaning a year. Maybe I should start shopping for a sexy second.